File:Donovan_1969.JPG · Wikimedia Commons · See Wikimedia Commons
Donovan
Sign in to saveAlso known as Donovan Phillips Leitch, Donovan Philips Leitch
Donovan Phillips Leitch (born 10 May 1946) is a Scottish musician, songwriter and record producer. He emerged from the British folk scene in early 1965 and subsequently scored numerous international hit singles and albums during the late 1960s. His work became emblematic of the flower power era with its blend of folk, pop, psychedelia and jazz stylings.
Person · Open Library
- Born
- 1910
- Works
- 34
Top works
- Number patterns
- Adventures in graphing
- The world of measurement
- Mathmagic With Flexagons
- World of measurement
via Open Library + Wikidata
Film & TV
Acting · Glasgow, Scotland, UK
Donovan Philips Leitch, better known mononymously as Donovan, is a Scottish-born singer, songwriter and guitarist.
Known for
- BP Fallon: Rock'n'Roll Wizard — Self2025
- My Generation — Self (archive footage)2017
- Revolution: The Legacy of the Sixties2017
- The Music of David Lynch — Self2016
- Totally 60s Psychedelic Rock At The BBC — Self2015
- The Genius of Bert Jansch: Folk, Blues & Beyond — Self2014
- Meditation, Creativity, Peace — Self2012
- Acoustic at the BBC — Self2011
- Carnaby Street Undressed — Self2011
- Berlin Live — Self - Performer2011
via TMDB
Music · MusicBrainz
- Type
- Person
- Gender
- Male
- Origin
- United Kingdom
- Active from
- 1946
Discography
via MusicBrainz · CC0
Listeners · Last.fm
- Listeners
- 1,402,356
- Total plays
- 21,140,344
Tags
Donovan Philips Leitch (born May 10, 1946 in Maryhill, Lanarkshire), better known as simply Donovan, is a Scottish singer, songwriter, and musician. Originally a '60s folk singer, as the decade progressed Donovan cultivated his own unique eclectic sound, mixing elements of folk, pop, jazz, world music and more, often with a twinge of psychedelia. His most well-known work was suffused with altruistic political overtones, making him an iconic figure of the "flower power" counter-culture of the '60
Recent publications · Crossref
5 total works indexed
- Introducing mothur: Open-Source, Platform-Independent, Community-Supported Software for Describing and Comparing Microbial Communities
· 2009 · cited 18,818x
- CheckM: assessing the quality of microbial genomes recovered from isolates, single cells, and metagenomes
· 2015 · cited 11,561x
- Observation of Gravitational Waves from a Binary Black Hole Merger
· 2016 · cited 11,439x
- The Genotype-Tissue Expression (GTEx) project
· 2013 · cited 8,430x
- GW170817: Observation of Gravitational Waves from a Binary Neutron Star Inspiral
· 2017 · cited 8,081x
via Crossref · CC0
Quotes
- “The softer you sing, the louder you're heard.”
- “The magic that you hear in tales and things was all based around the Celtic mythology of England, which is Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings. I just drain from that source. I just drain everything. So the magic is there.”
- “It seemed — in 1968 — the possibilities of peace and brotherhood could be realised that very year. We're still working on it.”
- “In the chilly hours and minutes Of uncertainty I want to be In the warm hold of your lovin' mind. To feel you all around me And to take your hand Along the sand, Ah, but I may as well try and catch the wind.”
- “For me to love you now Would be the sweetest thing, 'Twould make me sing, Ah, but I may as well try and catch the wind.”
- “When rain has hung the leaves with tears I want you near to kill my fears, To help me to leave all my blues behind. For standin' in your heart Is where I want to be And long to be, Ah, but I may as well try and catch the wind.”
via Wikiquote · CC BY-SA
Key facts
- Person.name
- Donovan
- Person.image
- Donovan 1969.JPG
- Person.caption
- Donovan performing on The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour in 1969
- Person.birth_name
- Donovan Phillips Leitch
- Person.birth_place
- Maryhill, Glasgow, Scotland
- Person.years_active
- 1964–present
- Person.children
- 5; including Donovan Leitch and Ione Skye
- Person.partner
- Enid Karl (1966–70)
- Musical artist.embed
- yes
via Wikipedia infobox
Wikidata facts
- Official website
- www.donovan.ie
- Image
- Donovan Washington 2007.jpg
Show 6 more facts
- date of birth
- 1946-05-20
- Commons category
- Donovan
- start of work period
- 1965-00-00
- pseudonym
- Donovan
- name in native language
- Donovan Philips Leitch
- short name
- Donovan Leitch
Sources (3)
via Wikidata · CC0
~40 min read
Article
27 sectionsContents
- Early life
- Music career
- 1964–66: Rise to fame
- Donovan and Dylan
- Collaboration with Mickie Most
- ''Sunshine Superman''
- Mellow Yellow
- Arrest
- 1967–69: International success
- 1970s: Changes
- Open Road band
- Reunions with Linda Lawrence and Mickie Most
- 1980s–1990s
- 2000s
- 2010s–2020s
- Legacy
- Personal life
- Religious beliefs
- Discography
- Filmography
- Actor
- As himself
- Musical composer
- Music and documentary DVD
- Literary works
- References
- External links
Donovan Phillips Leitch (born 10 May 1946) is a Scottish musician, songwriter and record producer. He emerged from the British folk scene in early 1965 and subsequently scored numerous international hit singles and albums during the late 1960s. His work became emblematic of the flower power era with its blend of folk, pop, psychedelia and jazz stylings.
Donovan first achieved recognition with live performances on the pop TV series Ready Steady Go! in 1965. Having signed with Pye Records that year, he recorded singles and two albums in the folk vein for Hickory Records, scoring three UK hit singles: "Catch the Wind", "Colours" and "Universal Soldier", the last written by Buffy Sainte-Marie. He then signed to CBS/Epic in the US and became more successful internationally, beginning a long collaboration with British record producer Mickie Most. In September 1966, "Sunshine Superman" topped America's Billboard Hot 100 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.