Donovan Philips Leitch
was born 10 May 1946 in Glasgow.
His unique brand of pop melded folk music with blues, jazz, and psychedelia; and his use of Eastern instruments combined with his transcendent positivity made him the poster boy for flower power. His interest in transcendental meditation inspired the Beatles to join him at the Maharishi's ashram in India, where he taught them various folk guitar picking techniques. After he parted ways with producer Mickie Most, his popularity began to decline. He has sporadically continued to score films, tour, and record albums up to the present recording children's albums and reinventing his sound and ultimately returning to the stripped down folk of his youth. In recent years he has worked with David Lynch and Paul McCartney to raise money through the Change Begins Within Foundation to open a transcendental meditation school in Scotland to be named the Invincible Donovan University.
http://donovan.ie/
This live rendition of his first single 'Catch The Wind' explains why he was considered "Britain's answer to Bob Dylan". It made it to number four in the UK and number twenty three in the US.
"For standin' in your heart,
Is where I want to be, and I long to be,
Ah, but I may as well, try and catch the wind."
The melody from 'There Is A Mountain' has been used in jams by the Grateful Dead and the Allman Brothers Band. Donovan's version charted at eight in the UK and eleven in the US in 1967.
"First there is a mountain, then there is no mountain, then there is."
'Goo Goo Barabajagal (Love Is Hot)' was his last hit, reaching number twelve on the British charts. He was backed by The Jeff Beck Group, featuring Beck on lead guitar, Ronnie Wood on bass, Nicky Hopkins on piano, and Micky Waller on drums.
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