Whenever Richie Havens played in New Orleans, it seemed that a piece of the Woodstock heritage had come to town. True, Havens– who died today (Monday) at age 72–had a career that spanned 50 years, and found him recording everything from traditional spirituals to Pink Floyd songs. But his most iconic moment was the performance of “Freedom” as captured in the Woodstock movie– a performance that set the spiritual tone for the film, for the festival and maybe even for the whole damn era.

Havens was a hippie in the best sense, a performer who always felt that delivering enlightenment was part of his business. Which is why there are no blatant sellout moves in his catalogue, even when he cut a bunch of adult-contemporary ballads and used drum machines on his records in the ’80s. He was thoughtful about which tunes he recorded; if there was a decent protest song around– whether Bob Dylan, Kris Kristofferson or Sting wrote it– he’d probably cover it. And the majesty of his voice made even apolitical songs sound topical; his version of George Harrison’s “Here Comes the Sun” (a top-40 hit in 1971) had a gravity that was missing in the Beatles’ original.

Richie Havens with New Orleans' own re-patriot, Charlie Gabriel at Preservation Hall

He also has a long connection with New Orleans; his 2007 set at the Blues Tent at Jazz Fest was one of the hidden gems that year. He was also part of the Preservation Hall tribute album Preservation in 2010; in an OffBeat interview at the time, the 78-year-old clarinetist Charlie Gabriel remembered Havens as “a very soulful individual.”

Here’s a performance you may not have heard, with Havens as guest singer for the English art-rock guitarist Steve Hackett. The guitarist thought that Havens’ voice conveyed a particular nobility that he wanted for this song; few voices could have done it more justice.