Legendary Musician Richie Havens has passed away at 72.
Havens is best known for his intense, rhythmic guitar style (often in open tunings), soulful covers of pop and folk songs, and his opening performance at the 1969 Woodstock Festival. Havens recorded over 20 albums in his storied career, but his legendary set at Woodstock was what he was best known for. He was the festival’s first performer and was asked to keep the crowd entertained while the rest the acts were arriving. Nobody guessed that he’d be doing this for close to 3 hours.
The powerful guitar master toured and recorded for forty five years, until complications from kidney surgery left him unable to safely tour. In addition to touring across the world and putting out 21 studio albums, Havens had a heart for philanthropy. In 1991 he won the Peace Abbey Courage of Conscience Award.
Richie shared the stage with a myriad of popular recording artists throughout the years including The Allman Brothers and many others.
This article may be updated as more information becomes available.
