In the summer of 1969, I took a few days off from my job, as a kid to go to the Woodstock Festival in Bethel, NY. Sticking in my mind of so many many amazing things I experienced there was the opening act on Friday, August 16, 1969 of Richie Havens’ classic rendition of his song ‘Freedom.’ Guess how many times Havens had played it before that day. Answer? None. Well then, he debuted the song there, but how long prior to Woodstock would you guess Havens had composed it, rehearsed it, and worked it all out in preparation for this unveiling in front of an audience of more than 400,000? That answer? Not one second. He created it on the spot. While on stage. Just let that sink in; simply incredible.
Richie Havens was the first artist to appear at Woodstock, August 15, 1969 at 5:07PM. He was not scheduled to be, he was just the only musician there at the time. Unforeseen and unfathomable crowds on a pilgrimage to the concert site in Bethel, NY had completely shut down local roads for miles around. Bands had arrived into town, but were effectively marooned in nearby hotels, unable to reach the venue.¹ But then, as promoters made announcements that the show’s start would have to be delayed, Richie Havens, like a kaftan-garbed apparition, showed up. A Woodstock production manager greeted him:
Producer: “Richie, please go on now”
Havens: “But I’m not scheduled to go on until much later”
Producer: “Richie, we don’t have anybody else”
Havens ascended the stage, staring out at the endless sea of hippie humanity, having previously played almost exclusively to small folk club audiences in New York City’s Greenwich village. He had an acoustic guitar, and was accompanied by a bongo player (his bassist could not be found). Reports vary of just how long Havens played – he has recalled it to be nearly three hours, though unofficial concert timelines tracked it somewhere between 50 and 110 minutes. Regardless, he was up there, perched on a solitary wooden stool, for quite a while. Said Havens, “I was on stage for something like two or three hours…because nobody else was there to go on. I did about 4 or 5 encores, ‘til I had nothing else to sing.” And so, he ad-libbed. “And then ‘Freedom’ was created right there on the stage. That’s how ‘Freedom’ was created. On stage. It was the last thing I could think of to sing. I made it up.”
