Donovan

Donovan (Donovan Philips Leitch, born May 10, 1946, in Maryhill, Glasgow) is a Scottish singe , songwriter, and guitarist. Emerging from the British folk scene, he developed an eclectic and distinctive style that blended folk, jazz, pop, psychedelia and world music. He came to fame in the U K in early 1965 with a series of showcase live performances on the pop TV series Ready Steady Go! and his popularity soon spread to the USA and other countries. After signing with the British label Pye Records he began a long and successful collaboration with leading independent record producer Mickie Most, scoring a string of major hits in the UK, the USA and other countries, including several British and American Number 1 hits and million-selling records. He was one of the most popular British recording artists of his day, producing a series of hit albums and singles between 1965 and 1970. He became a close friend of many leading pop musicians including Joan Baez, Brian Jones, and The Beatles, and was one of the few artists to collaborate on songs with the Beatles. He influenced both John Lennon and George Harrison when he taught them his finger-picking guitar style in 1968. Donovan's commercial fortunes waned after he parted ways with Mickie Most in 1969, and he left the music scene for a time. He continued to perform and record sporadically in the 1970s and 1980s, but gradually fell from favour. His gentle musical style and hippie image was scorned by critics, especially after the advent of punk rock. Donovan withdrew from performing and recording several times during his long career, but he underwent a strong revival of interest in the 1990s with the emergence of the rave scene in Britain. Late in the decade he recorded a successful album with acclaimed producer and long time fan Rick Rubin and released a new album, Beat Cafe, in 2004.ctic and distinctive style that blended folk, jazz, pop, psychedelia and world music. My personal favorite will always be "Sunshine Superman" which was one of the 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. Talk about "melting-pot music"! Find out more about his life and his music at: http://launch.groups.yahoo.com/group/donovancelticdreamweaver

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