It was a very good year By Richie Havens
http://www.divshare.com/download/22788902-23a
Here’s an alternate link on the off chance the above one gets taken down…
http://www.sendspace.com/file/s9ngub
I gotta admit something. I’ve pretty much ignored the work of Richie Havens my entire life entirely due to mistaking him for someone else. Up until last week, I’m ashamed to say that I always got him and Richie Valens (of La bamba fame) mixed up and just kinda assume he was on some early rock and roll, Big Bopper type bullshit that I had no interest in. Well…fuck me. I was wrong.
I saw “Django Unchained” last week and , in it, there was an amazing cover of “Motherless child”. I had no clue who made it but , lo and behold, it was Richie Havens. Ever since finding that out, I’ve been on a search to find that song. That search has come up empty (anyone out there with an mp3 would be my best friend if they threw a download link in the comments section) but the bright side of it all is that it’s made me delve a little into Mr. Havens Catalogue. Basically, I’ve been sitting and listening to snippets of him on the I-Tunes store all day cause, you know, that’s how you listen to music nowadays when you’re too lazy to deal with spotify.
This particular song jumped out at me as a nice way to start the year in “songs of the day” as , like everyone else, I hope this to be a very good year.
But more than anything, I feel like a dick for sleeping on Richie Havens this long…For shame.
Phat Friend
Sweeping generalizations and unicorns
Phat Friend 
you sure that was Richie Havens on Freedom/Motherless Child in Django? thought it was Anthony Hamilton… http://www.unchainedsoundtrack.com/
nonetheless, here is Richie Havens covering it at Woodstock: http://www.mp3ye.eu/richie-havens-freedom-mp3-download_148489.html
and Anthony Hamilton w/ Elayna Boynton http://www56.zippyshare.com/v/26504042/file.html
Yeah, it wasn’t the anthony hamilton version. Whatever version it was was definitely recorded a long time ago. Thanks for the link!
I found myself nodding my noggin all the way through.
grooveshark.com bro
http://www.discogs.com/Various-Woodstock/release/2377056 – it’s on there. Not sure if it’s the same recording (from Woodstock) but it’s still pretty great. I found it at a goodwill a few months ago and that song blew my mind. I thought he was the La Bamba guy too.
That version of Freedom/Motherless Child that he performed at Woodstock was my first introduction to Richie Havens. I saw a video of that, and it was all I wanted to listen to for the next 2 weeks. Dude is a beast on the acoustic guitar. I haven’t seen Django Unchained yet, so I’m not sure if it is the same.
The song you’re looking for is Freedom (2009).
Here ya go Tony (hope FLAC is OK):
http://www.sendspace.com/file/nq646o
Here’s a Danny Krivit edit of Back To My Roots as well:
http://www.sendspace.com/file/8lppq1
Happy New Year Yall!
Les Humphries Singers (Liz Mitchell) – Motherless child 1971? Could this be it? I have not seen the movie, but you said that it sounded like it was recorded a long time ago. This might be what you are looking for. : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n9s2Gy9lydk
Yep, the version in “Django Unchained” is the live Woodstock recording. Co-sign on him being a beast on the guitar, he was a very emotive, powerful singer too. His woodstock set is some stuff-of-legends shit
More recently, he did a joint with Groove Armada that was okay… kinda sounds like something that would’ve wound up on disney’s tarzan soundtrack.