Donovan Phillips Leitch, known simply as Donovan, is a Scottish musician, songwriter and record producer. He developed an eclectic and distinctive style that blended folk, jazz, pop, psychedelic rock and world music (notably calypso). He has lived in Scotland, London, California, and—since at least 2008—in County Cork, Ireland, with his family. Emerging from the British folk scene, Donovan reached fame in the United Kingdom in early 1965 with live performances on the pop TV series Ready Steady Go!.
Having signed with Pye Records in 1965, he recorded singles and two albums in the folk vein for Hickory Records, after which he signed to CBS/Epic in the US—the first signing by the company’s new vice-president Clive Davis—and became more successful internationally. He began a long and successful collaboration with leading British independent record producer Mickie Most, scoring multiple hit singles and albums in the UK, US, and other countries.
He emerged onto the scene in 1965 with three UK hit singles: “Catch the Wind”, “Colours” and “Universal Soldier”, the last written by Buffy Sainte-Marie. In September 1966, “Sunshine Superman” topped America’s Billboard chart for one week and went to No. 2 in Britain, followed by “Mellow Yellow” at US No. 2 in December 1966, then 1968’s “Hurdy Gurdy Man” in the top 5 in both countries, and then “Atlantis”, which reached US No. 7 in May 1969. The compilation Donovan’s Greatest Hits was released in March 1969 and peaked at No. 4 on the Billboard 200.
Donovan became a friend of pop and folk musicians such as Joan Baez, Brian Jones, and the Beatles. He taught John Lennon a finger picking guitar style in 1968 that Lennon employed in “Dear Prudence”, “Julia”, “Happiness is a Warm Gun”, and other songs. His backing musicians included the Jeff Beck Group, and John Bonham, Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones, who later rose to fame as members of Led Zeppelin. Donovan’s commercial fortunes waned after parting with Most in 1969, and he left the industry for a time.
Donovan continued to perform and record intermittently in the 1970s and 1980s. His musical style and hippie image were scorned by critics, especially after the rise of punk rock. His performing and recording became sporadic until a revival in the 1990s with the emergence of Britain’s rave scene. He recorded the 1996 album Sutras with producer Rick Rubin and in 2004 made a new album, Beat Cafe. Donovan was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2012 and the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2014.
