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Donovan

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Revision as of 01:50, 6 July 2023 by UwakwemEnyinnaya (talk | contribs)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff) Scottish musician (born 1946) This article is about the Scottish musician. For other uses, see Donovan (disambiguation).

Donovan
Donovan performing on The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour in 1969
BornDonovan Phillips Leitch
(1946-05-10) 10 May 1946 (age 78)
Maryhill, Glasgow, Scotland
Occupations
  • Musician
  • songwriter
  • record producer
Years active1964–present
Spouse Linda Lawrence ​(m. 1970)​
PartnerEnid Karl (1966–70)
Children5; including Donovan Leitch and Ione Skye
Musical career
Genres
Instruments
  • Vocals
  • guitar
Labels
Websitedonovan.ie
Musical artist

Donovan Phillips Leitch (born 10 May 1946), known mononymously as Donovan, is a Scottish musician, songwriter and record producer. He developed an eclectic and distinctive style that blended folk, jazz, pop, psychedelic rock and world music (notably calypso). He has lived in Scotland, Hertfordshire (England), London, California, and—since at least 2008—in County Cork, Ireland, with his family. Emerging from the British folk scene, Donovan reached fame in the United Kingdom in early 1965 with live performances on the pop TV series Ready Steady Go!.

Having signed with Pye Records in 1965, he recorded singles and two albums in the folk vein for Hickory Records, after which he signed to CBS/Epic in the US—the first signing by the company's new vice-president Clive Davis—and became more successful internationally. He began a long and successful collaboration with leading British independent record producer Mickie Most, scoring multiple hit singles and albums in the UK, US, and other countries. He emerged onto the scene in 1965 with three UK hit singles: "Catch the Wind", "Colours" and "Universal Soldier", the last written by Buffy Sainte-Marie. In September 1966, "Sunshine Superman" topped America's Billboard Hot 100 chart for one week and went to No. 2 in Britain, followed by "Mellow Yellow" at US No. 2 in December 1966, then 1968's "Hurdy Gurdy Man" in the top 5 in both countries, and then "Atlantis", which reached US No. 7 in May 1969. The compilation Donovan's Greatest Hits was released in March 1969 and peaked at No. 4 on the Billboard 200.

Donovan became a friend of pop and folk musicians including Joan Baez, Brian Jones, and the Beatles. He taught John Lennon a finger-picking guitar style in 1968 that Lennon employed in "Dear Prudence", "Julia", "Happiness Is a Warm Gun", and other songs. His backing musicians included the Jeff Beck Group, and John Bonham, Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones, who later rose to fame as members of Led Zeppelin. Donovan's commercial fortunes waned after parting with Most in 1969, and he left the industry for a time.

Donovan continued to perform and record intermittently in the 1970s and 1980s. His musical style and hippie image were scorned by critics, especially after the rise of punk rock. His performing and recording became sporadic until a revival in the 1990s with the emergence of Britain's rave scene. He recorded the 1996 album Sutras with producer Rick Rubin and in 2004 made a new album, Beat Cafe. Donovan was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2012 and the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2014.

Early life

Donovan was born on 10 May 1946, in Maryhill, Glasgow, to Donald and Winifred (née Phillips) Leitch. His grandmothers were Irish. He contracted polio as a child. The disease and treatment left him with a limp. His family moved to the new town of Hatfield, Hertfordshire, England. Influenced by his family's love of folk music, he began playing the guitar at 14. He enrolled in art school but soon dropped out, to live out his beatnik aspirations by going on the road.

Family

Donovan had a relationship with American model Enid Karl, and they had two children: actor-musician Donovan Leitch in 1967, and actress Ione Skye in 1970. In October of that year, Donovan married Linda Lawrence. They have two children together, Astrella and Oriole; Oriole had a relationship with Shaun Ryder of the Happy Mondays, and had a daughter, Coco, with whom Donovan has held joint art and photography exhibitions. Lawrence was the inspiration for "Sunshine Superman".

Donovan is also the adoptive father of Lawrence's and Brian Jones's son, Julian Brian (Jones) Leitch.

Accolades

In November 2003, the University of Hertfordshire awarded Donovan an honorary Doctor of Letters degree. He was nominated by Sara Loveridge (a student at the university who had interviewed and reviewed Donovan for the university paper in 2001–2002); Andrew Morris, Sara's partner and Donovan researcher/writer; and Mac MacLeod.

On 14 April 2012 Donovan was inducted in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Discography

Main article: Donovan discography

Filmography

Actor

As himself

Musical composer

Music and documentary DVD

Literary works

References

  1. Hill, Michael (10 October 2008). "Donovan still a Sunshine Superman at 62". USA Today.
  2. Cite error: The named reference ukcharts was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. Billboard 18 Mar 1967. 18 March 1967. Retrieved 23 February 2013.
  4. "Donovan". Billboard. Retrieved 23 February 2013.
  5. RIAA gold and platinum database
  6. "McCartney Interview 20 November 1968". Dmbeatles.com. Retrieved 18 May 2011.
  7. ^ Andy Gregory (2002). The International Who's Who in Popular Music 2002 (4 ed.). Europa Publications. p. 141. ISBN 978-1857431612.
  8. Ankeny, Jason. "Artist Biography [Donovan]". Allmusic.com. Retrieved 30 November 2014.
  9. "How Donovan and Coco, his granddaughter, caught their wind". Independent.ie. 3 April 2017. Retrieved 4 July 2020.
  10. Janet Attwood and Christine Comaford. "Cover Story Article". Healthywealthynwise.com. Archived from the original on 6 February 2010. Retrieved 1 January 2012.
  11. Prager, Felice. "The Hurdy Gurdy Man of the Psychedelic Sixties – Donovan Leitch". Rewind the Fifties. loti.com. Archived from the original on 9 January 2008. Retrieved 11 November 2009.
  12. Donovan, Leitch (2006). The Hurdy Gurdy Man. Arrow. ISBN 0-09-948703-9.
  13. "Flower Child Looks To Bloom Again: Donovan, The Trippy Troubadour Behind Such Generation- Defining Hits As Mellow Yellow and Sunshine Superman, Is Back At 50 With A New Album". The Philadelphia Inquirer. '60s Archives. 30 November 2005. Retrieved 19 August 2015.
  14. "How Donovan and Coco, his granddaughter, caught their wind". 3 April 2017.
  15. Leitch, Donovan (2007). The Autobiography of Donovan: The Hurdy Gurdy Man. St. Martin's Griffin. p. 144. ISBN 978-0312364342.
  16. "Page Redirection". Astrella-celeste.com. Retrieved 19 August 2015.
  17. Simpson, Dave (2 May 2016). "How we made: Donovan's Sunshine Superman". The Guardian. Retrieved 7 August 2018.
  18. Cite error: The named reference ReferenceA was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  19. "Gracious me, Sanjeev's a doctor!". Retrieved 2 January 2014.
  20. "University to honour Donovan and TV comedian". 12 November 2003. Retrieved 2 January 2014.
  21. "Donovan awards and honours". Archived from the original on 25 December 2013. Retrieved 2 January 2014.
  22. "2012 inductees". Retrieved 2 January 2014.
  23. "Donovan on His Acceptance into the Hall of Fame". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2 January 2014.

External links

Donovan
Studio albums
Live albums
Songs
Compilation
albums
Box sets
Family
Related
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame – Class of 2012
Performers
Early influences
Non-performers
(Ahmet Ertegun Award)
Award for Musical Excellence
Categories: