Arbor Day will now be always tinged with sadness, as it marked the passing of Woodstock opener and folk artist, Richie Havens, who died in his Jersey City home on April 22, at the age of 72. Yet, somehow for him to pass on, on what has become Earth Day, a celebration of peace and the environment, says much about the timing of this artistic figure. He knew when to go!!!!!!!!!!!!!
When I heard he died,, girls, my thoughts went back to that day when, at 14, I dragged my Roman Catholic, WWII vet, right wing, Republican, father, into the RKO International 70 at the foot of Albany Street in New Brunswick, to see the movie documentary "Woodstock," because I was too young to get in! I credit my father with doing this, though I think he slept through some of it, but not when Country Joe did the "Fish Cheer," (remember, darlings????????) which I am sure set his teeth on edge.
But when Richie Havens came on to sing "Freedom," it was something I never forgot. It is what I heard in my head, first reading about his death, and, thanks to the miracle of YouTube, I was able to relive that moment, tears trickling down my cheeks.
I don't know if Havens is the first Woodstock performer to die, but I can tell you it is another nail in the coffin of the Baby Boomer Generation!!!!!!!!!!! As these great talents go, so does craftsmanship and artistry, but who the hell follows them in their wake? Nobody, I am telling you!!!!!!!!!!!
Get out your "Woodstock" CD, DVD, or You Tube excerpt, and thank God the artistry has been captured for all time. Havens and his like will live on here, and in our memories. And perhaps future generations will come to appreciate the cultural richness of a generation that children of the Boomers, in true generational fashion, traditionally eschew!!!!!!!!!!!
Freedom, darlings!!!!!!!!!!!! FREEDOM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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