Richie Havens Dies at Age 72
http://www.jambase.com/Articles/118431/Richie-Havens-Dies-at-Age-72We're sad to report that folk legend Richie Havens has passed away today at the age of 72. The Brooklyn-bred singer/guitarist was perhaps best known for opening the legendary Woodstock Festival with a near three-hour performance which set the tone for the rest of the event.
Havens toured and recorded for decades until complications from kidney surgery left him unable to tour after 45 years in 2012. In addition to putting out 21 studio albums and touring the world numerous times, Havens also devoted much of his time to charity. In 1991 he won the Peace Abbey Courage of Conscience Award.
Here's the announcement from Havens' longtime representatives, The Roots Agency:
RICHIE HAVENS was gifted with one of the most recognizable voices in popular music. His fiery, poignant, soulful singing style has remained unique and ageless since his historic appearance at Woodstock in 1969. For four decades, Havens used his music to convey passionate messages of brotherhood and personal freedom. Billboard Magazine writes, “This acoustic soul giant truly seems to be getting more inspiring and graceful with age.” From Woodstock to The Isle of Wight to Glastonbury to the Fillmore Auditorium to Royal Albert Hall to Carnegie Hall, Richie played the most legendary music festivals that ever were, and most of the world’s greatest concert venues. But even when performing in a Greenwich Village coffeehouse or a small club or regional theater, he was eternally grateful that people in any number turned up each time to hear him sing. More than anything, he feels incredibly blessed to have met so many of you along the way.
= new reply since forum marked as read
Was just going to look for that.
What power and presence. One man and one guitar have never been more powerful in performance; some equal yes, but Havens spilled his soul as much as any one person can.
ETA: 
"What power and presence. One man and one guitar have never been more powerful in performance; some equal yes, but Havens spilled his soul as much as any one person can"
You said what I tried to, but couldn't.
RIP. 
...of which he sung nigh onto a half century. He was a genre unto himself. His pure deep voice combined with his 12 string acoustic guitar and perfectly timed rhythm brought us some of the most beautiful music known to man. Thank you, Richie Havens,
for making my heart pound and the hair on my arms stand straight up all these years.
I hear it, and I'm instantly transported back to 1968 and my little hippie pad across from the University of Houston my senior year where we had such good and high times. We Day-Glo painted the walls with psychedelia and radical slogans, smoked pot, ate peyote, dropped acid. It was great. When I moved out, my landlady kept my deposit and charged me another $100 for paint to cover the "art." 
Good times.
