Added: 4 years ago
From: flyagaric29
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  • he is god!

  • he is god!

    

  • Saw Woodstock special on Shotime about 20 years ago... What an honor to open such a huge event, and Richie Havens did a excellent job. Fell in love with his music right then with Motherless Child! His shoes are cool! What a concert!! Thanks for uploading this!!

  • Inspired me to play. Love ya Richie!

  • Went to Woodstock and when he played , I had never heard of him. This got my head right for the next three days.( along with some other treats)

  • I read that Hendrix screwed the pooch by insisting on closing the show by which time the weather sucked and people were heading home. True? Doesn't take away from his banner though. How many late night radio shows has that thing closed?

  • Every time I see this, I think 'holy crap what a performance'. That many people in the audience, he's leading off, and just blows them away. Give it for the filmmakers also..the footage is superb.

  • This song captured the '60s symbolically. Thank-you Mr Havens.

    Rick F.

  • Richie Havens. Best guitar player in rock history.

  • @whpriol1 TROLOLOLOL NO

  • Youthquake's in town, folks! For mud dancing the thing, motherless child!

  • Youthquake's in town, folks!

  • las drogas

  • Wonder what he flet like opening for the whole event...do not look up and see the SEA of people, your heart might stop...lol

  • @WELLBRAN haha I saw an interview where he said he tried to keep walking off stage after each song but they were like, "Keep playing we cant find our second act!" haha

  • @ledzeppelin174 Yeah, he did a great job too. Now, he will be remembered for it and he now has more fans too.

  • Big Boi at 5:48??

  • @DrFunk420 You got it right. Someone saying Denzel. Whaaa?

  • wicked long fingers and thumbs

  • lol @ people who disliked this this haha this is real music i respect new and old i love it all

  • Impressive shoe solo!!

  • Greeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat !!!!!!!!!!!!!

  • I was captivated by his performance. I watched it over and over...and over again.

  • hell ya!!!! need i say more

  • 15jremay: Perhaps you should take a trip out to Atlanta before you talk like a blundering fool. "Right now in Atlanta, Georgia U.S., there is WAY MORE talent than they have had at every Woodstock combined"--please quote me.

  • @DirtySouthTV Name some and in 40 yrs lets see if they are getting hits on Youtube.

  • Im one of the ones who really went to Woodstock and have gone back to the site three times since. The older I get , the more I appreciate what happened there in 69. ( a cell phone would have pissed me off back then)

  • @0neuponatime I'm 26 and I always sigh when my dad told me he didn't go. In his defense, traffic. Cell phones really suck the life out of us though.

  • @SexPanther235 Just so you know , traffic was bad and when we left the site we walked 10 miles to Monticello . your Dad wasnt kidding !!!

  • gran compositor exelente musico  la raja csm!!!

  • singing about freedom is one thing, making yourself free is quite another

  • @longfootbuddy His singing seems pretty free to me.

  • This was on VH1 Classic last night. Watched this until five in the morning. Nowadays artists are all about who's watching them and how they can get attention, but back then it was all about what they felt in their soul. I like to think that's why some of them close their eyes so much when they perform.

    Credit to Michael Lindsay-Hogg for realizing how important this festival was, and to all the kids and artists who made it so.

  • BIG fingers to make BIG music! :)

  • I agree eith the guy 35 minutes ago...FUCK EM

  • Damn, that's good.

  • Legendary performance and a truly incredible voice!

    I wonder if Peter Gabriel was in some way inspired by Richie Havens - they have a relatively similar timbre.

    Besides, Steve Hackett worked with Havens directly after he left Genesis.

  • 23 personas no saben lo que es la musica de verdad, a ellas les dedico lo siguiente: VAYANSE BIEN A LA CONCHA DE SU PUTA MADRE!

  • @JorgeMusic4

    whatever that guy said!! fuck them 23 people.

  • 23 people wouldn't know good music if it walked up and hit 'em in the nuts with a Guild......

  • I love this song its shit hot

  • Try to understand, Richie opened Woodstock singing Freedom and Hendrix closed the show playing the Star Spangled Banner. See the theme? It wasn't about who was better it was about Freedom. Something sadly missing today.

  • Why does everyone only compare Richie to Hendrix? Is it because they're both black? There were dozens of amazing performances at Woodstock and everybody can only seem to compare this guy to Hendrix! I don't understand.

  • Every idiot who know nothing think woodstock = hendrix

  • Amazing performance from one of the greats of all time

  • Complete OG, Jedi, Gypsy. COMPLETE !

  • I saw Ritchie in Lancaster MA two years ago. He would talk with anyone, tell a story and be a real down to earth man. His producer kept pulling him away, trying to get him on stage. He would rather shoot the sht. with his fans! Real stand up guy. Outstanding performer 40 yrs later!

  • marvelous ^^

  • This is just great

  • the first song handsome johnny wasnt improvised the second one 'freedom' was improvised

  • I've got a telephone in my futon!

  • Damn that guy could play the guitar!

  • Hendrix, Page, Clapton, Slash, & Van Halen are considered to be the greatest rock guitarists of all time, but Richie Havens is the greatest folk guitarist of all time.

  • haha, socks in sandals.... but he sings wonderfully

  • 5.48 Denzel 

  • 5.48 Denzel

  • like the song. And the shoes ofcourse

  • when does he start singing "hands of time", just kidding.

  • how that can happen, 23 persons dislike this FUCK YOU ! i never heard something good like this before !

  • Have to the a man playing from his heart must see

  • this guys da man. He opened up Woodstock.

  • This guys a genius.... jimi was a wizard..

  • What a shit-hot voice that bloke had, and he was dressed in the way you'd expect someone to have dressed in Jesus's time. I like it! :)

  • his thumb looks like a fucking claw

  • if only we could of been around in this time i would be a hippie flowing through the woodstock

  • Stunning! I keep watching it and still it blows me away!!! This guy has a rare passion and all respect - BUT - respect where respect is due and - "Fuck Hendrix"- -where is that coming from? - you can't compare, so please don't fuck any of em, just listen 'cos they let go of all the shit we are still struggling to let go of. Don't fuck any of them, just listen and love!!!

  • Boy is he FEELING his music.... Man that must've been awsome being in that crowd listening to this live.

  • Now you know why artist close their eyes. To connect to their soul and become one with the moment.

  • i wish i had the chance to go to such a fest as Woodstock:(

  • this is passion that no artist has today

  • @15jremay The sixties and seventies don't have a monopoly on passion. There are plenty of artists today that have passion.

  • @15jremay - you have to think about the times man. Think about it. Do you think you could get this many people together to protest anything in America? Ain't going to happen. I'm 47. I was born just too late. I should have grown up in this era

  • @lawsonfam i disagree. you were born at exactly the right time. and i, for one, am glad you are here.

    large scale protests still happen today. people still manage to find their voices and be heard when it is important.

    from the beginning of man's ascent to now, human beings have changed very little. we are still dependent upon eachother for survival. "no man is an island",,,except maybe richie havens,,,lol. but i mean that in a positive and complimentary way.

  • @hidendiamond I just dont see the large scale protests in this country. Tea party protests is all I see. Younger generation got their noses buried in there iphones.I would call whats going on this country "important" .With the technology today , there is less interaction, face to face commuication. I dont even know of one recent "protest song"

  • holy fuck. My mouth is dropped. What song is this?

  • Amazing!

  • You can have twitter and facebook. Woodstock was REAL SOCIAL NETWORKING. Richie is tweeting me now.

  • Richie needs to cut his nails.

  • i love this guy!!! god i wish i could live in the 70's thad be my one wish

  • I'm 17 and i didn't understand why do you try to said which one is the best (Hendrix or Havens)? They're both really good and why can you just to enjoy their music?

    (sorry for my english)

  • Look at the guy playing himself offstage. How f'ing cool is that. Great songs and great performance. Thanks you Mr. Havens.

  • I DRINK A LOT CAUSE I CANT SMOKE (MARY JANE), ITS ILEGAL. BUT I SIMPLY LISTEN RICHIE AND I GO TO HAVEN... THANKS RICHIE!

  • hendrix played for 20 thousand on monday morning when everyone left, u want the classic hendrix check out monterey pop 67 , fully agreed richie havens is woodstock

  • Inolvidable... maravillosa!!!

  • Fuck who ever talks shit about hendrix .. Hendrix .. Richie Are both the shit ..

  • @rubiolacassandrina77 Damn, I wrote that person a reply too then read yours

    <3

  • @rubiolacassandrina77

    They sure are....They sure are !

  • I keep watching this and never tire of it!- - -unique and beyond compare and so were so many greats from this era - -they are all good and have left us one hell of a legacy - -these guys bled from their hearts to wake us up to the reality of this era- - -Havens, Hendrixs, Santana, Crosby Stills Nash and Young, Grace Slick- - the list goes on- - Don't compare or judge just accept yesterdays geniuses- - -long live rock and roll!

  • I watch this when I need to fucking feel something.

  • @sourskittles4295 yes it was.

  • What song is this?

  • it's almost like he's in trance, great music!!!

  • I am not the first baby boomer to note that Woodstock began and ended and was well punctuation by black men. Sorry sisters but we were kind of alone at that time in some ways. Your struggle was important but different.

  • all good but from 5.00 until end simply amazing.... replay some times:)

  • if i had one wish to make it come true ill choose going back to 1969 and go to woodstock

  • Richie Havens rocks! No one compares to him!

  • tiene buen registro el negro

  • This will always be the most intense, soulful, moving performance I'll ever see. It gives me chills every time. I sure wish I could have lived in those days when music really meant something. Now we're stuck with rap, cheesy country, and cheesy teen pop. Long live Richie!

  • @TheGovernorJason-----  If you think music doesn't mean anything today maybe you're just not listening to the right stuff.......

  • Can you send me the whole show by e-mail?? we could do a trade...

  • Woodstock 1969 come back!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  • Dude, Richie performed a 3 hour set, got called back for several encores, then when he ran out of songs, IMPROVISED this.

    Fuck Hendrix, this is woodstock right here

  • @julia01575 aww..dont say that about jimi lol...theyre both amazing

  • @julia01575 No one could have said it better. I agree 100% SO much passion.

  • @julia01575 wait, but the info says that this was the opening for woodstock

  • @sourskittles4295 he was the opening act and freedom opened woodstock

  • @julia01575 and freedom was definitely not an improvised song

  • @sourskittles4295 he played every song he knew, then he just mashed together little bits of folk songs

  • @julia01575 what?! Havens in good and i love him, but hendrix is legend. His star spangled banner performance was the biggest part of all of woodstock, maybe even the biggest 10 minutes of 1969

  • @julia01575 Well thats probably you wern't born in that time period. A try Woodstock '69 goer love all, and doesn't choose sides. Why not have Jimi and Richie?

  • @julia01575 fuck you hendrix is good

  • @julia01575 also havens was "The King of Freedom" for woodstock

  • @julia01575 woodstock 69, every performance was legendary and every person/band that played made history, so if you say fuck hendrix your basically taking what you said about richie and smacking yourself in the face. Show some respect to the ones who made history those 3 days before you speak about it and sounding like a total asshole.

  • @Metallilicious yeah! what she said

  • @julia01575 why do you have your point with such a stupid comment? Hendrix is a fantastic musician and Havens has nothing to do with that fact.

  • @julia01575

    I don't think it's necessary to fuck Hendrix in order to appreciate what a great performace this is!

  • @J101191514  I see what you did there.

  • @julia01575 fuck hendrix?! he was big talent,why do u tell these things about him?

  • @julia01575 why can't they BOTH be awesome? richie havens was awesome, jimi hendrix was awesome.

  • @julia01575 Hendrix waited up all night with the flu and didn't sleep because he thought he was going on at night but the rain prevented him from going on until morning. He put on a happy face and played one of the most amazing sets a band has ever performed despite the fact that most of the crowd had gone home. Hendrix was scheduled last to try to anchor the festival. Although guitar strumming is neat, it's not something that draws people to stay at a festival. Hence the woodstock scheduling.

  • @julia01575 i aggree ´he is fucking good but dont say fuck hendrix okay they are both different and they are both fucking good.

  • @julia01575 y cant they both be awesome

  • @julia01575 not trying to be a dick but the other act that was supposed to play wasn't there yet and they were getting him to stall and go back up there over and over.

  • @julia01575 well my brother, i wouldnt say "fuck hendrix, because his rendition of national anthem was a prime example of what patriatisim (spelling?) should be, but i agree this was THE BEST performance of woodstock without a doubt!! peace!!

  • @julia01575

    Bullshit. This is not a impromptu. It's a song called Handsome Johnny. His set lasted for 2 hours and this wasn't the last song.

  • @Zo7o

    He's talking about Motherless Child becoming "Freedom", numbnuts.

  • @Deckeon74

    "when he ran out of songs, IMPROVISED this." <-----------

  • @julia01575 WHAT THE FUCK? Really?

  • @julia01575 This isn't improvised. Jimi's improvisation during Woodstock is amazing however. Both are incredibly talented but I prefer Hendrix. It's a matter of opinion. Both deserve their place in music history. To say fuck Hendrix shows a lot of disrespect to one of the greatest musicians to have ever walked this earth.

  • @julia01575 That is the worst comment ive ever seen. Richie was increible, but there´s never gonna be another musician like hendrix. It dont matter if it were at woodstock or at the actual mtv music awards

  • @julia01575 thats pretty incorrect actually, but this is one hell of a highlight from Woodstock. He only had 35 minutes worth of material and was called back six times and his final song Freedom/Motherless Child was a combination of those two songs in a manner he had never performed before, putting his set time just over an hour. And Hendrix playing Woodstock is one of the greatest guitar performances ever recorded, so...

  • @julia01575 How can you say fuck to the greatest virtuoso ever to have played a guitar?

  • @julia01575 hi hun - its great yes - hendrix too in a different way i feel - this song was not improvised tho - its motherless child that was improvised at the end of several encores which became the song 'freedom' later - richie is pure gold whatever he sings

  • from 8:09 when they all start standing up is THE defining moment of woodstock, because thats the moment that every soul on that field connected, and that soul connection lasted throughout the entire festival! the only place on earth i can feel that is nlqp in parkmen ohio, if there are any youtubers out there who know about nlqp, i'd love to hear from you! ritchie havens definatley sent out a poaitive vibe to start this awesome festival peace!

  • BRUTAL

  • Wasn't just about Hendrix was it?

  • 5:00 thats where it really starts getting good

  • RIP ;0 MUHAHAHA its the evil green snake n her big sista black vipa fault xx

  • holy shit thats a big ass thumb

  • This is one of the most amazing live performances ever. FREEDOM!

  • all hail ritchie!! peace brothers and sisters!!

  • Wow what a show... woulda done anything to be there

  • i would give my right arm my right leg and all my teeth like ritchie to have been there hahaha

  • would give my right arm to have been there!!!!!

  • Happy B-day Richie!!!!

  • Happy Birthday!

  • The other guy playing guitar is obviously bad ass as well... what a cool experience it must have been to see that live.

  • Absolutely amazing!

  • "Sometimes(always) I feel like a motherless child,a long long way from my home" PS: Happy 41st anniversary to my Mom, 41 yrs w/my stepdad,wedded bliss!

  • 5:40.. Andre 3000, and then Big Boi. 70s doppelgangers

  • @mrolivers100 I agree with you completely, this music is nothing like the music of our generation now. This music had a purpose and message todays music for the most part is full of garbage and meaningless lyrics and rarely anybody puts as much soul as they did back then. Dave Matthews and a few others come close but I am really concerned with the way music is headed.

  • @vtfootball875 what are you talking about? there is a plethora of great bands and artists around today, you just have to dig a little to find them!!!!

  • @billyboneshisfancy I did not say there were not any good bands today I just said they are harder to come by. With all the Lady Gagas and Nicklebacks in our generation people often forget what real music is like. I was also commenting on the fact that most musicians back then had a clear and meaningful message to their songs and today the mainstream music does not have that.

  • @vtfootball875 haha yeah i agree the only message mainstream seems to have revolves around sex and money, but i guess that stuff is easy to sell hence why its mainstream. i think every era is the same, some artists have a powerful message others not so much, lets not forget this was performed the same year that 'sugar sugar' was released.

  • If you don't like this then well i don't really know why you typed it in? learn good music maybe?? music with feeling, soul, purpose, and beauty??

  • Being a musician is work, not everybody wants to wear a suit and tie while working in a cubicle all day

  • I DO

    i do not think Mr. Havens ever worked one day in his life

    i

  • wow...

  • just sounds like hes randomly strumming the same 2 chords to me.

  • @jaronsblacktreensabo

    Sometimes simplicity makes a bigger impact. 

  • @jaronsblacktreensabo thats the beauty of music...it can be anything

  • As a kid I dreamt to have as long as Havens' fingers to play guitar. For a while even tried to stretch them...

  • I love how he puts his thumb over the top!!!!!

  • Like? Hell I love this video.

  • my childhood

  • @TheBuzzman31 You big ass phonie you weren't even alive in 69 fake ass

  • this brother is one of the most underestemated guitar players ive ever heard! absolutely amazing sense of rythem!

  • to bring back a spirit like this some kind of adversary would have to be in the eyes of our the generations today for the 1st time in a righteous way... like "Woodstock "69""

  • @jasonscottable ah yes. but our adversary is the same as last generations. people like richie havens, hendrix, and others had some substance to them. mainstream today is just full of brain damaging crap for the most part. thats not a coincidence. the people in charge remember what the 60's counter culture did in america. they make sure the spirit is sucked out of us. they learn how to do this better and better as time goes on. its a shame we cant see through the mist

  • @NANDO218 cant disagree... but remember, one righteous spirit is better than a multitude of turmoiled spirits, yours is stronger than theirs! its comeing time

  • @jasonscottable lets hope the time comes soon then my friend

  • 5:00 and further ... damn yea ... wohoooo .. great stuff! freedom ... nwo-grip good bye ... we are the free people .. no sheeple .. not your livestock .. no pawns to be send out to your generated places of war .. those are not our wars ... 9 11 was an inside job ..

  • I was suspended from school for a week for bunking off to go and watch Woodstock the movie back in 70. It was well worth it.

  • hey, theres not a better spirit of muse than what woodstock 69 produced... but does anybody know where or how i could get a hold of a video or documentation of the full "69" from the very 1st performance to the very last?