Richie Havens
Richie Havens | |
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Website | richiehavens |
Richard Pierce Havens (January 21, 1941 – April 22, 2013) was an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. toys.
Early life
Born in
Havens's grandfather and great-uncle joined
As a youth, Havens began organizing his neighborhood friends into a street corner doo-wop group. At age 16, he was performing with the McCrea Gospel Singers.[1]
Career
Early career
At age 20, Havens left his hometown of Brooklyn, seeking artistic stimulation in Greenwich Village in Manhattan. "I saw the Village as a place to escape to, in order to express yourself," he recalled. "I had first gone there during the beatnik days of the 1950s to perform poetry, then I drew portraits for two years and stayed up all night listening to folk music in the clubs. It took a while before I thought of picking up a guitar."[4]
Havens's solo performances quickly spread beyond the Village folk music circles.[1] After cutting two records for Douglas Records, he signed on with Bob Dylan's manager, Albert Grossman, and landed a record deal with the Verve Folkways (later Verve Forecast) label. Verve released Mixed Bag in late 1966, which featured tracks such as "Handsome Johnny" (co-written by Havens and actor Louis Gossett Jr.), "Follow," and a cover[5] of Bob Dylan's "Just Like a Woman".[6] Havens released his first single, "No Opportunity Necessary", in 1967.
Something Else Again (1968) became his first album to hit the Billboard charts, and it pulled Mixed Bag back onto the charts. By 1969, he had released five albums. Two of those albums were unauthorized and were released by Douglas Records (or Douglas International[7]): Electric Havens (released June 1, 1968)[7][8][9] and Richie Havens Record (1969).[8][10]
Woodstock and rise in fame
Havens's live performances earned widespread notice. His opening 1969 appearance at
I'd already played every song I knew and I was stalling, asking for more guitar and mic, trying to think of something else to play – and then it just came to me ... The establishment was foolish enough to give us all this freedom and we used it in every way we could.[citation needed]
The subsequent Woodstock movie release helped Havens reach a worldwide audience. He also appeared two weeks later at the Isle of Wight Festival, in late August 1969.[13]: 202, 215
Havens also began acting during the 1970s. He was featured in the original 1972 stage presentation of The Who's Tommy,[13]: 244 as Othello in the 1974 film Catch My Soul, in Greased Lightning alongside Richard Pryor, and in Bob Dylan's Hearts of Fire.
In July 1978, he was a featured performer at the Benefit Concert for
Branching into other media
Havens continued to release music and tour during the 1980s and 90s. He made advertisements for
On June 22, 1990, Richie Havens played at a packed Yankee Stadium concert in honor of Nelson Mandela who had come to New York for three days after Mandela’s release from the South African prison, Robben Island. Other performers at the concert were Judy Collins, Tracy Chapman and Mighty Sparrow.
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 commercials from the early 1990s.[17] In 1999, Havens played at the Tibetan Freedom Concert for an audience of more than 100,000.[18]
The release of 1993's Resume, The Best of Richie Havens, on
Havens played a small role, as a character named Daze, in the film Street Hunter (1990), starring John Leguizamo. He played himself in "Rock of Ages", an episode of the TV sitcom Married... with Children (Season 7, Episode 9).
Havens was the 20th living recipient of the Peace Abbey Courage of Conscience Award, presented in Sherborn, Massachusetts,[19] on April 12, 1991.
Final years
In 2000, Havens teamed with the
In 2000, he published They Can't Hide Us Anymore, an autobiography co-written with Steve Davidowitz. Havens maintained his status as a folk icon and continued to tour. In 2002 he sang, uncredited, Dylan's "The Times They Are a Changin'" in the TV series The West Wing (Season 4, Episode 7).[21] Also in 2002, he released Wishing Well, followed by the 2004 album Grace of the Sun.
On February 15, 2003, Havens opened the unprecedented "The World Says No To War" in Iraq demonstration in New York City with his iconic "Freedom." As the U.S. stood on the precipice of a "Shock & Awe" attack on Iraq, tens of millions in more than 800 cities around the world marched against war, leading the New York Times to call these millions the "world's new superpower."
On October 15, 2006, Havens was inducted into the
In 2007, Havens appeared as Old Man Arvin in the
Havens was invited to perform at the 2008 Cannes Film Festival opening ceremony. He played "Freedom" at the request of the jury president Sean Penn. Havens also performed at the London, Ontario, Blues Festival in July 2008.[24]
In March 2008, Havens released a new studio album, Nobody Left To Crown.[25] The first single release was the country-tinged "The Key".[citation needed] On August 14, 2009, Richie returned for the 40th Anniversary of Woodstock to play the Bethel Woods Festival. Times Herald-Record - http://www.recordonline.com
Havens appeared in the acclaimed 2009 film
On May 3, 2009, Havens performed at the fundraising concert in honor of Pete Seeger's 90th birthday. In June 2009, he performed at the fifth annual Mountain Jam Festival. The event, hosted by The Allman Brothers Band and Gov't Mule guitarist Warren Haynes, was held at the Hunter Mountain Ski Resort in Hunter, New York. As is the tradition, the festival took place on the weekend following Memorial Day.
On June 20, 2009, Havens performed at the
Personal life
This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (January 2021) |
Health issues
In 2010, Havens underwent kidney surgery but did not recover fully enough to perform as he had before.[27] In March 2012, he announced on his Facebook page that he would retire from touring after 45 years, due to health concerns.[28]
Death
On April 22, 2013, Havens died of a
Pursuant to Havens's request, he was cremated, and his ashes were scattered from the air over the original site of the Woodstock Festival, in a ceremony held on August 18, 2013, the 44th anniversary of the festival's last day.[34]
Discography
Studio albums
Year | Album | US Top 200
|
---|---|---|
1966 | Mixed Bag | 182 |
1968 | Something Else Again | 184 |
1968 | Electric Havens | 192 |
1969 | The Richie Havens Record | – |
1969 | Richard P. Havens, 1983 | 80 |
1970 | Stonehenge | 155 |
1971 | Alarm Clock | 29 |
The Great Blind Degree | 126 | |
1973 | Portfolio | 182 |
1974 | Mixed Bag II | 186 |
1976 | The End Of The Beginning | 157 |
1977 | Mirage | – |
1980 | Connections | – |
1984 | Common Ground | – |
1987 | Simple Things | 173 |
Sings Beatles and Dylan | – | |
1991 | Now | – |
1994 | Cuts to the Chase
|
– |
2002 | Wishing Well | – |
2004 | Grace of the Sun | – |
2008 | Nobody Left to Crown[1] | – |
Live albums
Year | Album | US Top 200
|
---|---|---|
1972 | Richie Havens on Stage | 55 |
1990 | Live at the Cellar Door | – |
2015 | Paris Live 1969 | – |
Compilations
Year | Album | US Top 200
|
---|---|---|
1987 | Collection | – |
1993 | Résumé: The Best of Richie Havens | – |
1995 | Classics | – |
1999 | Time | – |
2000 | The Millennium Collection | – |
2004 | Dreaming as One: The A&M Years | – |
2005 | High Flyin' Bird | – |
2012 | My Own Way | – |
Singles
Year | Name[35] | US BB | US CB |
---|---|---|---|
1967 | "No Opportunity Necessary" | – | – |
1969 | "Rocky Raccoon" | – | 92 |
"Lady Madonna" | – | – | |
1970 | "Handsome Johnny" | 115 | – |
"Alarm Clock" | – | – | |
1971 | "Here Comes the Sun" | 16 | 15 |
1972 | "Freedom" | – | – |
1973 | "What About Me" | – | – |
"It Was a Very Good Year" | – | – | |
"Eyesight to the Blind" | 111 | 101 | |
1976 | "I'm Not in Love" | 102 | – |
1977 | "We All Wanna Boogie" | – | – |
1980 | "Going Back to My Roots" | – | – |
Appearances
- A Long Time Comin' by The Electric Flag – sitar and percussion (1968)
- Sesame Street (1970), He sings a remake of “Imagination Rain.” Music by Steve Zuckerman. Also appears singing several songs solo
- Please Don't Touch by Steve Hackett(1978)
- Music and Songs from Starlight Express (1987) – performing "Light at the End of the Tunnel" and the "Starlight Sequence"
- Goya... a Life in Song – vocal and guitar performance on "Dog in the Quicksand".
- Songs of the Civil War (1991) – "Follow the Drinking Gourd" and "Give Us a Flag"
- OVO by Peter Gabriel (2000) (soundtrack of the Millennium Dome Show)
- "Freedom" on The Best of The Jammy's Volume One with the Mutaytor
- "The Long Road" (duet with Cliff Eberhardt) on 1990 album The Long Road
- "Gay Cavalier" (duet with Pino Daniele) on 1983 album Common Ground
- Some Assembly Required by Assembly of Dust's 2009
- Married... with Children (1992), "Rock of Ages" – guest appearance as himself
- "El Lugar (The Place)" by Francesco Bruno (1995), in which he appears as co-author and interpreter of the song[36]
- Lifelines Live by Peter, Paul and Mary (1996)
- Warriors of Virtue (1997) – "Inside of You"
- Goodbye Country by Groove Armada (2001) – "Little by Little" and "Healing"
- Lovebox (Groove Armada) by Groove Armada (2002) – "Hands of Time"
References
- ^ ISBN 1-84195-017-3.
- Indian Country Today Media Network. April 25, 2013. Archived from the originalon April 28, 2013. Retrieved April 29, 2013.
- ^ Siegel, Robert (September 26, 2006). "Richie Havens: Face to Face with His Face". All Things Considered. NPR. Retrieved November 22, 2013.
- ^ "Richie Havens". CarnegieHall.org. Carnegie Hall Corporation. Archived from the original on August 7, 2016. Retrieved February 11, 2016.
- ^ Hickey, Thom (March 9, 2016). "Richie Havens: Roots, Freedom, Bob Dylan & The Beatles!". Theimmortaljukebox.com.
- ^ Newsome, Jim. "Mixed Bag: Review". AllMusic.com.
- ^ a b "Richie Havens". Verve Records. Archived from the original on August 9, 2016. Retrieved April 22, 2013.
- ^ a b "Music". RichieHavens.com. Retrieved April 22, 2003.
- ^ "Richie Havens: Electric Havens". MTV.com. Retrieved April 22, 2013.
- ^ "Richie Havens: Electric Havens". AllMusic.com. Retrieved April 22, 2013.
- ^ Stafford, James (August 9, 2019). "From The Stacks: 'Woodstock – Back To The Garden: The Definitive 50th Anniversary Archive'". Wimwords.com. Retrieved November 10, 2020.
- ^ Havens, Richie (April 23, 2013). "On Woodstock: Richie Havens in his own words". CNN.com. Retrieved November 10, 2020.
- ^ Reed International Books Ltd. CN 5585.
- ^ "The Longest Walk". si.edu. Smithsonian Institution. June 22, 2011. Retrieved January 4, 2021.
- ^ "The '80s TV Theme SuperSite: Promos (NBC)". 80stvthemes.com. Archived from the original on September 27, 2011. Retrieved November 4, 2011.
- ^ "Glastonbury CND festival 1982". UKrockfestivals.com.
- ^ Walsh, Ben. "Richie Havens". findarticles.com. Archived from the original on October 25, 2007. Retrieved October 16, 2007.
- ^ Pollicino, Raul. "Gigography". Beastiemania.com. Retrieved November 4, 2011.
- ^ "The Peace Abbey Courage of Conscience Recipients List". peaceabbey.org. Archived from the original on June 10, 2014. Retrieved April 22, 2013.
- ^ a b "Guest Appearances & Collaborations". RichieHavens.com. Richie Havens. Retrieved April 22, 2014.
- ^ "'The West Wing' Election Night (TV Episode 2002)". IMDb.com. Retrieved November 10, 2020.
- ^ "Richie Havens". limusichalloffame.org. Long Island Music Hall of Fame.
- ^ "Richie Havens, Folk and Woodstock Legend, Dead at 72". Billboard. April 22, 2013. Retrieved April 22, 2013.
- ^ "London Artist Bios". Thebluesfest.com. Archived from the original on October 5, 2011. Retrieved November 4, 2011.
- ^ Havens, Richie. "Nobody Left to Crown: Richie Havens: Music". Amazon. Retrieved October 11, 2009.
- ^ "Soundtrack for a Revolution". Soundtrackforarevolutionfilm.com. Retrieved March 28, 2012.
- ^ "Woodstock icon Richie Havens dies at 72". bbc.co.uk. BBC News. April 23, 2013. Retrieved April 29, 2013.
- ^ "Richie Havens". Facebook.com. Retrieved March 28, 2012.
- ^ a b c "Woodstock icon Richie Havens dies at 72". BBC News. April 23, 2013. Retrieved April 24, 2013.
- FOX News. Retrieved April 22, 2013.
- ^ Cubarrubia, RJ (April 22, 2013). "Richie Havens, Folk Icon, Dead at 72". Rolling Stone. Retrieved April 22, 2013.
- ^ "Richie Havens". The Daily Telegraph. April 23, 2013. Retrieved April 24, 2013.
- ^ Martin, Douglas (April 23, 2013). "Richie Havens, Folk Singer Who Riveted Woodstock, Dies at 72". The New York Times. Retrieved April 24, 2013.
- ^ Coulehan, Erin (August 19, 2013). "Richie Havens' Ashes Scattered at Woodstock". Rolling Stone. Retrieved August 19, 2013.
- ISBN 978-0-89820-213-7.
- YouTube
External links
- Official website
- Richie Havens at IMDb