Donovan Archives - Ramblin' with Roger

D is for Donovan

“When I was a young man I was led to believe there were organizations to kill my snakes for me.”

The Scottish singer, songwriter, and guitarist Donovan Leitch turned 70 on May 10, 2016. Somehow I missed it, alas. He was one of those musicians that borrowed from folk, jazz, pop, psychedelia, and calypso to create a notable and rather recognizable sound that helped define the 1960s.

Like many artists of the period, such as the Kinks, the Rolling Stones, and the Beatles, his UK and US releases were quite different.

I associate Donovan with the Beatles. He contributed the line “sky of blue and sea of green” to “Yellow Submarine.” Donovan was among the guests invited to Abbey Road Studios for the orchestral overdub for “A Day in the Life”. He taught John Lennon a finger-picking guitar style in 1968.

Most notably, Donovan traveled to the ashram of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi in Rishikesh, where all four Beatles, two Beach Boys, and actress Mia Farrow also showed up.

I have one much later album, Sutras, from 1996, described as deeply meditative, produced by Rick Rubin in the same period he was producing Johnny Cash. Though neither critically nor commercially as successful as the Cash albums, I enjoyed it.

Here is a list of 10 essential Donovan songs. And my favorite 16, with links, though only the first two songs are assured of their slots.

16. Eldorado (1996)- the words are by Edgar Allan Poe.
15. Epistle To Dippy (#19 in 1967) – this is, midst the nearly indecipherable psychedelia, a pacifist song.
14. I Love My Shirt, a sweet, simple song I remember watching on the Smothers Brothers TV show. It was the B-side of the single Atlantis in 1968 in the UK, but not in the US.
13. Universal Soldier (#53 in 1965) – it was written and recorded by Canadian singer-songwriter Buffy Sainte-Marie, then covered by him.

12. Catch the Wind (#23 in 1965) – Donovan’s debut single brought the comparisons to Bob Dylan. It’s a “lovelorn ballad about Linda Lawrence (then the significant other of the Rolling Stones’ Brian Jones) who later became Donovan’s wife.”
11. Jennifer Juniper (#26 in 1968) – the song was inspired by Jenny Boyd, sister of George Harrison’s wife, Pattie Boyd.
10. Wear Your Love Like Heaven (#23 in 1967). This shows up in some commercial for perfume, I think.
9. Rikki-Tiki-Tavi (#55 in 1970). It uses the mongoose from Rudyard Kipling’s story in The Jungle Book as a metaphor. “When I was a young man I was led to believe there were organizations to kill my snakes for me. i.e.: the church, i.e.: the government, i.e.: school. But when I got a little older I learned I had to kill them myself.”

8. Colours (#61 in 1965). Lovely in its simplicity.
7. Season of the Witch (1967) – Jimmy Page on guitar. Not a single in the US, but played regularly in his live shows, and covered often.
6. Sunshine Superman (#1 in 1966) – Jimmy Page on guitar. The former comic book fan in me loves “Superman and Green Lantern ain’t got nothin’ in me.”
5. There Is A Mountain (#11 in 1967). Very Buddhist. “First there is a mountain, there is no mountain, then there is.” Copped by the Allman Brothers as the foundation of their Mountain Jam. I copped “Oh, Juanita” for a song I wrote that has fortunately never seen the light of day.

4. Mellow Yellow (#2 for three weeks in 1966) – this song with some suggestive lyrics, was kept out of the #1 slot by Good Vibrations by the Beach Boys, then by Winchester Cathedral by the New Vaudeville Band. It reportedly featured Paul McCartney on backing vocals.
3. Hurdy Gurdy Man (#5 in 1968) – Jimmy Page was one of the electric guitar players and John Paul Jones played bass, arranged the track, and booked the session musicians. John Bonham may, or may not, have played drums, depending on who’s telling the story, and when, memory being tricky. The tambura which Donovan himself plays had been given to him in India by George Harrison.
2. Celtic Rock (1970) – Donovan said that he used the drone of that tambura to create this song. “Hey kala ho kala ho la jai.” It practically defines the genre it namechecks.
1. Goo Goo Barabajagal (#36 in 1969) – billed “with the Jeff Beck Group. “Love Is Hot,” indeed.

ABC Wednesday – Round 19

Rock Hall Noms QUESTIONS

Beastie Boys, GnR, Chili Peppers will win. Who else, I don’t know. Donovan? King? Jett?

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame released its nominations in the last month or two. Here’s the nominating process. “Criteria include the influence and significance of the artists’ contributions to the development and perpetuation of rock and roll.” So there’s some vague line about commercial success, but also “importance”.

Invariably, there are those who kvetch about who’s not on the ballot – if I were so inclined, I’d mention the Moody Blues and Yes.

Who will get in? Who SHOULD get in?

The Beastie Boys – will get in. I have none of their albums.
The Cure – not yet, but eventually. Have a couple of albums.
Donovan – I want to get in, badly; on my ballot. Have a half dozen of his albums.
Eric B. & Rakim – won’t. Have none.
Guns ‘N Roses – mortal lock, tho, like others, there are unnominated artists who started earlier I’d like to see first. Have 2 of their albums.
Heart – eventually, not this year. Have at least one.
Joan Jett & the Blackhearts – maybe; I think Joan’s history with the Runaways raises her cred. I don’t think I have any!
Freddie King – doubt he’ll make it, tho he should, as an early influence, but I admit I have no albums.
Laura Nyro – also nominated last year, doubt she’ll EVER get in as a performer; she OUGHT to get in as a songwriter. She’d be on my ballot. I have at least four of her albums.
Red Hot Chili Peppers – I wish others had gotten in before them. I have one album.
Rufus with Chaka Khan – Chaka should; Rufus, not so much. I have one Rufus’ greatest hits, plus a couple of Chaka albums.
The Small Faces – maybe will get in. I have one or two albums.
The Spinners – I have an irrational affection; they’d be on my ballot, but they probably won’t get in. I have at least two of their albums.
Donna Summer – Nah, though I do have a mostly live double LP that was given to me in the early 1980s.
War – Nah, though I like their greatest hits album that I own.

To recap: I’d vote for Donovan, Jett, King, Nyro, Spinners.
Beastie Boys, GnR, Chili Peppers will win. Who else, I don’t know. Donovan? King? Jett?

Here are some favorites of the nominees I want to win.

Donovan – Barabajagal (Love is Hot)
Donovan – Season of the Witch
Joan Jett and the Blackhearts – I Love Rock ‘n Roll
Laura Nyro – Eli’s Comin’
Spinners – Rubberband Man
Dionne Warwick & the Spinners – Then Came You

“A separate committee, composed primarily of producers, selects the inductees [for] the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Award for Recording Excellence [which] has replaced the Sidemen category.” Whatever. Still want Billy Preston.

C is for Circle Songs

The Cyrkle was a Pennsylvania band, managed by Beatles’ manager Brian Epstein, and named by John Lennon.

The circle is considered the perfect symbol, something with no beginning and no ending. So I decided that all I want to post today are songs, specifically circle songs.

LISTEN TO The Circle Game by Joni Mitchell

Joni Mitchell, a Canadian singer-songwriter, ended her 1970 Ladies of the Canyon album with this oft-covered tune. In fact, Tom Rush had already put it on his 1968 album named after this song. Here’s a 1967 version from Joni. Buffy Sainte-Marie had a minor hit with the song as well.

LISTEN TO Happiness Runs by Donovan

Donovan was one of those 1960s singers that some critics pegged as “the next Bob Dylan”, which is always an unfair comparison. Here’s the Scottish singer on the Smothers Brothers singing Lalena, then Happiness Runs (at 3:50) in 1968. I remember watching it at the time and loving it. The song at the end is, according to one source, Unknown Song, featuring Jennifer Warnes.
Happiness runs in a circular motion
Thought is like a little boat upon the sea.
Everybody is a part of everything anyway,
You can have everything if you let yourself be.

LISTEN TO Windmills of Your Mind by Alison Moyet

English pop singer Alison Moyet is one of several artists to perform this song by Michel Legrand and Alan and Marilyn Bergman, “from the 1968 film The Thomas Crown Affair. Noel Harrison performed the song for the film score. It won the Academy Award for Best Original Song in 1969.” The most famous version was by the late English pop/soul crooner Dusty Springfield, but there have been many others, including Petula Clark, Vanilla Fudge (!), Neil Diamond and Sting.
Like a circle in a spiral
Like a wheel within a wheel
Never ending or beginning
On an ever-spinning reel.

LISTEN TO Will It Go Round In Circles by Billy Preston

American soul singer and keyboardist Billy Preston was a child prodigy and played with musicians such as Ray Charles and Sam Cooke. He befriended the Beatles and later became the first person to get a credit on a Beatles single. He was signed to the Beatles’ Apple Records, but his real success came when he moved to A&M Records and had four Top 10 hits, including this #1. Unfortunately, Billy died in 2006, at the age of 59.

LISTEN TO Will the Circle Be Unbroken by Michelle Wright, Iris DeMent, and Mairead Ni Mhaonaight

Will the Circle Be Unbroken is a 100+ year old song, which I most associate with legendary country music artists the Carter Family. It has been often covered, notably by Johnny Cash, who married into the Carter family when he wed June; and the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, whose album of the same name “brings the longhaired West Coast band together with some of Nashville’s greatest artists.”

LISTEN TO Red Rubber Ball by The Cyrkle

Finally, a bit of a cheat. The Cyrkle was a Pennsylvania band, managed by Beatles’ manager Brian Epstein, and named by John Lennon. This was their biggest hit, as it went to #2 in 1966, written by Paul Simon.

ABC Wednesday – Round 8