Top 10 Richie Havens Songs

Photo: Heinrich Klaffs [CC BY-SA 2.0

Richie Havens is often cited in the same sentence as the artist who opened Woodstock in 1969. Our Top 10 Richie Havens Songs will seek to define that Richie Havens’ career was so much more about a beautiful catalog of songs than just being the artist who opened Woodstock. Richie Haven grew up on the streets of New York City in the borough of Brooklyn. After spending some time as a poet, Richie Havens picked up a guitar and released his first album, Mixed Bag, on Verve Records in 1966.

Richie Havens would release four more albums up until 1969, when he opened the Woodstock Festival. As most classic rock fans know, the opening artists, Sweetwater, could not get to the concert grounds because of horrible traffic. (Imagine being those artists stuck in traffic, realizing you’re blowing your chance to open Woodstock.) Since Havens was already there, he was asked to play. His performance turned him into a household name.

Richie Havens capitalized on his newfound fame and worked hard to release new material and tour consistently throughout the 1970s. From 1970 to 1980, Richie Havens released eight albums. He slowed his pace throughout the 80s and 90s, releasing only five albums over the next twenty years. Richie Havens continued releasing a few new studio albums through the 2000s until his passing in 2013.

Our Top 10 Richie Havens songs list will attempt to showcase some of the most enjoyable Richie Havens songs the icon released during his recording career.

# 10 – Freedom

We open our top 10 Richie Havens songs list with perhaps Richie Havens’ most famous song. Anyone who’s ever watched the Woodstock documentaries with Richie Havens will have learned that Havens had run out of material while performing the opening set at Woodstock. The promoters at Woodstock wanted him to keep playing because no one was yet ready to go on. Richie Havens did what all great musicians can do on stage: improvise! However, Richie Havens did not just improvise a solo; he improvised an entirely new song that he would go on to call “Freedom.” It would become his signature song.

# 9 – Lady Madonna

The Beatles are one of the most covered bands in history. Everybody covers Beatles songs. Why not? It’s a catalog of some of the most well-written songs in rock and roll history. Some stay true to the original versions, while others take them far out. Richie Havens made them his own. Just listen to Richie Havens’ cover of “Lady Madonna,” and you will understand what we were talking about.

# 8 – It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue

While the Beatles were among the most covered bands in classic rock history, we can’t ignore the number of artists who also covered Bob Dylan’s songs. Bob Dylan was easily one of rock and roll’s most covered solo songwriters. Once again, Richie Havens takes Bob Dylan’s song “It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue” and makes it its own. This great version of Bob Dylan’s song was released on Richie Havens’ Stonehenge album.

# 7 – No Opportunity Necessary, No Experience Needed

The classic Richie Havens song “No Opportunity Necessary, No Experience Needed“ was released on Richie Havens’ second album entitled Something Else Again. The album was released in 1968. “No Opportunity Necessary, No Experience Needed” was the album’s opening track. Richie Havens wrote the song.

# 6 – What About Me

As we continue our top 10 Richie Havens songs list, we again turn to a song that opens with that classic Richie Havens acoustic guitar strumming. The opening groove of this one is undeniably Richie Havens at his best. The song “What About Me” was released on the multi-artist album Bread & Roses Festival Of Acoustic Music, Vol. 1, in 1970.

# 5 -Rocky Racoon

The Beatles’ original version of their song “Rocky Raccoon” always sounded too happy to be a song about revenge. Richie Havens’ version of this great classic song defined the darkness and pain of a man scorned so much more clearly. Richie Havens’ performance on this great version of “Rocky Raccoon” is brilliant. Richie Havens’ version was released in 1969.

# 4 – High Flying Bird

Richie Havens’s recording of the song “High Flying Bird” was released on his debut album, Mixed Bag, in 1966. The song “High Flying Bird” was the opening track on the record. “High Flying Bird” was written by Billy Edd Wheeler. “High Flying Bird” presented fans immediately with Richie Havens’s trademark soulful guitar strumming and heartwarming vocals. It was a sound that rock fans fell instantly in love with.

# 3 – Going Back To My Roots

Richie Havens’ “Going Back To My Roots” was a song by Lamont Herbert Dozier. The legendary songwriter and producer was one of the most influential producers of the Motown era, producing many songs for groups such as the Isley Brothers, the Supremes, and others. Dozier also composed many songs for artists in the 1970s and 80s. Richie Havens’ version of “Going Back To My Roots” blew us away. It’s a killer, soulful recording that is one of his best. The song was released by Havens in 1980 on the album Connections.

# 2 – I Can’t Make It Anymore

Richie Havens’ beautiful recording of the song “I Can’t Make It Anymore” was released on his debut album, Mixed Bag. The album was released in 1966. The song “I Can’t Make It Anymore” was written by Gordon Lightfoot. Richie Havens’ beautiful cover of the Gordon Lightfoot song blended jazz, folk, and soul to create an incredible sound that captivated those lucky enough to hear it when it first came out.

# 1 – Here Comes The Sun

We close out our Top 10 Richie Havens songs list with his beautiful cover of the George Harrison-penned Beatles’ song “Here Comes The Sun.” Not many Beatles covers are considered superior to the Beatles’ version, and we can debate whether this one is, but it is definitely one of the best covers we have ever heard.