Richie Havens who opened the gates of the music monster Woodstock with a song he co-wrote, "Handsome Johnny" definitely goes a long way on an artists resume'. Richie has never played for a crowd that large but he has been around the block.

Four years before the infamous Woodstock Richie had released his first album dating back to 1965. He played for over three hours at Woodstock due in part to having to fill in for at least four scheduled performers who were caught in traffic. By the time Woodstock rolled around however, he had five studio albums under his belt and the one three months prior to the big music festival was his most successful reaching #80 on the Top 100 album charts.

Prior to his death, Richie had released 21 studio albums, two live albums and six compilations added to his catalog. With that being said I managed to pick what i feel are his best five and would be good for anyone's collection.

Click on each album for a direct link or the tabs at the bottom of each page.

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