{"id":16954,"date":"2013-04-26T18:14:55","date_gmt":"2013-04-26T22:14:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.planetchocko.com\/?p=16954"},"modified":"2013-04-26T18:31:39","modified_gmt":"2013-04-26T22:31:39","slug":"richie-havens","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.planetchocko.com\/?p=16954","title":{"rendered":"Richie Havens"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\n(Richie Havens @ the Barre Opera House in Vermont\/2009 -photo by mr c<\/strong>)<\/p>\n

I just wanted to throw some mentions to a folk musician that had passed away earlier in the week who created plenty of great music that healed the soul – the one and only – Richie Havens. Havens also reinterpreted pop & folk songs that often sound better than the original in my opinion. He had an amazing raggamuffin, soulful voice and a frenetic way of strumming the guitar with distinctive soulful rhythms that came to life with each action! He even had an unusual way of using his thumb to play the chords. We\u2019ve seen Richie play live a handful of times at venues including The Bottom Line, The Williams Center in Rutherford, Governor’s Island, Madison Square Garden at Pete Seeger’s birthday celebration, outdoor concerts in Paramus, NJ and Battery Park as well at the Barre Opera House in Vermont amongst other outdoor folk festivals. Richie\u2019s music was always there to comfort me during tough times like when my father & sister passed away or just when I needed an extra lift of inspiration to carry on. Richie sported a dashiki and a gentle soul that manifested through his voice and guitar play. He also possessed a mean ass jump kick that he would always include in his performances to close out his set onstage! And that\u2019s the way I want to remember this man! Carry on my brother and show us the path to this heavenly glory with your music!<\/p>\n

(Richie performing “You are so Beautiful” at the Barre Opera House – vid by mr c)
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