Richie Havens Dies at 72, Woodstock Singer Suffers Heart Attack
Richie Havens, the first performer to take the stage at Woodstock in 1969, died Monday at the age of 72 from a heart attack.
Like many who performed at the three-day festival, Woodstock became a staple of Havens career. According to the Associated Press, the folk artist was slated to play fifth but wound up opening the show instead. While waiting on the arrival of bands caught up in travel delays, Havens played a three-hour set.
According to the Los Angeles Times, Havens was described by reporter Pete Johnson as a performer who "sings in a lispy rasping voice which by all odds should be unappealing and flails the strings of his guitar with an energy which belies sensitivity, but the performance and the man remain inarguably beautiful."
Havens' most recognized contribution to music was "Freedom/Motherless Child," as heard at Woodstock. However, the Brooklyn born musician went on to create more then 25 albums, founded the record label Stormy forest, and performed at Bill Clinton's 1993 presidential inauguration, according to EW.
One of the artist's last performances was at the 2009 40th anniversary of Woodstock. In 2010 he underwent kidney surgery that sidelined him from the world of live performance reports the Los Angeles Times.
The Associated Press reports that the singer is survived by his four daughters and several grandchildren.
