Richie Havens Recounts His Legendary Woodstock Performance on Folk Classics

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Richie Havens performing during the Woodstock festival on August 15, 1969.
Derek Redmond, Paul Campbell

In honor of the 50th anniversary of the Woodstock festival, Steve Aaronson digs into the Folk Classics archives for an interview with celebrated singer-songwriter Richie Havens, recorded in 2009 before Havens' performance in Reading, PA.

Havens famously performed the opening set during the Woodstock festival in 1969. Steve Aaronson spoke to Havens by phone as he was preparing for his performance at Reading Area Community College's Miller Center for the Arts on November 21, 2009. Havens died of a heart attack on April 23, 2013.

(Original air-date: 2009; re-broadcast air-date: 7/29/2019)

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