Richie Havens graced the world with his music and his beautiful soul.
He was what all those ’60s wannabes wanted to be, the genuine article, a man of enormous integrity in his music and his life.
We will not see his like again and we are much the poorer for it.
I’ve listened to Richie for more than 50 years, in concerts and folk clubs, in a crowd of thousands or a handful and it was all the same to him.
There are damn few men I love, but he’s one.
Thank you, Richie
Now if you’ll pardon me, I need to go cry in the corner.
Among the many tributes online, this one is very special, from his daughter.
More tributes from Richie’s daughter.
Goin’ Back To My Roots
Zippin’ up my boots, goin’ back to my roots
To the place of my birth, back down to earth
Not talkin’ ’bout the roots in the land
I’m talkin’ ’bout the roots in the man
Zippin’ up my boots, goin’ back to my roots
I’m homeward bound, got my head turned around
Goin’ back to find myself
I can’t live with nobody else
Who’s living in the world and not be seen
Goin’ back, goin’ back right there an’ be me
Not talkin’ for riches I’ve had all the time
Finding out happiness is just a state of mind
Just a state of mind
Zippin’ up my boots, goin’ back to my roots
To the place of my birth, back down to earth, yes
Not talkin’ ’bout the roots in the land
I’m talkin’ ’bout the roots in the man, yes
Zippin’ up my boots, getting back to the roots
I’m homeward bound, got my head turned around
Richie Havens was great. His voice was rough yet gentle – soothing yet provocative – thoughtful yet basic. He was a unique talent. I will miss him, as will millions of others.
Guitars everywhere breathe a sigh of relief that the beatings have paused.
I’ve actually heard him a cappella, but yes, his guitar style is ‘different’.
How ‘driving’ it was depends on the song, certainly no more so than Tim Hardin.
He could be very gentle when appropriate.
He’d been asked to teach, but lacked the time, so his website has some guidance.
Click ‘How I Play’.
Front row or death row: Chrissy Amphlett was the first and the best
Chrissy Amphlett blasted the door open for women who didn’t want to be demure. Her legacy in Australian rock will live on long after her death from cancer yesterday, writes journalist (and fan) Andrew Stafford.
Crikey, By Andrew Stafford, April 23
Chrissy Amphlett was a beautiful woman who was unafraid to be ugly. That was what I loved most about her; it was what made her such a riveting performer, as well as a genuinely intriguing personality. Fully aware of her s-xual power, she nevertheless confronted her audience with songs that spoke frankly of love as a co-dependent act of submission, and occasionally of subjugation — even, sometimes, of humiliation.
But most of all, desperation. The Divinyls’ first album was named Desperate. Pleasure and Pain — written not by Amphlett or her co-pilot, Mark McEntee, but by proven hit-makers Holly Knight and Mike Chapman — was the perfect vehicle for her: it was the tension between the vulnerability of the song and the unearthly presence of those uniquely phrased vocals that made Amphlett great.
More, News.com.au: Chrissy Amphlett dies at 53 after losing breast cancer battle
I grew up with the music of the ’40s, jazz, swing and pop, along with a lot of the popular songs from the Civil War onward, but it wasn’t until the folk music scene hit that I really ‘came of age’ musically.
Greenwich Village in the ’60s was happening well before Woodstock and I spent most every evening in one folk club or another, listening to the Who’s Who of Folk – Richie Havens, Tim Hardin, Fred Neil, Pete Seeger, Lovin’ Spoonful, Paul Butterfield, Joan Baez, The Highwaymen, Odetta, Dino Valente, Phil Ochs, Tom Paxton, Peter Paul & Mary, Clancy Brothers, Buffy Sainte Marie…..too many to remember.
Since moving upstate, I am lucky to live near the Towne Crier Cafe, so I can continue my devotion to the genre.
I loved a lot of the music and musicians, but three were special:
Fred Neil 1936-2001
Richie Havens 1941-2013
Pete Seeger 1919-
Damn, I feel old.
And the rare talent with bliss and peace in his heart –
Havens could take the meanness out of a Dylan lyric and still bring out the meaning.
(live)
(A YouTube upload of the original record is at
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PMlQ8U5bXbw)