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 sta…

- Richie Havens

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.

- Richie Havens

I don't get sick. I can't afford to get sick.

- Richie Havens

Woodstock was not about sex, drugs, and rock and roll. It was about spirituality, about love, about sharing, about helping each other, living in peac…

- Richie Havens

I'm not in show business; I'm in the communications business. That's what it's about for me.

- 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 …

- Richie Havens

Woodstock was both a peaceful protest and a global celebration.

- 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 f…

- Richie Havens

Though it's frequently portrayed as this crazy, unbridled festival of rain-soaked, stoned hippies dancing in the mud, Woodstock was obviously much mo…

- Richie Havens