Richie Havens

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Richie Havens

Richie Havens in 2006
Background information
Born January 21, 1941 (1941-01-21) (age 68)
Origin Brooklyn
Genre(s) Folk rock
Occupation(s) Vocalist, Guitarist
Instrument(s) Guitar
Years active 1965—present
Label(s) Verve
Website Richie Havens

Richie Havens (born January 21, 1941) is an American folk singer and guitarist. Havens is best known for his intense rhythmic guitar style, soulful covers of pop and folk songs, and his opening performance at the 1969 Woodstock Festival.

Contents

[edit] Career

Richard P. Havens was born in Brooklyn, the eldest of nine children, and first started singing street corner doo-wop and performed with The McCrea Gospel Singers at 16. Havens' initial rise to fame happened 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.

[edit] 1970s-1990s

Havens followed up this success with the 1971 release of Alarm Clock, which featured a rendition of The Beatles "Here Comes the Sun." Alarm Clock became Haven's first album to chart on the Billboard Top 30.[1]

[edit] TV, acting, and media

Havens also tried his hand at acting, appearing as Othello in the 1974 film Catch My Soul. He also appeared in Greased Lightning alongside Richard Pryor in 1977. In 1987, he landed a role in the Bob Dylan vehicle Hearts of Fire.[2]

In 1982, Havens composed and performed a promo slogan for NBC's 1982-83 television season entitled, We're NBC, Just Watch Us Now. He also performed slogans for CBS and ABC.[3]

In 1993, Havens performed at the inauguration of President Bill Clinton. Among the selections was the "Cotton" song, made famous by a series of television ads in the early 90's.[4] In 1999, Havens played at the Tibetan Freedom Concert for an audience of more than 100,000.[5]


Played a small roll as a character named Daze in a 1990 film named Street Hunter starring John Leguizamo.

[edit] Musical style

Richie Havens (at center stage) in 1969 at the Woodstock Festival

Havens is noted for his guitar skill. Some of his recordings feature a percussive sound that is actually his foot tapping on the floor.

In an interview with Rolling Stone magazine in 1971, John Lennon stated that Havens "plays a pretty funky guitar."[6]

In his early years, Havens rarely wrote his own songs but often applied his distinctive style to the works of others, notably Bob Dylan and the Beatles. More recent albums contain more of his own compositions.

[edit] Collaborations

In 2000, Havens teamed up with the electronic music duo Groove Armada for the retro '70s-style song "Hands of Time". The track was featured on the soundtrack for the film Collateral, starring Tom Cruise and Jamie Foxx; the same song also used in the films Domino starring Keira Knightley, and Tell No One with François Cluzet. Havens was also featured on Little By Little on the band's third album Goodbye Country (Hello Nightclub).[7]

He has collaborated with other artists including former Genesis members Steve Hackett and Peter Gabriel, Bill Perry, Dayna Kurtz, and Anton Fig.[7]

[edit] Present-day career

Richie Havens at Hugh's Room in Toronto. Photograph by Kasra Ganjavi

In 2000, Havens published They Can't Hide Us Anymore, an autobiography co-written with Steve Davidowitz. Havens has maintained his status as a folk icon, and continues to tour. In 2002, Havens released Wishing Well, followed by the 2004 album, Grace of the Sun.

On October 15, 2006, Havens was inducted into the Long Island Music Hall of Fame.[8]

In 2007 Havens appeared as "Old Man Arvin" in the Todd Haynes film I'm Not There. In a classic front-porch jam scene, he is shown singing the Bob Dylan song "Tombstone Blues" with Marcus Carl Franklin and Tyrone Benskin. Havens's version of the song also appears on the I'm Not There Soundtrack.

Havens was invited to perform at the 2008 Cannes Film Festival Opening Ceremony. He played "Freedom" in tribute to his fan and jury president Sean Penn. He also performed at the London, Ontario Blues Festival in July 2008. [9]

In August 2008 he released a new studio album titled Nobody Left To Crown. The first single release was country-tinged "The Key".[citation needed]

It was announced in January 2009 that Havens would perform at the 5th annual Mountain Jam Festival. The event, hosted by Allman Brothers Band and Gov't Mule guitarist, Warren Haynes, will be held at the Hunter Mountain Ski Resort in Hunter, NY. As is tradition, the festival will take place on the weekend following Memorial Day.

On May 3rd, 2009, Havens performed at the fundraising concert in honor of Pete Seeger's 90th birthday. On June 20, 2009, Havens performed at the Clearwater Festival. On July 4, 2009, Havens performed at the Woodstock Tribute festival in Ramsey, NJ.

[edit] Charity work

In addition to performing at charity benefit concerts, Havens formed the Northwind Undersea Institute, an oceanographic children's museum on City Island in the Bronx. The museum led to the creation of The Natural Guard, an organization that educates children about the environment.[1]

Havens won the Peace Abbey Courage of Conscience Award in Sherborn, MA on April 12th 1991.[10]

[edit] Discography

Richie Havens at The Turning Point Cafe in Peirmont, NY
  • A Richie Havens Record (1965)
  • Electric Havens (1966)
  • Mixed Bag (February 1967)
  • Something Else Again (1968)
  • Richard P. Havens, 1983 (1969)
  • Stonehenge (1970)
  • Alarm Clock (1971)
  • The Great Blind Degree (1971)
  • Richie Havens On Stage (1972)
  • Portfolio (1973)
  • Mixed Bag II (January 1975)
  • The End of the Beginning (1976)
  • Mirage (1977)
  • Connections (1980)
  • Common Ground (1983)
  • Collection (1987)
  • Simple Things (1987)
  • Starlight Express Broadway Studio Cast Recording (1987)
  • Sings Beatles and Dylan (1987)
  • Live at the Cellar Door (1990)
  • Now (1991)
  • Cuts to the Chase (1994)
  • Time (1999)
  • The Millennium Collection (2000)
  • Wishing Well (April 2002)
  • Grace of the Sun (2004)
  • I'm Not There: Original Soundtrack ("Tombstone Blues") (2007)
  • Nobody Left To Crown (2008)

[edit] Guest appearances

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b Richiehavens.com official site
  2. ^ IMDb acting credits for Richie Havens
  3. ^ 80stvthemes.com
  4. ^ Walsh, Ben. "Richie Havens". http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4158/is_20070110/ai_n17110649. Retrieved on 2007-10-16. 
  5. ^ Beastiemania.com: Gigography
  6. ^ John Lennon imterview for Rolling Stone
  7. ^ a b Richiehavens.com: Guest Appearances & Collaborations
  8. ^ LIMHOF.org: Inaugural 2006 Inductees
  9. ^ [1]
  10. ^ The Peace Abbey Courage of Conscience Recipients List

[edit] External links


Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richie_Havens"
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