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.

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

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.

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.

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.

PRACTICE REHEARSING YOUR COPY BEFORE DELIVERING IT!!

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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

Donovan is incredible , great songs !

"Hail, Atlanta!!!!!!!" If I recall correctly, Donovan guest stars on Futurama as himself. Fantastic!

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

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.

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

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

This very poorly read script doesn’t tell what happened to him, just a history of his career. I saw him perform in 2016, he was great.

Am I the only one left who loves hippies? That was the most refreshing wave to ever hit the US of A...but history is written by the "winners"....with the charming exception of this presentation. Thank you!

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.

Thanks for the info! I still listen to him on a regular basis and I will continue to do so thanks to my CD collection.

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.

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

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.

Crumbs he’s done a lot more than I knew. Thought he might be broke but I doubt it now. Quite amazing, I’m pleased he’s still going.

I loved the movie Brother Sun Sister Moon so much I saw it five times. One of the best things about it was the gentle music. Now I've got to go play it again!! Peace ✌☮

Loved his music back in the day. One of the last Donovan singles i bought was "Rock And Roll Soldier" back in the mid 70's. Still listen to those great songs.

Still got my copy of "Gift from a flower to a garden" double album - bought when it first came out. "Isle of Islay" is my favourite - so peaceful.☮️

I saw him perform in Liverpool at the philharmonic , he was marvelous, he came out to the front of the house signing autographs and speaking to fans which was really lovely, he remarked on my Ringo Starr tee shirt with a smile ,a great night

When my older sister moved out. She left the mellow yellow album. I grew up in the early 70s listening to Donavan.

very annoying to have to keep replaying snippets because of poor pronunciation.was he in a race to the finish.

Rick Ruben became an alley? That's quite a transformation!

Thank you for this video! I liked him back in the late 1960s but lost track after that. Have to do some searching to update my knowledge now!

Dude, the writing's not bad but get someone else to read it.

He made a lot of very good albums.

He had big hits that became main staples of classic rock radio, but he was also really important "behind the scenes", as friends to the Beatle, teaching them traditional finger picking folk style playing (I think that's the story), among other stories I've heard about him.

Donovan is still a really nice friendly person. His new song "i am the shaman" is kool.

Donovan, that's three syllables, not two

His greatest hits album is up there among the best around...☮️🙏

It's just amazing how many late 1960s musicians were born in 1946

Great breakdown of his career.👍 Might double check some pronunciations. Overall awesome video!

Great information. But kind of hard to follow sometimes, because Narrator tends to slur words a bit . NARRATOR: please learn to e-NUN-ci-ate your words. [ pretend you are on stage , in a Play. You need to communicate clearly, to your audience. You have a good voice, and you present well. Just work on it a little. [ I’m not trying to be mean. Just a little constructive criticism. We ALL need some every once in a while.] 📻😁

The lost city is not Atlanta kind narrator, it is Atlantis.

Donovan was a great musician & artist! Good video clips given here, however the monotone reading of a few sheets of paper is extremely boring & I fell asleep trying to listen to this. Great video, but very poor audio presentation sounding like it was just read-off by a totally disinterested person.

After the 1960's he faded from the Radio, and I thought his music's Time had passed. I was sad to no longer hear him randomly through the day. I am pleased to know now that he continued at his craft. I am surprised to find we are only a few weeks different in age

People who narrate should have some notion of public speaking. This guy sounds like he's drunk. Vaciny for vacinity, Meteric for Meteoric, Brish for British, etc., etc.

To whom were you referring, as I always thought his name was Donovan?

Donovan had great tunes I've loved it and still do. From Universal Soldier to Little Tin Soldier, from The Alamo to Catch the Wind and To Try for the Sun and others, he showed to be a good ballads singer and composer. He played guitar better than others, as has been said. I keep hearing him. Nice music. 🆗✔️🙏

One word: diction .

He's one of my favorite singers.

Instead of reading every sentence with the same prosodic changes, beginning the first word with the same higher pitch and ending the last word with the same lower pitch each time, mixing it up is much more pleasant to listen to and sounds much more like natural speech. Nicely done on the info and history.

Sunshine Superman was recorded in 1966

It should be illegal for this narrator to go within 50 feet of a microphone.

Some people find their own path. Rick Rubin was his own path. He became an alley.

This was interesting. I remember “Sunshine Superman” playing on the radio when I was on my way to my prom! I just wish the commentator pronounced his words clearly. It ruined the story.

He’s still going plays a lovely green guitar amongst other instruments.

Turquoise touches my soul, an incredible song.

I was lucky to see Donovan 3 times in the Chicago auditorium theater. Front row each time.

I played his songs over and over until my father threw them out! Never forgave him 😂

Hurdy Gurdy Man is quite a 'spooky' song and has been used in a couple of serial-killer-type movies

Coolest music in the day...great to learn of his work ✌️

Nice video essay. Donovan is one of my faves!

One of the greatest musical minds ever. Love Donovan Leitch!

He finally caught the wind, and blew away.

still play Donovan to this day

Surprised he wasn't a teen idol. One of the few Hippie era artists that could of played on the Brady Bunch

A close friend asked me the other day, if I could only have one music album to play on the proverbial desert island, what would it be? My answer: For Little Ones - the second album of the Gift From a Flower To a Garden boxed set. Every song is a gem, and so are Dono's drawings that came with the set, illustrating each of the songs. It also contains one of my favorite lyrical moments of all time, in the song "Voyage Into the Golden Screen," when he sings the line "Tread so light so not to touch the grass; breathe the air so slowly as you pass." The sound of the thrice repeated letter 't' in the phrase "not to touch" comes out as a soft "t-t-t," precisely embodying the gentleness of presence in the world that the song encourages - a perfect match of sound and lyric. Thank you, Donovan, for the music that has sustained in my heart the loving flower-power vision of our youth for six decades and counting.

why use a narrator with a speech impediment??!!

Nice job. Thanks for the info.

Mell-yell? Donner? Are you a robot?

Bro you need to work on pronounciation...im not trying to be cruel becuase you made a fairly competent documentary. But im not sure if maybe you are dyslexic or ? Anyway good job. Dont give up man . I hit like

OMG! Couldn't they find someone who can read? This guy can't even pronounce "Donovan." And would someone please teach him the difference between "ally" and "alley"?

For me, his sweetest song is "Sun". Check it out if you haven't heard it.

He lived up here in Morongo Valley, CA for a few years. You would see in town from time to time.

8:52 - Rick Rubin became his ally, not his “alley”. It would be weird if he became his alley, unless it was for bowling, then it might be cool.

Donovan was only on CBS-Epic for markets *OUTSIDE* Britain. In Britain he remained signed to the PYE label. In Australia, Catch The Wind and Universal Soldier(penned by Bufft Sainte-Marie) were issued on the Astor label which drew its British content from PYE. After those releases he emerged here on CBS-Epic.

My older brother was also my 'little brother' (in size and... scholastic prowess) ~ but he graduated 8th grade with our Art Medal (best art student) and the Yearbook committee gave him the nickname "Sunshine Superman" ❤️☮️ And it boosted his smile big-time, that spring (1969)...

He made some great songs.

The Hurdy Gurdy Man was used as the music for the opening titles of the British television series "Britannia" in 2018. "Britannia" is a fantastic series and I recommend you check it out.

Enjoyed this, thanks.

I read somewhere that while in india with the beatles he taught john lennon a finger picking style which lead to john using it on dear prudence, julia, and a few other great songs.

Good content, but difficult to listen to because of slurred speech and improperly pronounced words.

His name is Donovan, not Donan.

Donovan was the guy who taught John Lennon how to finger pick. Dear Prudence was the result.

Great Video ) But next time get some one to Narrate professionally, to me it sounded like one LONG never ending or understood sentence...Sorry)

Love Donovan, but this has to be one of the worst voiceover readers ever. And KZfaq is infamous for bad narrators.

He has an emerald green guitar And a quarter moon Inlaid on his forehead. He has a new record on his own label He is 75 years old.

love donovan. would have been nice to hear this narrated by someone who enunciates a little more clearly and knows the words he is speaking -- the lost city of Atlanta? unless of course this was done by a computerized voice generator.

I loved Donavon so much that I named my oldest son after him though I spelled my son's name Donavan just a bit different but I am so much younger then he his music made me feel it was ok to b e different and not have to be part of the norm that you Donavon you changed my life for the good

I was like 16 years old like in 73, Donovan was the first concert I went to at Rutgers Univ. in New Brunswick, NJ. I admit I could be a year off. I still remember it was great. Donovan till I saw this was something I forgot from my youth and music.

Why do you have a robot voicing this? Thumbs down.

'Donovan' taught 'John Lennon' how to play finger picking style and in 1968 when he visited the ashram. John used the style on the song "Julia" and "Happiness is a Warm Gun" on the white album.

Reading a discography is probably more entertaining than watching this video.

Love the song Atlantis. It was B side of 45 in US. Think b/w Susan on the West Coast Waiting. Some said back in the day that I looked like a cross between Donovan and Arlo Guthrie

That first picture of Donovan with the bloody lettering made it seem like he was murdered by the Manson family. I was expecting a grisly end.

Suggest you check out the comments about your enunciation and re-record this video, since the information is good.

I always assumed Donovan passed on back in 1970. I watched a lot of television, and spent a lot of time at Record Stores. In my life time the only times I ever heard the name Donovan was on 1960s retro Radio programs. It's great that he has never given up on his vision

Donovan singing on Billion Dollar Babies is so awesome. Perfect for the song