By Michael Wiles

Richie Havens on:

Honing his craft at “The University of Greenwich Village”:

We all learned from each other. Imagine hearing “Love is but the song we sing, and fear’s the way we die…” People know that song [Get Together] but what they don’t know is that Dino Valenti wrote that in 1958. I mean, talking like that in 1958 was like screaming in a barrel.

Bob Dylan:

Dylan was a poet who got to sing his own poetry. It took Bob to become the rock n’ roller he always wanted to be within the last five years… I’ve got to applaud the guy for making it - that’s what he was after all this time.

Today’s artists:

I think a lot of them, including the Foo Fighters, have touched the edge of the veil [of communication]: it’s in there but not in every song. My favorite band from a little way back is Rage Against the Machine. That guy [Sach De La Rocha], screaming as he was, was screaming so every single teenager could say “I’m in that song.” He was communicating real loud.

Controlling your music:

There are a lot of talented people: Their problem is that they don’t write their own songs. Look what they did to poor Britney Spears. That poor girl, they just sort of used her up so badly.

The next cultural revolution:

We’re having it already; it’s called “YouTube.” There are some serious people out there and you discover them, or they discover you, and there’s a connection. It’s like the FM radio of today. If it wasn’t for the FM radio of yesterday, none of us: Bob Dylan, myself and all of us, would not be here today.