Richie Havens, who brought an earthy soulfulness to the folk scene of the Sixties and was the first act to hit the stage at Woodstock, died of a heart attack on Monday, April 22. He was 72 and was living in Jersey City, New Jersey. He released his first album, “A Richie Havens Record,” in 1965, and found his greatest success in 1971 with “Alarm Clock,” which reached No. More recently, Havens collaborated with the electronic duo Groove Armada on the song “Hands of Time,” which appeared on the soundtrack to “Collateral,” starring Tom Cruise and Jamie Foxx. Havens’ family said in a statement that a public memorial will be held at a later date.
– Richie Havens, the folk singer who opened the 1969 Woodstock festival, died today from a sudden heart attack at home in New Jersey, Rolling Stone reports. He was 72. The Brooklyn-born musician is best known for the three-hour, partially improvised Woodstock set that brought him to prominence (and helped pad out the show until other artists arrived). He released 21 studio albums in his career. Havens also worked as an actor—appearing in the 1972 stage version of The Who's Tommy and 2007 Bob Dylan biopic I'm Not There, the Wall Street Journal reports.