Originally posted by The Z
Who's Donovan?
Dear Gods, what do they teach kids these days? Next you're going to ask me who Melanie is.
Donovan (Donovan Philip Leitch) was the archtypical "flower child" of the sixties, that is, if you factor in a sense of humor and a gift for melody. His biggest hits were probably "They Call Me Mellow Yellow," and "Hurdy Gurdy Man." He initially settled in Glasgow, and later moved to County Cork. He usually had very good accompaniment on his albums from people like Jimmy Page and and Jeff Beck. Paul McCartney did occasional cameos, and George Harrison played lead guitar on some of his stuff.
He gave it all up in the 1980s, selling a mansion and Rolls Royce, marrying his teenage sweetheart, and moving to a commune where he raised a family. A decade later, he resurfaced, and issued a record. He's been touring occasionally since, but his appeal is either to an older generation, now, who recall the idealism and psychodelic imagery without shuddering over paisley.
I actually pulled out a couple of old Donovan LPs I've still got in my collection. (I was never into the counterculture--it seemed as commercially manipulated as the mainstream culture--but I admired its values, which were actually part of an American continuum stretching back to the communes of the 19th century.) They weren't half bad, and certainly nowhere near as over-engineered as other stuff from the period.