Richie Havens

Richard Pierce Havens (January 21, 1941 – April 22, 2013) was an American singer‑songwriter and guitarist. His music blended elements of folk, soul and rhythm and blues, and he was known for his distinctive rhythmic guitar style, often using open tunings. Havens was the opening performer at Woodstock, sang numerous jingles for television commercials and provided the voice for GeoSafari educational toys. Havens was born in the Bedford–Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn and was the oldest of nine children. He was of Blackfoot Native American descent on his father’s side and of British West Indian heritage on his mother’s side. His grandfather, a Blackfoot from the Montana–South Dakota region, and his great‑uncle joined Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show before settling in New York and later on the Shinnecock Reservation on Long Island. His grandfather eventually moved to Brooklyn, where the family continued to grow. As a youth, Havens organized his neighborhood friends into a street‑corner doo‑wop group. By age sixteen, he was performing with the McCrea Gospel Singers. At age twenty, Havens left Brooklyn for Greenwich Village in Manhattan, seeking artistic inspiration. “I saw the Village as a place to escape to, in order to express yourself,” he recalled. He first visited during the beatnik era of the 1950s to perform poetry, later spending two years drawing portraits and staying up all night listening to folk music in local clubs. It was during this period that he eventually picked up the guitar.
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Freedom at Woodstock 1969 (HD)

How Can I?

Here Comes The Sun

In My Life

Just Like a Woman

Helplessly Hoping

High Flying Bird

All Along Watchtower

Tombstone Blues

Strawberry Fields Forever

From The Prison

The Hawk

Something Else Again 1968 Part 1 Full Album

Electric Havens 1968 Part 2 Full Album

Live at Woodstock 1969 concert

Alarm Clock 1970 Full Album

Common Ground 1983 Full Album

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