Richie Havens

Description

Havens first rose to fame in the Greenwich Village folk music scene that also fostered Joan Baez and Bob Dylan. In 1967 Havens became one of several Village-based artists signed to Verve Records and released several albums to mostly local notice. In 1969, Havens opened the Woodstock Festival although he was initially scheduled to appear fifth on the bill. His performance received continuous ovations and he kept playing encores until he ran out of songs. Finally, he decided to improvise a version of "Motherless Child" to which he added a verse with the word "Freedom" repeated over and over; the song was featured in the Woodstock film and became an international hit. Havens followed up this success with the 1971 release of Alarm Clock, which featured a popular rendition of George Harrison's "Here Comes the Sun". For a brief period in the mid-seventies, Havens performed with Peter Yarrow and Paul Stookey, as "Peter, Paul & Richie." Havens continued to tour and release albums...