Richie Havens

Richie Havens was an American singer, songwriter and guitarist who blended folk, soul and rhythm and blues. He grew up in Brooklyn and, at 20, left for Greenwich Village, where he performed poetry and folk music before his solo shows reached beyond the local clubs. After he signed with Albert Grossman and the Verve label, he put out Mixed Bag in 1966. His 1968 album Something Else Again was his first to appear on the Billboard charts. Havens opened the 1969 Woodstock festival, a performance that turned him into a star, and the Woodstock movie helped him find a worldwide audience. He also acted, taking roles in the 1972 stage version of Tommy, Catch My Soul (1974), Greased Lightning (1977) and Hearts of Fire (1987), sang television jingles, provided the voice of the GeoSafari toys, and played Old Man Arvin in I'm Not There (2007). In 2006 he became a member of the Long Island Music Hall of Fame.