Little known and not mentioned here is the Donovan suspended his Rock ’n’ Roll Hall of Fame career to raise his kids in Joshua Tree, CA. He chose to raise their family in Joshua Tree in the 1970s and Donovan was a visible member of that desert community through the 1980s. He performed many small concerts to support our local schools and was never unapproachable when you may bump into him in the market.
@@ufoclips1 I saw him in concert in Tampa, Fl. a few years ago, he was just hanging out alone outside the venue, my wife and I walked up to him and we talked for a bit, so accessible, natural and unpretentious! The show was great!
When I was 17 I invited a girl over to listen to my only LP, the Beatles Sgt Pepper. When she arrived she brought along her only LP, an early Donovan record that her father had given her. I remember lying in the dark with her, when I suddenly stopped what I was doing to listen to the gentle folk music of Donovan. I was captivated by what I was hearing, and it was the catalyst that started me on my life long journey into not only Folk, but many other forms of music.
Donovan had his first paid gig in St Ives Cornwall UK after a stint busking in that beautiful seaside town. At age 65 he returned to St Ives as part of his “farewell” tour. He told me he wanted to end his career on the stage where it began. I was involved with the St.Ives September festival at the time and I had the real pleasure of spending an hour or so with Don over a couple of pints of Cornish beer. Two things come to mind about him. Firstly, he is an outstanding performer. He sat on a stool on that stage , just him and his guitar, for over an hour singing all his popular numbers and came back after the interval and carried on for another hour , to everyone’s utter delight. People had travelled hundreds of miles to be at that gig in our little 500 seat theatre and they were not disappointed. Secondly, he’s a very pleasant , friendly guy with no trace of ego about him. I’d been an admirer of his music since he first became popular in the 1960s , so it felt like I had known him for most of my life as we sat and enjoyed our drinks. I was a complete stranger to him of course, but you wouldn’t have known it - he was so friendly. A very nice bloke , I wish him well.
I met him in the 80s at a bank in Beverly Hills. Told him how much I loved his music but told him I could not find his HMS Donovan album. A month later he sent it to me. I was amazed.
Donovan picked up a guitar and crunched the learning curve big-time. it normally takes five years to be decent but after two, he was already excellent. Most non-players don't realize how good he is on acoustic guitar. he's pretty extraordinary in his own way, finger picking on things like "candy man" at the speed of light. i love his stuff.
I caught Donovan in 1967 when Brian Epstein had taken over the Saville Theatre in London's Shaftesbury Avenue (nothing to do with Jimmy Saville by the way) in order to promote pop concerts on the days when the theatre was "dark". It counts as one of my memorable all-time gigs. Donovan had employed the jazz musicians who featured on the Sunshine Superman album and, on a stage lit with low lighting and incense burning, they wove a spell that perfectly summed up the summer of love. The audience was quietly appreciative between numbers but at the end they burst into massive applause and demanded an encore. I choke up now when I think of that summer because we seem to have lost the good vibes somewhere along the way. But I feel privileged to have experienced it and I hope that we may rediscover it one day. I have hope in today's young people.
In the mid-2000s, my wife and I saw Cheap Trick, who was touring with a complete cover of the Sgt. Pepper album. Donovan not only opened, HE SANG HARRISON'S WITHIN YOU WITHOUT YOU with Cheap Trick! A magic night. The show was in a theater setting which made it special in it's intimacy.
I absolutely love Donovan. At 17 yrs I saw him on TV playing "Catch the Wind". I learned it and became a Donovan wannabe, split cowhide jacket and harmonica rack. I always loved his gentle touch. The first time I smoked pot, fourth of July, 1968, Donovan was on my turntable and I played him all night. I'm not sorry..."Sunshine came softly through my window today"...It was prime-time 60s. Acid and pot became way cooler than booze; an alternative buzz. And it was all about Peace, Love, ane Groovy, man.
Me too! I was there in those days. I even became a Hurdy-Gurdy Man, and have remained so these last 50 years. And whenever I play in the street, people always ask, and I tell them it’s a Hurdy-Gurdy, and they excitability say (thanks to Donavon) So THAT’S a Hurdygurdy! And they are so happy to learn, after all those years, what a HG is, and meet a real Hurdy-Gurdy Man…And always put something in the hat!
I played some songs from that album for my young grandchildren the Christmas before Covid sadly seperated us for more than a year. They’re growing up in Silicon Valley and I wanted to bring magic into their minds! I saw Donovan at the Hollywood Bowl as a teenager in the early sixties, and always played his records for my son when he was a baby and a toddler . There’s just nobody like him ✨🥰
So painful to listen to the strange slurring and mumbling of names and common words. The narrator obviously has a speech impediment. That's sad, but yes, he needs to find someone else to narrate the video. This is hard to listen to.
The narration seemed rushed and VERY difficult to understand but the information and accompanying video was good. I agree...find a professional narrator.
I have sometimes heard it said, Donovan had the best thumb in the business (referring to his guitar playing) and i tend to agree. What i find a bit odd though, there were so many layers to Donovan's music that that i was never smitten by just his guitar, or his voice, or the incredible fantastical imagery in his songs. It was all of it together that could only be summed up in that name "Donovan" :)
I saw him perform in Liverpool at the philharmonic , he was marvelous, he came out to the front of the house signing autographs and speaking to fans which was really lovely, he remarked on my Ringo Starr tee shirt with a smile ,a great night
Donovan fan since my teens when I heard Hurdy Gurdy on the radio. I finally got a chance to see my hero in the mid 80’s in Rock and Roll Heaven, a big rock bar in Toronto. Felt I was truly in heaven that night! Even took photos, one of which still hangs on my bedroom wall. Have a huge collection of his music and listen to him regularly.
Great information. But kind of hard to follow sometimes, because Narrator tends to slur words a bit . NARRATOR: please learn to e-NUN-ci-ate your words. [ pretend you are on stage , in a Play. You need to communicate clearly, to your audience. You have a good voice, and you present well. Just work on it a little. [ I’m not trying to be mean. Just a little constructive criticism. We ALL need some every once in a while.] 📻😁
He had big hits that became main staples of classic rock radio, but he was also really important "behind the scenes", as friends to the Beatle, teaching them traditional finger picking folk style playing (I think that's the story), among other stories I've heard about him.
Yes. I heard that the story was that they all went to see the Mararishi, but the Beates spent most of their time getting down the rudiments of traditional finger picking with Donovan.
Loved his music back in the day. One of the last Donovan singles i bought was "Rock And Roll Soldier" back in the mid 70's. Still listen to those great songs.
I loved the movie Brother Sun Sister Moon so much I saw it five times. One of the best things about it was the gentle music. Now I've got to go play it again!! Peace ✌☮
Saw him at the Seattle Center in ??? 1969. Great concert and the kind of good vibs you would expect from people who would go to a Donovan concert. Peace and Love. No head bangers. Catch The Wind is still one of the best songs of the 60's.
He's actually played here (Seattle) quite a few times, The last time I saw him was three or four years ago, don't remember the name of the venue hall downtown, but it was quite intimate, maybe about 5 - 600 seats, although visibly aged, he was every bit as good as when I saw him the first time many years ago; as a side note a neighbor and friend who is a Buddhist monk who runs a meditation temple in the Rainer Valley said Donovan has joined their meditation circles at their Temple on and off for the last 10 years (I guess whenever he's in town here), and has said he's quiet, serene, and totally down to earth with a great sense of humor - just as he appears on stage. Not many of his like still with us.
People who narrate should have some notion of public speaking. This guy sounds like he's drunk. Vaciny for vacinity, Meteric for Meteoric, Brish for British, etc., etc.
In my youth, I loved his folk-style music. As I've gotten older, I've come to appreciate his jazz and rock chops more and more. Songs like Hurdy-Gurdy Man, Barabajagal, Season of the Witch, etc. Really tight compositions, especially on those where he worked with Jeff Beck.
Donovan was a great musician & artist! Good video clips given here, however the monotone reading of a few sheets of paper is extremely boring & I fell asleep trying to listen to this. Great video, but very poor audio presentation sounding like it was just read-off by a totally disinterested person.
Add to that... the facts presented by the narrator are not all accurate. The first song on Donovan's demo tape was London Town, not Catch the Wind.... etc. etc.
Horrible presentation. Mispronunciation of so many words made it excruciating. The presenter should practice in front of those who are able to correct the errors. Really too bad. I was very interested in the subject.
Bro you need to work on pronounciation...im not trying to be cruel becuase you made a fairly competent documentary. But im not sure if maybe you are dyslexic or ? Anyway good job. Dont give up man . I hit like
Am I the only one left who loves hippies? That was the most refreshing wave to ever hit the US of A...but history is written by the "winners"....with the charming exception of this presentation. Thank you!
This was right after the end of world War 2. A whole new era exploded with an open exchange of art. Books. Films and music amongst all the countries of the now New free world. It's no wonder that so much NEW stuff exploded out of the babies born into this new global world.
OMG! Couldn't they find someone who can read? This guy can't even pronounce "Donovan." And would someone please teach him the difference between "ally" and "alley"?
This was interesting. I remember “Sunshine Superman” playing on the radio when I was on my way to my prom! I just wish the commentator pronounced his words clearly. It ruined the story.
You are a star. My late father and Donovan were pals way back in the early 50's. My dad had a car ! 🤣 Donovan lived in Hatfield and my father in the adjacent St.Albans. I came along in 1969 and we have photos but I don't remember them being taken or Donovan because I was a toddler. They both went their separate ways but my father would receive the occasional phone call. He sent my father a beautiful card full of well wishes when he heard my father had terminal cancer. What a lovely fellow.
After the 1960's he faded from the Radio, and I thought his music's Time had passed. I was sad to no longer hear him randomly through the day. I am pleased to know now that he continued at his craft. I am surprised to find we are only a few weeks different in age
Donovan had great tunes I've loved it and still do. From Universal Soldier to Little Tin Soldier, from The Alamo to Catch the Wind and To Try for the Sun and others, he showed to be a good ballads singer and composer. He played guitar better than others, as has been said. I keep hearing him. Nice music. 🆗✔️🙏
Instead of reading every sentence with the same prosodic changes, beginning the first word with the same higher pitch and ending the last word with the same lower pitch each time, mixing it up is much more pleasant to listen to and sounds much more like natural speech. Nicely done on the info and history.
I read somewhere that while in india with the beatles he taught john lennon a finger picking style which lead to john using it on dear prudence, julia, and a few other great songs.
Donovan was only on CBS-Epic for markets *OUTSIDE* Britain. In Britain he remained signed to the PYE label. In Australia, Catch The Wind and Universal Soldier(penned by Bufft Sainte-Marie) were issued on the Astor label which drew its British content from PYE. After those releases he emerged here on CBS-Epic.
My older brother was also my 'little brother' (in size and... scholastic prowess) ~ but he graduated 8th grade with our Art Medal (best art student) and the Yearbook committee gave him the nickname "Sunshine Superman" ❤️☮️ And it boosted his smile big-time, that spring (1969)...
A close friend asked me the other day, if I could only have one music album to play on the proverbial desert island, what would it be? My answer: For Little Ones - the second album of the Gift From a Flower To a Garden boxed set. Every song is a gem, and so are Dono's drawings that came with the set, illustrating each of the songs. It also contains one of my favorite lyrical moments of all time, in the song "Voyage Into the Golden Screen," when he sings the line "Tread so light so not to touch the grass; breathe the air so slowly as you pass." The sound of the thrice repeated letter 't' in the phrase "not to touch" comes out as a soft "t-t-t," precisely embodying the gentleness of presence in the world that the song encourages - a perfect match of sound and lyric. Thank you, Donovan, for the music that has sustained in my heart the loving flower-power vision of our youth for six decades and counting.
I loved Donavon so much that I named my oldest son after him though I spelled my son's name Donavan just a bit different but I am so much younger then he his music made me feel it was ok to b e different and not have to be part of the norm that you Donavon you changed my life for the good
The Hurdy Gurdy Man was used as the music for the opening titles of the British television series "Britannia" in 2018. "Britannia" is a fantastic series and I recommend you check it out.
love donovan. would have been nice to hear this narrated by someone who enunciates a little more clearly and knows the words he is speaking -- the lost city of Atlanta? unless of course this was done by a computerized voice generator.
I was like 16 years old like in 73, Donovan was the first concert I went to at Rutgers Univ. in New Brunswick, NJ. I admit I could be a year off. I still remember it was great. Donovan till I saw this was something I forgot from my youth and music.
Love the song Atlantis. It was B side of 45 in US. Think b/w Susan on the West Coast Waiting. Some said back in the day that I looked like a cross between Donovan and Arlo Guthrie
This should have been a good doco, BUT, what is "falk" music, and, it's not the Ma's and the Papas but the Mamas and the Papas. Sheesh! What happened to good, clear english narration?
