Richie Havens

He has one of the most powerful and recognizable voices in popular music.  Richie Havens’ soulful singing style has remained unique and ageless since he first emerged on the folk scene in the early 60s. 

Havens hit the Billboard charts with his first album, “Something Else Again,” in 1968, but the major turning point in his career was his performance at Woodstock the following year.  Having held the crowd spellbound for three hours, he’d run out of tunes and improvised “Freedom,” based on the spiritual “Motherless Child.” The song became the anthem of a generation.

In addition to writing his own music (such as “Handsome Johnny” and “Run Shaker Life”), Havens is a gifted interpreter of the compositions of others.  His striking renditions of Bob Dylan’s “Just Like a Woman” and George Harrison’s “Here Comes the Sun,” among others, demonstrate his ability to inhabit a song and make it his own.

For over four decades, Havens has used his music to convey messages of brotherhood and personal freedom.  As he tells it, “I sing songs that move me.  I’m not in show business, I’m in the communications business.  That’s what it’s about for me.”