Richie Havens
Encyclopedia
Richard P. "Richie" Havens (born January 21, 1941) is an African American
folk
singer and guitarist
. He is best known for his intense, rhythmic guitar
style (often in open tunings), soulful covers
of pop
and folk
song
s, and his opening performance at the 1969 Woodstock Festival
.
, Havens was the eldest of nine children. At an early age, he began organizing his neighborhood friends into street corner doo-wop
groups and was performing with The McCrea Gospel Singers at 16. At age 20, Havens left Brooklyn, seeking artistic stimulation in Greenwich Village
. "I saw the Village as a place to escape to, in order to express yourself," he recalls. "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."
Havens's reputation as a solo performer soon spread beyond the Village folk circles. After cutting 2 records for Douglas Records, Havens signed on with Bob Dylan's manager Albert Grossman
, and landed a record deal with the Verve Forecast
label. Verve released Mixed Bag
in 1967, which featured tracks like "Handsome Johnny" (co-written by Havens and future Oscar-winning actor Louis Gossett Jr.), "Follow", and a cover of Bob Dylan
's "Just Like A Woman
". By 1969, he had released five more albums. Something Else Again
(1968) became Havens's first album to hit the Billboard chart and also pulled Mixed Bag back onto the charts.
Havens' reputation as a live performer earned him widespread notice. His Woodstock appearance proved to be a major turning point in his career. As the festival's first performer, he held the crowd for nearly three hours (in part because he was told to perform a lengthy set because many artists were delayed in reaching the festival location), and was called back for several encores. Having run out of tunes, he improvised a song based on the old spiritual "Motherless Child" that became "Freedom". The subsequent Woodstock movie release helped Havens reach a worldwide audience. He also appeared at the Isle of Wight Festival
in late August 1969.
Following the success of his Woodstock performance, Richie started his own record label, Stormy Forest, and delivered Stonehenge
in 1970. Later that year came Alarm Clock, which yielded the George Harrison
penned hit single "Here Comes the Sun
", and became Havens's first album to reach Billboard’s Top 30 Chart. Stormy Forest went on to release four more of his own albums: The Great Blind Degree (1971), Live On Stage (1972), Portfolio (1973), and Mixed Bag II (1974). Memorable television appearances included performances on The Ed Sullivan Show
and The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
. On the latter program, the audience reacted with such enthusiasm that when the applause continued even after the commercial break, Carson
asked Havens to return the following night.
Havens also branched out into acting during the 1970s. He was featured in the original 1972 stage presentation of The Who's Tommy
, and appeared 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
.
Increasingly, Havens devoted his energies to educating young people about ecological issues. In the mid-1970s, he co-founded the Northwind Undersea Institute, an oceanographic children’s museum on City Island in the Bronx. That, in turn, led to the creation of The Natural Guard, an organization Richie describes as "a way of helping kids learn that they can have a hands-on role in affecting the environment. Children study the land, water, and air in their own communities and see how they can make positive changes from something as simple as planting a garden in an abandoned lot."
During the 1980s and 1990s, Havens continued a world touring schedule and a steady release of albums. The release of 1993’s Resume, The Best Of Richie Havens Rhino collected his late 1960s and early 1970s recordings.
In 1982, Havens composed and performed a promotional slogan for NBC
's 1982-83 television season entitled, We're NBC, Just Watch Us Now. He also performed slogans for CBS
and ABC
, and recorded commercials for Amtrak
, singing the slogan "There's something about a train that's magic." Havens has also done corporate commercial work for Maxwell House Coffee
as well as singing "The Fabric of Our Lives" theme for the cotton industry.
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 1990s. In 1999, Havens played at the Tibetan Freedom Concert
for an audience of more than 100,000.
Havens also played a small role as a character named Daze in a 1990 film named Street Hunter starring John Leguizamo
.
In 2003, the National Music Council
awarded Havens the American Eagle Award for his place as part of America’s musical heritage, and for providing "a rare and inspiring voice of eloquence, integrity and social responsibility."
duo Groove Armada
for the retro 1970s-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 and Healing on the band's third album Goodbye Country (Hello Nightclub)
.
He has collaborated with other artists including former Genesis
members Steve Hackett
and Peter Gabriel
, Bill Perry
, Dayna Kurtz, and Anton Fig
.
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
.
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.
In March 2008, he released a new studio album titled Nobody Left To Crown. The first single release was country-tinged "The Key" , which is sold as a single MP3 at Amazon.com.
On May 3, 2009, Havens performed at the fundraising concert in honor of Pete Seeger
's 90th birthday.
In June 2009, Havens performed at the 5th annual Mountain Jam Festival
. The event, hosted by Allman Brothers Band and Gov't Mule
guitarist, Warren Haynes
, was held at the Hunter Mountain Ski Resort
in Hunter, New York
. As is tradition, the festival took place on the weekend following Memorial Day
.
On June 20, 2009, Havens performed at the Clearwater Festival
. On July 4, 2009, Havens performed at the Woodstock Tribute festival in Ramsey, New Jersey
.
On August 8, 2010, Havens performed at Musikfest 2010 at Foy Hall at Moravian College in Bethlehem, PA.
. The museum led to the creation of The Natural Guard, an organization that educates children about the environment.
Havens won the Peace Abbey Courage of Conscience Award in Sherborn, MA on April 12, 1991.
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
folk
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
singer and guitarist
Guitarist
A guitarist is a musician who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselves on the guitar while singing.- Versatility :The guitarist controls an extremely...
. He is best known for his intense, rhythmic guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
style (often in open tunings), soulful covers
Cover version
In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...
of pop
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
and folk
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
song
Song
In music, a song is a composition for voice or voices, performed by singing.A song may be accompanied by musical instruments, or it may be unaccompanied, as in the case of a cappella songs...
s, and his opening performance at the 1969 Woodstock Festival
Woodstock Festival
Woodstock Music & Art Fair was a music festival, billed as "An Aquarian Exposition: 3 Days of Peace & Music". It was held at Max Yasgur's 600-acre dairy farm in the Catskills near the hamlet of White Lake in the town of Bethel, New York, from August 15 to August 18, 1969...
.
Career
Born in BrooklynBrooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
, Havens was the eldest of nine children. At an early age, he began organizing his neighborhood friends into street corner doo-wop
Doo-wop
The name Doo-wop is given to a style of vocal-based rhythm and blues music that developed in African American communities in the 1940s and achieved mainstream popularity in the 1950s and early 1960s. It emerged from New York, Philadelphia, Chicago, Baltimore, Newark, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati and...
groups and was performing with The McCrea Gospel Singers at 16. At age 20, Havens left Brooklyn, seeking artistic stimulation in Greenwich Village
Greenwich Village
Greenwich Village, , , , .in New York often simply called "the Village", is a largely residential neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City. A large majority of the district is home to upper middle class families...
. "I saw the Village as a place to escape to, in order to express yourself," he recalls. "I had first gone there during the Beatnik
Beatnik
Beatnik was a media stereotype of the 1950s and early 1960s that displayed the more superficial aspects of the Beat Generation literary movement of the 1950s and violent film images, along with a cartoonish depiction of the real-life people and the spiritual quest in Jack Kerouac's autobiographical...
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."
Havens's reputation as a solo performer soon spread beyond the Village folk circles. After cutting 2 records for Douglas Records, Havens signed on with Bob Dylan's manager Albert Grossman
Albert Grossman
Albert Bernard Grossman was an American entrepreneur and manager in the American folk music scene and rock and roll. He was most famous as the manager of Bob Dylan between 1962 and 1970.-Biography:...
, and landed a record deal with the Verve Forecast
Verve Records
Verve Records is an American jazz record label now owned by Universal Music Group. It was founded by Norman Granz in 1956, absorbing the catalogues of his earlier labels, Clef Records and Norgran Records , and material which had been licensed to Mercury previously.-Jazz and folk origins:The Verve...
label. Verve released Mixed Bag
Mixed Bag
Mixed Bag is a 1967 album by Richie Havens. Although often mistaken as his debut, this was actually Havens's third record. It followed two earlier, lesser-known releases on Douglas Records...
in 1967, which featured tracks like "Handsome Johnny" (co-written by Havens and future Oscar-winning actor Louis Gossett Jr.), "Follow", and a cover of Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
's "Just Like A Woman
Just Like a Woman
Just Like a Woman is a 1992 British film by Christopher Monger starring Julie Walters, Adrian Pasdar and Paul Freeman. Gerald, a finance executive , finds himself thrown out by his wife when she discovers women's underwear in their flat; in fact the clothes belong to him. He takes lodgings with...
". By 1969, he had released five more albums. Something Else Again
Something Else Again
Something Else Again is an album by American folk singer and guitarist Richie Havens, released in 1967. "No Opportunity Necessary, No Experience Needed" was later reworked by Yes on their second album, Time and a Word. The track, "Run, Shaker Life" was reworked from Havens' old band, The Last Men,...
(1968) became Havens's first album to hit the Billboard chart and also pulled Mixed Bag back onto the charts.
Havens' reputation as a live performer earned him widespread notice. His Woodstock appearance proved to be a major turning point in his career. As the festival's first performer, he held the crowd for nearly three hours (in part because he was told to perform a lengthy set because many artists were delayed in reaching the festival location), and was called back for several encores. Having run out of tunes, he improvised a song based on the old spiritual "Motherless Child" that became "Freedom". The subsequent Woodstock movie release helped Havens reach a worldwide audience. He also appeared at the Isle of Wight Festival
Isle of Wight Festival
The Isle of Wight Festival is a music festival which takes place every year on the Isle of Wight in England. It was originally held from 1968 to 1970. These original events were promoted and organised by the Foulk brothers under the banner of their company Fiery Creations Limited...
in late August 1969.
Following the success of his Woodstock performance, Richie started his own record label, Stormy Forest, and delivered Stonehenge
Stonehenge (album)
-Track listing:Except where otherwise noted, all tracks composed by Richie Havens#"Open Our Eyes" – 2:56#"Minstrel from Gaul" – 3:35#"It Could Be the First Day" - 2:22#"Ring Around the Moon" - 2:08...
in 1970. Later that year came Alarm Clock, which yielded the George Harrison
George Harrison
George Harrison, MBE was an English musician, guitarist, singer-songwriter, actor and film producer who achieved international fame as lead guitarist of The Beatles. Often referred to as "the quiet Beatle", Harrison became over time an admirer of Indian mysticism, and introduced it to the other...
penned hit single "Here Comes the Sun
Here Comes the Sun
"Here Comes the Sun" is a song by George Harrison from The Beatles' 1969 album Abbey Road. It is regarded as one of the most popular Beatles songs. The song was written while Harrison was away from all of these troubles...
", and became Havens's first album to reach Billboard’s Top 30 Chart. Stormy Forest went on to release four more of his own albums: The Great Blind Degree (1971), Live On Stage (1972), Portfolio (1973), and Mixed Bag II (1974). Memorable television appearances included performances on The Ed Sullivan Show
The Ed Sullivan Show
The Ed Sullivan Show is an American TV variety show that originally ran on CBS from Sunday June 20, 1948 to Sunday June 6, 1971, and was hosted by New York entertainment columnist Ed Sullivan....
and The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson is a talk show hosted by Johnny Carson under the Tonight Show franchise from 1962 to 1992. It originally aired during late-night....
. On the latter program, the audience reacted with such enthusiasm that when the applause continued even after the commercial break, Carson
Johnny Carson
John William "Johnny" Carson was an American television host and comedian, known as host of The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson for 30 years . Carson received six Emmy Awards including the Governor Award and a 1985 Peabody Award; he was inducted into the Television Academy Hall of Fame in 1987...
asked Havens to return the following night.
Havens also branched out into acting during the 1970s. He was featured in the original 1972 stage presentation of The Who's Tommy
The Who's Tommy
The Who's Tommy is a rock musical by Pete Townshend and Des McAnuff based on The Who's 1969 double album rock opera Tommy, also by Pete Townshend, with additional material by John Entwistle, Keith Moon and Sonny Boy Williamson.-Productions:...
, and appeared as Othello in the 1974 film Catch My Soul
Catch My Soul
For UK Stage version see Catch My Soul Catch My Soul is a 1974 film produced by Jack Good and Richard M. Rosenbloom, and directed by Patrick McGoohan. It was an adaptation of Good's stage musical of the same title, which itself was loosely adapted from William Shakespeare's Othello...
. He also appeared in Greased Lightning
Greased Lightning
Greased Lightning is a 1977 American biographical film, starring Richard Pryor, Beau Bridges, and Pam Grier, and directed by Michael Schultz. Greased Lightning is a film loosely based on the true life story of Wendell Scott, the first African American stock car racing champion in the United States...
alongside Richard Pryor
Richard Pryor
Richard Franklin Lennox Thomas Pryor was an American stand-up comedian, actor, social critic, writer and MC. Pryor was known for uncompromising examinations of racism and topical contemporary issues, which employed colorful vulgarities, and profanity, as well as racial epithets...
in 1977. In 1987, he landed a role in the Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
vehicle Hearts of Fire
Hearts of Fire
Hearts of Fire is a 1987 American musical drama film starring Bob Dylan, Fiona Flanagan and Rupert Everett. The film was essentially a vehicle for Dylan based on his success as a rock musician...
.
Increasingly, Havens devoted his energies to educating young people about ecological issues. In the mid-1970s, he co-founded the Northwind Undersea Institute, an oceanographic children’s museum on City Island in the Bronx. That, in turn, led to the creation of The Natural Guard, an organization Richie describes as "a way of helping kids learn that they can have a hands-on role in affecting the environment. Children study the land, water, and air in their own communities and see how they can make positive changes from something as simple as planting a garden in an abandoned lot."
During the 1980s and 1990s, Havens continued a world touring schedule and a steady release of albums. The release of 1993’s Resume, The Best Of Richie Havens Rhino collected his late 1960s and early 1970s recordings.
In 1982, Havens composed and performed a promotional slogan for NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
's 1982-83 television season entitled, We're NBC, Just Watch Us Now. He also performed slogans for CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
and ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
, and recorded commercials for Amtrak
Amtrak
The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak , is a government-owned corporation that was organized on May 1, 1971, to provide intercity passenger train service in the United States. "Amtrak" is a portmanteau of the words "America" and "track". It is headquartered at Union...
, singing the slogan "There's something about a train that's magic." Havens has also done corporate commercial work for Maxwell House Coffee
Maxwell House
Maxwell House is a brand of coffee manufactured by a like-named division of Kraft Foods. Introduced in 1892, it is named in honor of the Maxwell House Hotel in Nashville, Tennessee. For many years until the late 1980s it was the largest-selling coffee in the U.S. and is currently second behind...
as well as singing "The Fabric of Our Lives" theme for the cotton industry.
In 1993, Havens performed at the inauguration
Inauguration
An inauguration is a formal ceremony to mark the beginning of a leader's term of office. An example is the ceremony in which the President of the United States officially takes the oath of office....
of President Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
. Among the selections was the "Cotton" song, made famous by a series of television ads in the early 1990s. In 1999, Havens played at the Tibetan Freedom Concert
Tibetan Freedom Concert
Tibetan Freedom Concert is the name given to a series of rock festivals held in North America, Europe and Asia between 1996 and 2001 to support the cause of Tibetan independence. The concerts were organized by the Beastie Boys and the Milarepa Fund...
for an audience of more than 100,000.
Havens also played a small role as a character named Daze in a 1990 film named Street Hunter starring John Leguizamo
John Leguizamo
Jonathan Alberto "John" Leguizamo is an Colombian-American actor, producer, voice artist, and comedian.-Early life:...
.
In 2003, the National Music Council
National Music Council
The National Music Council of the United States is a United States national organization listed under Title 36 of the United States Code, founded in 1940 and chartered by the 84th Congress in 1956. The Council is composed of organizations of national scope interested in the development of music...
awarded Havens the American Eagle Award for his place as part of America’s musical heritage, and for providing "a rare and inspiring voice of eloquence, integrity and social responsibility."
Collaborations
In 2000, Havens teamed up with the electronic musicElectronic music
Electronic music is music that employs electronic musical instruments and electronic music technology in its production. In general a distinction can be made between sound produced using electromechanical means and that produced using electronic technology. Examples of electromechanical sound...
duo Groove Armada
Groove Armada
Groove Armada is an English electronic music duo from London, England comprising Andy Cato and Tom Findlay. They are perhaps best known for their singles "I See You Baby" and "Superstylin'"...
for the retro 1970s-style song "Hands of Time". The track was featured on the soundtrack for the film Collateral
Collateral (film)
Collateral is a 2004 crime thriller film starring Tom Cruise and Jamie Foxx. It was directed by Michael Mann and written by Stuart Beattie. It was Mann's first feature film to be shot mostly with high-definition cameras. Mann had previously used the format for portions of Ali and for his CBS drama...
, starring Tom Cruise
Tom Cruise
Thomas Cruise Mapother IV , better known as Tom Cruise, is an American film actor and producer. He has been nominated for three Academy Awards and he has won three Golden Globe Awards....
and Jamie Foxx
Jamie Foxx
Eric Marlon Bishop , professionally known as Jamie Foxx, is an American actor, singer-songwriter, stand-up comedian, and talk radio host. As an actor, his work in the film Ray earned him the Academy Award and BAFTA Award for Best Actor as well as the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a...
; the same song also used in the films Domino
Domino (film)
Domino is a 2005 American action film directed by Tony Scott and written by Richard Kelly. It is inspired by the story of Domino Harvey, the English daughter of stage and screen actor Laurence Harvey, who became a bounty hunter working in Los Angeles. The film stars Keira Knightley as Domino and...
starring Keira Knightley
Keira Knightley
Keira Christina Knightley born 26 March 1985) is an English actress and model. She began acting as a child and came to international notice in 2002 after co-starring in the film Bend It Like Beckham...
, and Tell No One
Tell No One
Tell No One is a 2006 French thriller film directed by Guillaume Canet and based on the novel of the same name by Harlan Coben. It was written by Guillame Canet and Philippe Lefèbvre and stars François Cluzet...
with François Cluzet
François Cluzet
François Cluzet is a French film and theatre actor, best known in the English-speaking world for starring in the 2006 French film "Tell No One", based on the novel of the same name by the American author Harlan Coben...
. Havens was also featured on Little By Little and Healing on the band's third album Goodbye Country (Hello Nightclub)
Goodbye Country (Hello Nightclub)
Goodbye Country is the third studio album by English electronica duo Groove Armada. It was released on 11 September 2001 on the Jive Electro record label...
.
He has collaborated with other artists including former Genesis
Genesis (band)
Genesis are an English rock band that formed in 1967. The band currently comprises the longest-tenured members Tony Banks , Mike Rutherford and Phil Collins . Past members Peter Gabriel , Steve Hackett and Anthony Phillips , also played major roles in the band in its early years...
members Steve Hackett
Steve Hackett
Stephen Richard Hackett is a British singer-songwriter and guitarist. He gained prominence as a member of the British progressive rock group Genesis, which he joined in 1970 and left in 1977 to pursue a solo career...
and Peter Gabriel
Peter Gabriel
Peter Brian Gabriel is an English singer, musician, and songwriter who rose to fame as the lead vocalist and flautist of the progressive rock group Genesis. After leaving Genesis, Gabriel went on to a successful solo career...
, Bill Perry
Bill Perry (New York musician)
William Sanford Perry, born in Goshen, New York, was an American blues musician. The guitarist, songwriter and singer toured throughout the U.S. and Europe. In the 1980s, he was the main guitarist for Richie Havens...
, Dayna Kurtz, and Anton Fig
Anton Fig
Anton Fig , known as "The Thunder from Down Under" is a session drummer, noted for his work in David Letterman's house band, the CBS Orchestra. Letterman often refers to Fig as "Anton Zip"or "Buddy Rich Jr."...
.
Present-day career
On October 15, 2006, Havens was inducted into the Long Island Music Hall of Fame
Long Island Music Hall of Fame
The Long Island Music Hall of Fame is an organization whose office is located in Port Jefferson, New York. It was incorporated in July 2005 under the New York State Board of Regents as a non profit organization and holds a provisional charter to operate as a museum in the state of New York...
.
In 2007, Havens appeared as "Old Man Arvin" in the Todd Haynes
Todd Haynes
Todd Haynes is an American independent film director and screenwriter. He is best known for his feature films Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story, Poison, Velvet Goldmine, Safe, and the Academy Award-nominated Far from Heaven and I'm Not There.- Style and themes :The writes that "Haynes is...
film I'm Not There
I'm Not There
I'm Not There is a 2007 biographical musical film directed by Todd Haynes, inspired by iconic American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan. Six actors depict different facets of Dylan's life and public persona: Christian Bale, Cate Blanchett, Marcus Carl Franklin, Richard Gere, Heath Ledger, and Ben Whishaw...
. In a classic front-porch jam scene, he is shown singing the Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
song "Tombstone Blues
Tombstone Blues
"Tombstone Blues" is the second track off Bob Dylan's album Highway 61 Revisited. Musically it is a straightforward blues song, however the lyrics are typical of Dylan's free-associate surreal style of the period, with such lines as "the sun's not yellow, it's chicken".It was performed by Marcus...
" with Marcus Carl Franklin
Marcus Carl Franklin
Marcus Carl Franklin is an American actor. He is best known for portraying an incarnation of Bob Dylan who calls himself "Woody Guthrie" in the Bob Dylan biopic I'm Not There, written and directed by Todd Haynes...
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
Cannes Film Festival
The Cannes International Film Festival , is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films of all genres including documentaries from around the world. Founded in 1946, it is among the world's most prestigious and publicized film festivals...
Opening Ceremony. He played "Freedom" in tribute to his fan and jury president Sean Penn
Sean Penn
Sean Justin Penn is an American actor, screenwriter and film director, also known for his political and social activism...
. He also performed at the London, Ontario Blues Festival in July 2008.
In March 2008, he released a new studio album titled Nobody Left To Crown. The first single release was country-tinged "The Key" , which is sold as a single MP3 at Amazon.com.
On May 3, 2009, Havens performed at the fundraising concert in honor of Pete Seeger
Pete Seeger
Peter "Pete" Seeger is an American folk singer and was an iconic figure in the mid-twentieth century American folk music revival. A fixture on nationwide radio in the 1940s, he also had a string of hit records during the early 1950s as a member of The Weavers, most notably their recording of Lead...
's 90th birthday.
In June 2009, Havens performed at the 5th annual Mountain Jam Festival
Mountain Jam (festival)
Mountain Jam is a three-day music festival in upstate New York, held at the world class Hunter Mountain ski resort the weekend after Memorial Day. In its short history, Mountain Jam has become one of the top music festivals in the U.S. and the premier festival in the Northeast. Rolling Stone...
. The event, hosted by Allman Brothers Band and Gov't Mule
Gov't Mule
Gov't Mule is a Southern rock jam band formed in 1994 as an Allman Brothers Band side project by Warren Haynes and Allen Woody.The band released their debut album Gov't Mule in 1995...
guitarist, Warren Haynes
Warren Haynes
Warren Haynes is an American rock and blues guitarist, vocalist and songwriter. Haynes is best known for his work as long time guitarist with The Allman Brothers Band and as founding member of the jam band Gov't Mule. Early in his career he was a guitarist for David Allan Coe and The Dickey...
, was held at the Hunter Mountain Ski Resort
Hunter Mountain (ski area)
Hunter Mountain is a ski resort located about three hours up the New York State Thruway north-northwest of New York City. It features a vertical drop....
in Hunter, New York
Hunter (town), New York
Hunter is a town in Greene County, New York. The population was 2,732 at the 2010 census.The Town of Hunter contain two villages one named Hunter and the other called Tannersville. The town is on the County's south border.- History :...
. As is tradition, the festival took place on the weekend following Memorial Day
Memorial Day
Memorial Day is a United States federal holiday observed on the last Monday of May. Formerly known as Decoration Day, it originated after the American Civil War to commemorate the fallen Union soldiers of the Civil War...
.
On June 20, 2009, Havens performed at the Clearwater Festival
Clearwater Festival
The Clearwater Festival is a music and environmental summer festival and America’s oldest and largest annual festival of its kind. This unique event has hosted over 15,000 people on a weekend in June for more than three decades...
. On July 4, 2009, Havens performed at the Woodstock Tribute festival in Ramsey, New Jersey
Ramsey, New Jersey
Ramsey is a borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. It is a suburb of New York City, located northwest of Midtown Manhattan. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough population was 14,473....
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On August 8, 2010, Havens performed at Musikfest 2010 at Foy Hall at Moravian College in Bethlehem, PA.
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 BronxCity Island, Bronx
City Island is a small island approximately 1.5 mi long by .5 mi wide. At one time attached to the town of Pelham, Westchester County, it is now part of the New York City borough of the Bronx. As of the 2000 census the island had a population of 4,520. Its land area is 1.023 km²...
. The museum led to the creation of The Natural Guard, an organization that educates children about the environment.
Havens won the Peace Abbey Courage of Conscience Award in Sherborn, MA on April 12, 1991.
Discography
- A Richie Havens Record (1965)
- Electric Havens (1966)
- Mixed BagMixed BagMixed Bag is a 1967 album by Richie Havens. Although often mistaken as his debut, this was actually Havens's third record. It followed two earlier, lesser-known releases on Douglas Records...
(February 1967) - Something Else AgainSomething Else AgainSomething Else Again is an album by American folk singer and guitarist Richie Havens, released in 1967. "No Opportunity Necessary, No Experience Needed" was later reworked by Yes on their second album, Time and a Word. The track, "Run, Shaker Life" was reworked from Havens' old band, The Last Men,...
(1968) - Richard P. Havens, 1983Richard P. Havens, 1983Richard P. Havens, 1983 is a 1969 double album set by folk rock musician Richie Havens featuring a combination of studio recordings and live material recorded in concert in July, 1968. The album combined original material with several of the covers for which Havens is known...
(1969) - StonehengeStonehenge (album)-Track listing:Except where otherwise noted, all tracks composed by Richie Havens#"Open Our Eyes" – 2:56#"Minstrel from Gaul" – 3:35#"It Could Be the First Day" - 2:22#"Ring Around the Moon" - 2:08...
(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 ExpressStarlight ExpressStarlight Express is a rock musical by Andrew Lloyd Webber , Richard Stilgoe and Arlene Phillips , with later revisions by Don Black and David Yazbek . The story follows a child's dream in which his toy train set comes to life; famously the actors perform wearing roller skates...
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 WellWishing Well"Wishing Well" is a song of Sananda Maitreya for the album Introducing the Hardline According to Terence Trent D'Arby, and hit number one on both the Soul Singles Chart and the Billboard Hot 100 on ....
(April 2002) - Grace of the Sun (2004)
- I'm Not There: Original SoundtrackI'm Not There (soundtrack)The soundtrack album for the Bob Dylan biopic I'm Not There was released as a double CD on October 30, 2007. It features only one recording by Dylan himself—his previously unreleased recording of the title song "I'm Not There" recorded during The Basement Tapes' sessions in 1967—plus...
("Tombstone Blues") (2007) - Nobody Left To Crown (2008)
Guest appearances
- A Long Time Comin'A Long Time Comin'A Long Time Comin' is the first album by American rock band The Electric Flag, released in 1968. The meat of the album is Soul along with Blues and Rock with a horn section...
by The Electric Flag - Sitar & Percussion (1968) - Please Don't TouchPlease Don't TouchPlease Don't Touch! is the second solo album by English guitarist Steve Hackett, and his first after leaving Genesis in 1977.The album featured several guests including R&B singer Randy Crawford, American folk icon Richie Havens, the drummer and vocalist for the progressive rock band Kansas , Frank...
by Steve HackettSteve HackettStephen Richard Hackett is a British singer-songwriter and guitarist. He gained prominence as a member of the British progressive rock group Genesis, which he joined in 1970 and left in 1977 to pursue a solo career...
(1978) - Music and Songs from Starlight ExpressStarlight ExpressStarlight Express is a rock musical by Andrew Lloyd Webber , Richard Stilgoe and Arlene Phillips , with later revisions by Don Black and David Yazbek . The story follows a child's dream in which his toy train set comes to life; famously the actors perform wearing roller skates...
(1987) - performing "Light at the End of the TunnelLight at the End of the Tunnel (musical number)Light at the End of the Tunnel is the gospel-style finale number from the musical Starlight Express. The Company perform the number as a glorification to Steam...
" and the "Starlight SequenceStarlight SequenceThe Starlight Sequence is a showstopper from Andrew Lloyd Webber's Starlight Express. It is performed by Rusty, a young, naive Steam Locomotive and the Starlight Express, a magical Steam Locomotive that comes at midnight to help Steam Locomotioves in need...
" - Songs of the Civil WarSongs of the Civil WarSongs of the Civil War is a compilation album, released in 1991 by Columbia, that presents an assortment of contemporary performers recording period pieces and traditional songs that date back to the American Civil War.-Track listing:...
(1991) - "Follow the Drinking Gourd" and "Give Us a Flag" - OVOOVOOVO is the soundtrack to the Millennium Dome Show in London that was composed by Peter Gabriel. It was his eleventh album overall. It was released on 29 August 2000 and features guest vocals by Neneh Cherry, Rosco, Richie Havens, Elizabeth Fraser and Paul Buchanan...
by Peter GabrielPeter GabrielPeter Brian Gabriel is an English singer, musician, and songwriter who rose to fame as the lead vocalist and flautist of the progressive rock group Genesis. After leaving Genesis, Gabriel went on to a successful solo career...
(2000) (Soundtrack to the Millennium DomeMillennium DomeThe Millennium Dome, colloquially referred to simply as The Dome or even The O2 Arena, is the original name of a large dome-shaped building, originally used to house the Millennium Experience, a major exhibition celebrating the beginning of the third millennium...
Show) - "Freedom" on The Best of The Jammy's Volume One w/ The Mutaytor
- "The Long Road" (Duet with Cliff EberhardtCliff EberhardtCliff Eberhardt is an American folk singer-songwriter. He is a founding member of the Fast Folk Music Cooperative in New York City. Eberhardt joined Red House Records in 1997 and has recorded five albums for the label, the most recent in 2009, 500 Miles: The Blue Rock Sessions...
) on 1990 album The Long Road - "Gay Cavalier" (Duet with Pino DanielePino DanielePino Daniele is an Italian vocalist, composer, and musician, whose influences cover a wide number of genres, fusing pop, blues, jazz, Italian and Middle eastern music into his own unique brand of world music.-Studio albums:...
) on 1983 album Common Ground - "All That I am Now" on Assembly of DustAssembly of DustAssembly of Dust is a rock band formed in 2002 by former Strangefolk frontman Reid Genauer. Genauer formed the band while enrolled in the MBA program at Cornell University...
's 2009 Some Assembly Required album - Lifelines Live by Peter, Paul and MaryPeter, Paul and MaryPeter, Paul and Mary were an American folk-singing trio whose nearly 50-year career began with their rise to become a paradigm for 1960s folk music. The trio was composed of Peter Yarrow, Paul Stookey and Mary Travers...
(1996) - "El Lugar (The Place)" by Francesco Bruno (1995) where he appears as co-author and interpreter of the song
- Goodbye Country (Hello Nightclub)Goodbye Country (Hello Nightclub)Goodbye Country is the third studio album by English electronica duo Groove Armada. It was released on 11 September 2001 on the Jive Electro record label...
by Groove ArmadaGroove ArmadaGroove Armada is an English electronic music duo from London, England comprising Andy Cato and Tom Findlay. They are perhaps best known for their singles "I See You Baby" and "Superstylin'"...
(2001) - "Little by Little" and "Healing" - Lovebox (Groove Armada)Lovebox-Charts:-Chart procession and succession:-Recording personnel:* 3rd Productions - production * Beni - lyrics , music * D.O.I...
by Groove ArmadaGroove ArmadaGroove Armada is an English electronic music duo from London, England comprising Andy Cato and Tom Findlay. They are perhaps best known for their singles "I See You Baby" and "Superstylin'"...
(2002) - "Hands Of Time"
External links
- Richie Havens official website
- Interview with Richie Havens by music critic Michael Wiles of Bmore Live
- Interview with Richie Havens
- College Crier's Richie Havens interview
- 2005 Richie Havens interview on Modern Guitars magazine
- Long Island Music Hall of Fame
- 2008 Interview with Richie Havens
- Richie Havens fan website
- Video interview with Richie Havens by the Transcendent Nation Foundation on the question of "how to save the world"