21+ Richie Havens Quotes On Happiness, Stage And Turning Away

Richie Havens was an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. He was known for his intense and rhythmic guitar style, soulful covers of pop and folk songs, and his opening performance at the 1969 Woodstock Festival. He released over 25 albums in his lifetime and was inducted into the Long Island Music Hall of Fame in 2006. Following is our collection on famous quotes by Richie Havens on love, life, happiness.

Top 10 Richie Havens Quotes

1. Woodstock was not about sex, drugs, and rock and roll. It was about spirituality, about love, about sharing, about helping each other, living in peace and harmony.
2. The direction for my music is heaven, of course. We gear all things to the realm of heaven - which is the mind, the organized mind.
3. Woodstock was both a peaceful protest and a global celebration.
4. I believe I inherited my sense of music from my father. My father was an ear piano player; he could just hear something and play it.
5. Live Aid was a baby Woodstock, a child of Woodstock, which I call Globalstock.
6. I don't get sick. I can't afford to get sick.
7. I started out by myself, but it eventually turned into a trio by the mid-'60s - a conga drum and another guitarist. And that's been mostly what I've worked with most of the time.
8. I eat once a day if I remember, and I try never to go to sleep.
9. My right wrist is connected to the left foot. You know, if the left foot doesn't work, the right wrist doesn't work, and that's really the truth.
10. My mother's family came from the British West Indies. And my father's family came from, well, my father's father came from the Montana/South Dakota area. They were Blackfoot Indian.

Richie Havens Famous Quotes And Sayings

Though it's frequently portrayed as this crazy, unbridled festival of rain-soaked, stoned hippies dancing in the mud, Woodstock was obviously much more than that - or we wouldn't still be talking about it in 2009. People of all ages and colors came together in the fields of Max Yasgur's farm. — Richie Havens

Woodstock happened in August 1969, long before the Internet and mobile phones made it possible to communicate instantly with anyone, anywhere. It was a time when we werent able to witness world events or the horrors of war live on 24-hour news channels. — Richie Havens

Everything I want to do, and to accomplish, is on the other side of the universe. That's peace of mind, energy, freedom. And I'm making myself ready to go, joyfully and willingly. I think I'm ready to be everybody's friend, and to do anything for anybody. It's heavy. — Richie Havens

I believe we have a double in every country. There's something about that that is probably a commonness that we don't make note of. That maybe there's only a cast for so many faces, and we live everywhere. — Richie Havens

I came up in Brooklyn singing doo-wop music from the time I was 13 to the time I was 20. That music served a purpose of keeping a lot of people out of trouble, and also it was a passport from one neighborhood to another. — Richie Havens

I must have played every college and university at least three times, and that goes for most of the clubs. I'd be on the road six days a week, go home and change bags, and then be gone for another six days. — Richie Havens

I opened the Woodstock Festival even though I was supposed to be fifth. I said, 'What am I doing here? No, no, not me, not first!' I had to go on stage because there was no one else to go on first - the concert was already two-and-a-half hours late. — Richie Havens

I saw the Village as a place you could escape to, to express yourself. When I first went there, I wrote and performed poetry. Then I drew portraits for a couple of years. It took a while before I thought about picking up a guitar. — Richie Havens

When I write a song today, basically it goes on the stage tomorrow. That's the way it works. You cannont interrupt your consciousness; it all comes from the subconscious, it can happen anywhere. It could be in a telephone booth. — Richie Havens

I remember the first time I was booked into a jazz club. I was scared to death. I'm not a jazz artist. So I got to the club and spotted this big poster saying, 'Richie Havens, folk jazz artist.' Then I'd go to a rock club and I'm billed as a 'folk rock performer' and in the blues clubs I'd be a 'folk blues entertainer.' — Richie Havens

Richie is the only one of my nine who's really moved away. I can't get rid of most of them. — Richie Havens

Life Lessons by Richie Havens

1. Richie Havens' work emphasizes the importance of staying true to yourself and your beliefs, no matter what the cost. He was an advocate for peace and justice and used his music to spread his message of love and acceptance.
2. Richie Havens' work also highlights the power of music to bring people together and create meaningful connections. He was able to bring people of all backgrounds together through his music, and he used this platform to promote social change.
3. Lastly, Richie Havens' work demonstrates the importance of perseverance and resilience. Despite facing many challenges throughout his career, he never gave up on his dreams and continued to make music until his death.