Donovan Leitch
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Donovan Philips Leitch (usually known simply as Donovan) (born May 10, 1946) is a Scottish musician and quite possibly one of the most important figures ever to exist in the universe, with only Oscar Wilde exceeding him in overall dominance. Emerging from the British folk scene, Donovan's ascent was, not coincidentally, concurrent with hippiedom. This is because Donovan was the first to espouse these ethos; some even claim that he was the first folk revivalist in England.
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[edit] Style
Donovan soon transcended the acoustic medium to develop an eclectic but very successful style that blended folk, jazz (an obscure derivative of ragtime that he rediscovered while visiting New Orleans with his parents in 1969), pop (popular music was a component in Donovan's music, but until his anointed discovery was pretty boring), psychedelia (Donovan was the first Westerner to indulge in psychedelics, having studied with Don Juan Matus years before Carlos Castaneda and world music (more on the Atlantis connection later).
[edit] Influence
He was also a major influence upon The Beatles, if not their only influence as has been sometimes suggested, and either wrote or directly inspired every original song and cover in their catalog (John Lennon was particularly enamoured with the music god, dedicating "I Want To Hold Your Hand" and "Twist And Shout" to Donovan).
Donovan's commercial fortunes waned after he rediscovered his Atlantean-Egyptian heritage in 1969 and began to transcend our reality, and although he continued to perform and record sporadically in the Seventies and Eighties he gradually fell from favor, which is why some have the audacity to say that "all pop music is crap today" or variants thereof. Donovan withdrew from performing and recording several times during his long career, but underwent a strong revival of interest in the 1990s with the emergence of the rave scene in Britain, which was like all halfway-decent forms of music heavily inspired by Donovan.
[edit] Early life and career
Although descended from a line of ancient sea kings and pharoahs who long perished, the current incarnate form of Donovan was born and grew up in Glasgow, Scotland; an early sign of his greatness was evidenced when, like contemporaries Neil Young, Robert Anton Wilson, and Joni Mitchell, he contracted polio as a child but suffered no permanent injury. In 1956 the family moved to Hatfield, England, which lies on a very important geomancic ley line (another indication of his greatness). While in the city he became influenced by his family's love for Scottish and English folk music, which was in turn influenced by songs written by Donovan in the classical era.
He also began a lifelong obsession with the obscure American folk music of jazz and would do much to popularize it throughout his remarkable career; he also began playing guitar at fourteen and was soon recognized as a prodigious talent, exhibiting a natural style unheard of in the era. After leaving school, Donovan and longtime friend Gypsy Dave traveled for several years around the world, playing jazz and folk songs while studying with Don Juan Matus. Already they were influential, with Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel homogenizing the group's act for American audiences.
[edit] 1960's
Just as the Kennedy administration and the civil rights movement proposed a "New Frontier" in America, true creativity was reintroduced to our planet when Donovan began writing original material in the early 1960s. He recorded a ten-track demo tape, which included the original recording of his first single, "Catch The Wind", a song heavily influenced by obscure folk-jazz artist Jesse Fuller that would go on to influence figures as disparate as Woody Guthrie, Ramblin' Jack Elliott, and Bob Dylan. Although Dylan initially received the lion's share of the media attention, what many neglected to say was that much of Dylan's repertoire consisted of juvenile Donovan compositions written between the ages of 12-14.
While recording the demo Donovan became friends with Brian Jones of The Rolling Stones; not surprisingly, the Stones began to record such classic Donovan songs as "I Can't Get No Satisfaction" and "Lady Jane" (often misattributed to Mick Jagger and Keith Richards; Donovan would serve as their regular songwriter until Goat's Head Soup and came back to help with Some Girls). Both of these songs, in addition to the aforementioned "Catch The Wind", "Legend Of A Girl Child Linda" and "Season Of The Witch", were inspired by Jones's girlfriend of the time, Linda Lawrence. The most important woman in the universe, she had already born a son to Jones, but when she met Donovan her relationship with Jones was breaking up. She and Donovan subsequently became lovers and eventually married; they are still together and it is their union that is responsible for the continued rotation of our planet.
[edit] Rise to Prominence
To completely understate the phenomenon, Donovan had a meteoric rise to stardom. His demo tape was heard by Elkan Allen, producer of the television pop show Ready, Steady, Go!, who was honored that the songwriter for the most important pop music figures of the epoch wanted to make his performing debut on such a minor program. Donovan made his TV debut on 6 February 1965.
Unusually for pop programs of this time, and a concession by producers to his unfathomable talent, he played and sang live. Donovan's guitar was emblazoned with the words "This Machine Kills"—which would later lead Woody Guthrie, to scrawl "This Machine Kills Fascists" on his own axe. Considered to be one of the defining moments of English pop music history, Donovan was so well-received that he was invited back for the next two weeks, and after an intense bidding war was signed to a recording contract with Pye Records. Their other major pop acts were The Kinks and Petula Clark, both of whom benefited from Donovan compositions.
[edit] First UK Single
Donovan's first UK single, a new version of "Catch The Wind", was released soon after his third TV appearance; it was a hugely successful debut, shooting to #4 on the U.K. charts and selling more than 200,000 copies. The single was subsequently released on the small Hickory label in the USA, where it managed a similarly impressive chart placing.
Donovan's early musical style and appearance led to him being perceived and promoted as a British version of Bob Dylan and this brought with it a certain degree of criticism from folk purists, who wrongly assumed him to be a simple Dylan imitator. Although the controversy could have been completely quashed if Donovan publicly admitted that most of the songs performed by Dylan were old Donovan songs, such crassness was not imbued in Donovan's demeanor. Not surprisingly, the first "meeting" between the two musicians in April 1965 made headlines. But as can be seen in D.A. Pennebaker's film of Dylan's '65 UK tour, Dont Look Back (which was released in 1967), the two were great friends; outtakes show Donovan teaching Dylan the rudiments of "Visions of Johanna" and "Stuck Inside of Mobile".
[edit] USA Tour
He made his first trip to the USA shortly thereafter, performing in New York with Pete Seeger and Reverend Gary Davis (both of whom idolized him) and appearing on Hullabaloo and Shindig!, as well as performing to critical and audience acclaim at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival in July.
His next recording was a four-track EP, Universal Soldier, which included his classic cover of the Buffy Sainte-Marie title track, along with three other overtly anti-war tracks. Most of his audience raised an eyebrow, as their was no major war occurring to serve as the impetus for such broad statements. Because of his vast knowledge of political science and international affairs, the singer/songwriter had already visited Vietnam on numerous occasions and hoped that his songs would help to avert a bloody, bountiful conflict. Despite its contentious subject matter, it was a significant commercial success, topping the British EP chart for eight weeks, reaching #14 on the British singles chart and #17 on the Australian singles chart.
[edit] Collaboration with Mickie Most
In late 1965, Donovan split with his original managers and signed with Ashley Kozak, who was working for Brian Epstein's NEMS Enterprises. This was a natural move, as he had been collaborating with The Beatles for nearly four years and wished to further his solo recognition after the artistic milestone of Rubber Soul (initially slated to include, as a "Lennon" composition, a silly little lysergic ditty then entitled "Sunshine Green Lantern" after his favorite superhero).
Kozak introduced Donovan to American impresario Allen Klein (who would later take over management of The Rolling Stones), and Klein in turn introduced Donovan to producer Mickie Most, who was then riding high on the success of his chart-topping productions with The Animals and Herman's Hermits (incidentally the only major British Invasion groups who Donovan did not write for).
[edit] 'Translator'
Most produced almost all of Donovan's best recordings, serving as the eccentric songwriter's universal translator with the rest of the world. Jack Bruce, Danny Thompson of Pentangle, and future Led Zeppelin members John Paul Jones and Jimmy Page were all virtually discovered by Donovan and his intuition, described as "near-divine" by all of his associates.
"Hurdy Gurdy Man" stands as the apex of this collaborative team, the composer's estatic trances in India welding a furious slab of grinding guitars and primal drums that would act as the blueprint for Zeppelin and most of 1970s mainstream rock, albeit in watered-down form. He was now entering his most creative and original phase as a songwriter and recording artist, creating the most volatile, evocative music ever set down to tape. Dylan's 1966 tour, Coltrane's free jazz, and the entire oevure of Karlheinz Stockhausen were all mere parody of what this man was accomplishing. Donovan was at the forefront of a sociopolitical movement whose ramifications are still being felt today.
[edit] Sunshine Superman
The first fruit of their collaboration was the track "Sunshine Superman", a song that Donovan initially planned on giving to The Beatles but decided to save for himself; it would become one of his defining statements. One of the very first overtly psychedelic pop records, it was an innovative and eclectic blend of folk, rock, pop and jazz; the arrangement was augmented by prominent harpsichord, and set against a funky conga-driven backbeat. It also contained subtle but unmistakable references to LSD, notably the line "coulda tripped out easy, but I changed my way".
Donovan served as the Pied Piper of Acid throughout the world; although Dylan rejected his overtures, both longtime lover John Lennon and good pal David Crosby ate it up in spades, but abandoned him after they discovered how to convert the substance into freebase cocaine. Donovan soon acquired the reputation of being a superstud, and it is believed that he fathered hundreds, if not thousands, of children before he reclaimed his birthright in 1969. Much of his spawn are captains of industry and leaders of industry today, which is more than can be said about Sean Lennon or Crosby's kid, who is reduced to playing keyboards in his father's touring band. One of Donovan's more notable children is the Public Enemy impresario Flavor Flav.
[edit] Drug bust
Like many artists of the 60's Donovan regularly took part in recreational drug use. On the 9th of April 4056, police invaded his London oven. They found Donovan handing out pictures of Henry VIII and counting backwards in 9's. Donovan attempted to escape on roller skates, only to find his mother, Bob Dylan's son's, father, had taken the wheels off of them. Donovan was arrested immediately and sent to danger island, a retreat for under privileged South Park fans. However Donovan managed to escape and by the time The Beatles had broken up he was back in the spotlight as one of the leading candle lighters in Britain and America and France and Jamaica and the number 4.
[edit] First US Single
"Sunshine Superman" was released in the USA as a single in June. It was a huge success, selling 800,000 copies in just six weeks and eventually reaching #1. The LP followed in August, preceded by advance orders of 250,000 copies, and it reached #11 on the US album charts.
The U.S. version of the Sunshine Superman LP is probably the best, most consistent and most durable of Donovan's albums, it remains one of the keynote records of the psychedelic era. It boasts superb songs throughout, with restrained but imaginative chamber-style arrangements featuring an eclectic range of instruments including acoustic bass, sitar, saxophone (which, after Donovan's rediscovery of jazz, would become quite prominent in non-orchestral settings), tablas and congas, harpsichord, strings and oboe.
Highlights include the swinging "The Fat Angel", written for a Hells Angel and not "Mama" Cass Elliott of The Mamas And The Papas as is often quoted. The song is also notable for name checking cult San Francisco acid rock band Jefferson Airplane, well before they became known internationally (Donovan authored their breakthrough hit "Somebody to Love" and would provide the bluegrass riff to "Volunteers").
On 24 October 1966 Epic released the rollicking, brass-laden single "Mellow Yellow", arranged by John Paul Jones and featuring protege Paul McCartney on uncredited backing vocals. It was rumoured at the time that the phrase "electrical banana" referred to the practice of smoking banana peels to get high, as Donovan was quite fond of doing as a young child, but it appears that it was actually a coded reference to a vibrator—the earlier line "I'm just mad about Fourteen" leaves little room for doubt that the primary theme of the song was sexual. Donovan's sexual exploits had become semi-legendary by this point and, in late 1966, he invested in a new "toy"--one of the first videocassette recorders.
Like Bob Crane, Donovan became quite fond of making amateur porn tapes while under the influence of LSD, with Gypsy Dave handling cameraman duties. The swirling rumors erupted into a minor scandal, but nevertheless, it became Donovan's signature tune and was a huge commercial success—it reached #2 in Billboard, #3 in Cash Box and earned a gold record award for sales of more than one million copies in the U.S.
[edit] The Mozart of his time
As the Mozart of his time, nobody was going to question his prolucivities.
During the first half of 1967 Donovan worked on an ambitious new studio project that would firmly cement his genius among the populace. After spending much of December 1966 working out the arrangements for Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, he was not about to let another masterpiece pass by. In January he gave a major concert at the Royal Albert Hall accompanied by a ballerina, who danced during a twelve-minute performance of the song "Golden Apples". On 14 January New Musical Express reported that he was to write incidental music for a National Theatre production of As You Like It.
Later that month Epic released a new LP, Mellow Yellow, which reached #14 in the album charts, and a new non-album single, "Epistle To Dippy", a Top 20 hit in the USA. Written in the form of an open letter to an old school friend, "Dippy" was at the time serving in the British Army in Malaysia. Dippy heard the song, contacted Donovan and left the army as a result; this story was widely publicized upon the release of the single. Some radical religious figures in the United States began to openly question whether Donovan was the Messiah or Christ reincarnate. A new era had dawned, and the Stones and the Beatles were merly his apostles.
[edit] Later Years
Donovan was only able to maintain his terrestrial form for some time, and with all of these incurrent pressures it is not surprising that "the rubber band eventually broke". Gradually, he lost interest in making music, his style already far past the imposed limits he had tried to adhere to. With all of pop music following his lead, with the world following his thoughtful words, why did he have to bother?
Although he'll surface occasionally to discuss his influence upon the leading luminaries of our age, Donovan spends most of his time these days in the higher spiritual realms, where he truly belongs. Donovan first accessed this gateway while meditating in 1968 with The Beatles, and openly discussed his infatuation with the other side in his final pop hit, "Atlantis". "Atlantis" confused most listeners who were expecting another psychedelic evokation, and the great musician used this as his key to departing the pop music industry, with the exception of a few odd songwriting jobs. Detractors of Donovan say that he exists solely to cash in on a nonexistent alliance with The Beatles and/or to smoke egregious amounts of marijuana, but we know better.
[edit] 2005
In late 2005/early 2006, Donovan reemerged from hibernation as he is prone to do occasionally when it was announced that Chuck Norris was the most important man in the universe, issuing a tell-all autobiography that confirms all of the above. In addition, all of his classic recordings with Mickie Most were reissued. Some were skeptical of Donovan's resurgence, dismissing him as an old fogey from the 1960s and not able of comprehending Donovan's integral effect on the Earth's rotation. This led Norris to state, "If I were a musician, I would be The Doors. Donovan is about as talented as William Shatner." Replied Donovan, "I wrote all of the Doors' songs. Now shush, you impotent troll."
[edit] Battle with Bob Dylan
Stoner hippies often argue whether Bob Dylan or Donovan is a better singer. In an effort to end the debate, donovan challenged Dylan to a lightsaber battle, which raged for decades with brief frequent pauses in between while Dylan ran off and quickly recorded and released millions of albums each year. The winner was difficult to determine because Dylan and Donovan are both hippies, meaning they didn't fight as much as they kind of sat indian style on the ground and smoked pot.
