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Havens first rose to fame 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. His performance received continuous ovations and 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. Havens followed up this success with the 1971 release of '' Alarm Clock '', which featured a popular rendition of George Harrison 's " Here Comes The Sun ". Havens continued to tour and release albums through the 1970s to the present. He later played at the 1993 inauguration of President Bill Clinton . Havens rarely writes his own songs, but often applies his distinctive style to the works of others, notably Dylan and The Beatles . He has also appeared on solo albums by former Genesis members Steve Hackett and Peter Gabriel . Havens is noted for his rhythmic skill; some of his recordings feature a drum sound which is actually his foot tapping on the floor. His guitar playing makes extensive use of Open Tuning s and an unconventional thumb-fretting style. John Lennon said about Richie Havens during an interview for Rolling Stone in 1971: "He plays a pretty funky guitar." Richie Havens has maintained his status as a folk icon, as he continues a busy schedule touring the globe with fiery performances. He also featured a song of Groove Armada called ''Hands of time'', that was used in the film Collateral , starring Tom Cruise and Jamie Foxx . His autobiography, ''They Can't Hide Us Anymore,'' was published in 2000. DISCOGRAPHY
GUEST APPEARANCES
EXTERNAL LINK Richie Havens Official Website |
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