Donovan

Donovan Phillips Leitch, born on 10 May 1946, is a Scottish musician, singer-songwriter and producer. He emerged from the British folk scene in early 1965 and went on to score a string of international hits in the late 1960s, with a style blending folk, pop, psychedelia and jazz that became emblematic of the flower power era.

Spotted in 1965 on the show Ready Steady Go!, Donovan signed to Pye Records and then recorded for Hickory Records the hits “Catch the Wind”, “Colours” and “Universal Soldier”. He then joined CBS/Epic in the United States and began a long collaboration with producer Mickie Most: “Sunshine Superman” reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 in September 1966, followed by “Mellow Yellow”, “Hurdy Gurdy Man” (1968) and “Atlantis” (1969). Donovan also taught John Lennon a fingerpicking guitar style used on “Dear Prudence” and “Julia”, and his backing musicians included John Bonham, Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones, future members of Led Zeppelin.

After a decline in popularity in the late 1960s, Donovan continued to perform through the 1970s and 1980s, then settled in Ireland in 1994. He recorded the album Sutras with Rick Rubin in 1996, then Beat Cafe in 2004, before being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2012 and the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2014.