upwards of half million people.... copied this from an update this morning from Fbook page I follow.... almost 3 hours alone, or with a konga percussionist, then had to start improvising... major major balls:

Richie Havens
would have turned 80 years old today if he were still with us. Richie's appearance at Woodstock catapulted him into stardom and was a major turning point in his career. As the festival's first performer, he held the crowd for nearly three hours. In part, Havens was told to continue playing, because many artists scheduled to perform after him were delayed in reaching the festival location with highways at a virtual standstill. He was called back for several encores. Having run out of tunes, he improvised a song based on the old spiritual Motherless Child that became Freedom. The subsequent Woodstock movie release helped Havens reach a worldwide audience. He also appeared at the Isle of Wight Festival in late August 1969.