Richie Havens, legendary guitarist and folk singer who opened Woodstock festival, dead at 72

Richie Havens performs his legendary set at at Woodstock in 1969. Photo by Getty.

Richie Havens, a seminal member of the New York folk scene of the '60s, died Monday morning from a sudden heart attack.

He was 72.

Havens, widely admired for his briskly rhythmic guitar style and richly textured voice, became a part of history for serving as the opening performer at the Woodstock festival in 1969.



Havens transfixed the crowd at the start of that storied weekend. In a way, he had to. He was asked by the organizers to extend his set to nearly three hours to kill time since most of the other performers hadn’t yet reached the site, due to the choking crowds. Havens’ subsequent improvisation on the spiritual “Motherless Child” - threaded with his own inspired vamp of “Freedom” - become one of the festival’s signature sounds.

Born in Brooklyn on January 21, 1941, Havens came to the Village to find his creative soul. “I saw the Village as a place to escape to in order to express yourself,” he told a reporter.


Photo by Michael Dabin

He first performed poetry at Beatnik clubs in the '50s, then drew portraits before switching to guitar.

After cutting several records for the Douglas label, Havens signed with Bob Dylan’s manager, Albert Grossman, who got him a deal with the respected folk imprint Verve. His 1967 album, “Mixed Bag,” yielded the stirring, anti-war song “Handsome Johnny.” It was co-written by Havens and actor Louis Gossett Jr, who later won an Oscar.

That album also included impeccable melodies like “Follow” plus a cover of “Just Like A Woman” that stood with the most emotive Dylan interpretations ever recorded.

In 1968, Havens made the charts for the first time with “Something Else Again.”

In the wake of Woodstock, Havens appeared at another key '60s music festival, the Isle of Wight.

In 1970, Havens scored a hit with a cover of George Harrison’s “Here Comes The Sun.” By speeding up the beat and adding some fierce bongo rhythms, Haven’s version got to No. 16 and propelled its album, “Alarm Clock,” into the Top 30.



During the '70s, Havens branched out into acting. He appeared as Othello in the 1974 film “Catch My Soul” and alongside Richard Pryor in 1977’s “Greased Lightning.”

Though inevitably associated with the '60s, Haven’s work remained relevant. In 2000, he worked with the electronic music act Groove Armada for the song “Hands of Time,” which turned up in the Tom Cruise movie “Collateral.” Havens also published his autobiography, “They Can’t Hide Us,” that year. He continued touring, and he also released albums until 2008’s “Nobody Left to Crown.”

On March 12, 2012, the singer announced on his Facebook page that he would stop touring due to his health concerns.

Havens will always be remembered by music fans for the boldness of his guitar style and for the unique timbre of his voice. He hit the strings with a percussive brilliance, preferring wide open chords to delicate arpeggios.

Vocally, Havens had a deep register that communicated both warmth and need. The particular scratch in his voice made him instantly recognizable - a one-of-a-kind artist who could make anyone else’s song distinctly his own.