He became a cultural icon in 1969 when he was the first artist to perform at the Woodstock festival, playing for nearly three hours because later acts failed to turn up.

Havens' first album was released in 1965 and he broke through with his third release, Mixed Bag, in 1967. He was noted for his heavy rhythmic style of playing guitar. Nobody Left To Crown, his last record, came out in 2008.