What Happened to Donovan?

[BerrysJSRD]

Little known and not mentioned here is the Donovan suspended his Rock ’n’ Roll Hall of Fame career to raise his kids in Joshua Tree, CA. He chose to raise their family in Joshua Tree in the 1970s and Donovan was a visible member of that desert community through the 1980s. He performed many small concerts to support our local schools and was never unapproachable when you may bump into him in the market.

[johnbrereton]

When I was 17 I invited a girl over to listen to my only LP, the Beatles Sgt Pepper. When she arrived she brought along her only LP, an early Donovan record that her father had given her. I remember lying in the dark with her, when I suddenly stopped what I was doing to listen to the gentle folk music of Donovan. I was captivated by what I was hearing, and it was the catalyst that started me on my life long journey into not only Folk, but many other forms of music.

[ruadhagainagaidheal]

Donovan had his first paid gig in St Ives Cornwall UK after a stint busking in that beautiful seaside town. At age 65 he returned to St Ives as part of his “farewell” tour. He told me he wanted to end his career on the stage where it began. I was involved with the St.Ives September festival at the time and I had the real pleasure of spending an hour or so with Don over a couple of pints of Cornish beer. Two things come to mind about him. Firstly, he is an outstanding performer. He sat on a stool on that stage, just him and his guitar, for over an hour singing all his popular numbers and came back after the interval and carried on for another hour, to everyone’s utter delight. People had travelled hundreds of miles to be at that gig in our little 500 seat theatre and they were not disappointed. Secondly, he’s a very pleasant, friendly guy with no trace of ego about him. I’d been an admirer of his music since he first became popular in the 1960s, so it felt like I had known him for most of my life as we sat and enjoyed our drinks. I was a complete stranger to him of course, but you wouldn’t have known it - he was so friendly. A very nice bloke, I wish him well.

[keithnaylor]

Nothing has happened to Donovan.
He is alive and well.

[smooches]

I absolutely love Donovan. At 17 yrs I saw him on TV playing "Catch the Wind". I learned it and became a Donovan wannabe, split cowhide jacket and harmonica rack. I always loved his gentle touch. The first time I smoked pot, fourth of July, 1968, Donovan was on my turntable and I played him all night. I'm not sorry..."Sunshine came softly through my window today"...It was prime-time 60s. Acid and pot became way cooler than booze; an alternative buzz. And it was all about Peace, Love, ane Groovy, man.

[zyxmyk]

Donovan picked up a guitar and crunched the learning curve big-time. it normally takes five years to be decent but after two, he was already excellent. Most non-players don't realize how good he is on acoustic guitar. he's pretty extraordinary in his own way, finger picking on things like "candy man" at the speed of light. i love his stuff.

[Cowboybuck]

I met him in the 80s at a bank in Beverly Hills. Told him how much I loved his music but told him I could not find his HMS Donovan album. A month later he sent it to me. I was amazed.

[daskritterhaus]

loved his gentle and melodic tunes and imagery BIG part of my 60s flashbacks.

[parsonj]

Gift from a Flower to a Garden is the quintessence of flower power. Fantastic album.

[drewgeraci]

In the mid-2000s, my wife and I saw Cheap Trick, who was touring with a complete cover of the Sgt. Pepper album. Donovan not only opened, HE SANG HARRISON'S WITHIN YOU WITHOUT YOU with Cheap Trick! A magic night. The show was in a theater setting which made it special in it's intimacy.

[vickielawson]

I’ve loved Donovan since I was 14 and heard Lalena on an old reel-to-reel tape of his greatest hits. His late-90s album “Sutras” is excellent, too.

[davidredshaw]

I caught Donovan in 1967 when Brian Epstein had taken over the Saville Theatre in London's Shaftesbury Avenue (nothing to do with Jimmy Saville by the way) in order to promote pop concerts on the days when the theatre was "dark". It counts as one of my memorable all-time gigs. Donovan had employed the jazz musicians who featured on the Sunshine Superman album and, on a stage lit with low lighting and incense burning, they wove a spell that perfectly summed up the summer of love. The audience was quietly appreciative between numbers but at the end they burst into massive applause and demanded an encore. I choke up now when I think of that summer because we seem to have lost the good vibes somewhere along the way. But I feel privileged to have experienced it and I hope that we may rediscover it one day. I have hope in today's young people.

[JA-jmbk]

"Sunshine Superman" my favorite song of all time. First few chords transport me to another dimension.

[barryw]

He spoke at USC in a song-writing class a couple of years ago. Was very nice and informative.

[Lee.Willcox]

You are a star. My late father and Donovan were pals way back in the early 50's. My dad had a car ! 🤣 Donovan lived in Hatfield and my father in the adjacent St.Albans. I came along in 1969 and we have photos but I don't remember them being taken or Donovan because I was a toddler. They both went their separate ways but my father would receive the occasional phone call. He sent my father a beautiful card full of well wishes when he heard my father had terminal cancer. What a lovely fellow.

[MisterTMH]

I saw him live solo about 20 plus years ago. He was still entertaining live and showed his acoustic guitar skills were still good.

[mukhumor]

He is a beautiful gentle guy and still making music. 🍄🍄🍄 Rock on.

[MsOscara]

In my youth, I loved his folk-style music. As I've gotten older, I've come to appreciate his jazz and rock chops more and more. Songs like Hurdy-Gurdy Man, Barabajagal, Season of the Witch, etc. Really tight compositions, especially on those where he worked with Jeff Beck.

[Goldhunter]

Saw him at the Seattle Center in ??? 1969. Great concert and the kind of good vibs you would expect from people who would go to a Donovan concert. Peace and Love. No head bangers. Catch The Wind is still one of the best songs of the 60's.

[Momcat_maggiefelinefan]

Donovan fan since my teens when I heard Hurdy Gurdy on the radio. I finally got a chance to see my hero in the mid 80’s in Rock and Roll Heaven, a big rock bar in Toronto. Felt I was truly in heaven that night! Even took photos, one of which still hangs on my bedroom wall. Have a huge collection of his music and listen to him regularly.