Actors - Donovan

	Actors - Donovan

Donovan Philips Leitch (usually known simply as Donovan) (born May 10, 1946, in Maryhill, Glasgow) is a Scottish musician. Emerging from the British folk scene, Donovan shot to fame in the United Kingdom in early 1965 after a series of showcase TV performances. His success was initially restricted to the UK, but after signing with the American Epic Records label and joining forces with record producer Mickie Most, he developed an eclectic but very successful style that blended folk, jazz, pop, psychedelia and world music.

Donovan quickly rose to become one of the most famous and popular British recording artists of his day, producing a string of trans-Atlantic hit albums and singles between 1966 and 1970. He also became a close friend of The Beatles and was one of the few artists to collaborate on songs with them. Donovan's commercial fortunes waned after he parted ways with Most in 1969, and although he continued to perform and record sporadically in the Seventies and Eighties he gradually fell from favor, with his gentle musical style and hippie image increasingly scorned by critics, especially after the advent of punk rock. 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. Late in the decade he recorded a successful album with noted rap producer and longtime fan Rick Rubin and released a new album, Beat Cafe, in 2004.

Early life and career

Donovan was born and grew up in Maryhill, Glasgow, Scotland; he contracted polio as a child but suffered no permanent injury. In 1956 the family moved to Hatfield, England. Influenced by his family's love for Scottish and English folk music, he began playing guitar at fourteen. After leaving school, Donovan and longtime friend Gypsy Dave traveled for several years around Britain, busking and playing folk songs.

Donovan began writing original material in the early 1960s and by late 1964 he had settled in London and signed a management and publishing contract. He recorded a ten-track demo tape, which included the original recording of his first single, "Catch The Wind", a song that showed the unmistakable influence of Woody Guthrie and Ramblin' Jack Elliott who had also influenced Bob Dylan. Although Dylan comparisons followed him for some time, the tape also made it clear that he was already a performer of considerable skill and originality. He is a very fine acoustic guitarist and self-accompanist, a talent that is often overlooked (as it so often is with Dylan). Other significant influences in his formative years included Jesse Fuller, Derroll Adams and Mac MacLeod. In an interview with KFOK radio June 14, 2005, MacLeod stated "...the press were fond of calling Don a Dylan clone which is of course a load of rubbish as they had both influenced by the same sources: Ramblin' Jack, Jesse Fuller, Woody Guthrie and many more."

While recording the demo Donovan became friends with Brian Jones of The Rolling Stones and Jones's girlfriend of the time, Linda Lawrence. She had already had 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. Linda became Donovan's muse and was to have a profound effect on his music, inspiring songs including, "Catch The Wind", "Legend Of A Girl Child Linda" and "Season Of The Witch".

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 so impressed that he invited the unknown 18-year-old to appear on the show. Donovan made his TV debut on 6 February 1965. Unusually for pop programs of this time, he played and sang live, his guitar emblazoned with the words "This Machine Kills"—a direct reference to Woody Guthrie, whose own guitar bore the famous slogan "This Machine Kills Fascists". Donovan was so well-received that he was invited back for the next two weeks, and immediately afterwards he was signed to a recording contract with Pye Records, whose other major pop acts were The Kinks and Petula Clark.

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. On 11 April, he performed with the biggest stars of the day at the annual New Musical Express poll winners' concert at the Empire Pool in Wembley. The single was subsequently released on the small Hickory label in the USA, where it managed an impressive #30 chart placing.

Donovan's early musical style and appearance led to him being perceived and promoted as a British version of Bob Dylan; this brought with it a certain degree of criticism from folk purists, some of whom assumed him to be merely a Dylan imitator. Not surprisingly, the meeting between the two musicians in April 1965 made headlines. However, although initially wary, Dylan was impressed by the young musician, as can be seen in D.A. Pennebaker's film of Dylan's '65 UK tour, Dont Look Back
(which was released in 1967). As a result, Donovan was invited to tour with Dylan and Joan Baez.

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Actors - Donovan

Early life and career

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