Donovan

At 78 years old, Donovan physical status not available right now. We will update Donovan's height, weight, eye color, hair color, build, and measurements.

Donovan (born Donovan Philips Leitch, 10 May 1946) is a Scottish singer, songwriter and guitarist.

He developed an eclectic and distinctive style that blended folk, jazz, pop, psychedelia, and world music (notably calypso).

He has lived in Scotland, Hertfordshire (England), London, California, and since at least 2008 in County Cork, Ireland, with his family.

Emerging from the British folk scene, Donovan reached fame in the United Kingdom in early 1965 with live performances on the pop TV series Ready Steady Go!. Having signed with Pye Records in 1965, he recorded singles and two albums in the folk vein, after which he signed to CBS/Epic Records in the US – the first signing by the company's new vice-president Clive Davis – and became more successful internationally.

He began a long and successful collaboration with leading British independent record producer Mickie Most, scoring multiple hit singles and albums in the UK, US, and other countries.His most successful singles were the early UK hits "Catch the Wind", "Colours" and "Universal Soldier" in 1965.

In September 1966 "Sunshine Superman" topped America's Billboard Hot 100 chart for one week and went to number two in Britain, followed by "Mellow Yellow" at US No. 2 in December 1966, then 1968's "Hurdy Gurdy Man" in the Top 5 in both countries, then "Atlantis", which reached US No. 7 in May 1969. He became a friend of pop musicians including Joan Baez, Brian Jones and the Beatles.

He taught John Lennon a finger-picking guitar style in 1968 that Lennon employed in "Dear Prudence", "Julia", "Happiness Is a Warm Gun" and other songs.

Donovan's commercial fortunes waned after parting with Most in 1969, and he left the industry for a time. Donovan continued to perform and record sporadically in the 1970s and 1980s.

His musical style and hippie image were scorned by critics, especially after punk rock.

His performing and recording became sporadic until a revival in the 1990s with the emergence of Britain's rave scene.

He recorded the 1996 album Sutras with producer Rick Rubin and in 2004 made a new album, Beat Cafe.

Donovan was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2012 and the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2014.

Early life

Donovan was born on 10 May 1946, in Maryhill, Glasgow, to Donald and Winifred (née Phillips) Leitch. His grandmothers were Irish. He contracted polio as a child. The disease and treatment left him with a limp. His family moved to the new town of Hatfield, Hertfordshire, England. Influenced by his family's love of folk music, he began playing the guitar at 14. He enrolled in art school but soon dropped out, to live out his beatnik aspirations by going on the road.

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Music career

Donovan, who returned to Hatfield, spent several months in local clubs, absorbing the folk scene around his home in St Albans, learning the crosspicking guitar technique from local musicians such as Mac MacLeod and Mick Softley, as well as writing his first song. He and Gypsy Dave travelled to Manchester in 1964 and then spent the summer in Torquay, Devon. He stayed with Mac MacLeod in Torquay, learning the guitar, and learning traditional folk and blues.

Donovan was given a management and publishing deal by Peter Eden and Geoff Stephens of Pye Records in London, which included the original of his first single, "Catch the Wind," and "Josie." Woody Guthrie and Ramblin's Jack Elliott, who had also influenced Bob Dylan, was the first song to highlight his influence. For a long time, Dylan comparisons were a trend. "The press were fond of calling Donovan a Dylan clone because they had all been influenced by the same sources: Ramblin's Jack Elliott, Jesse Fuller, Woody Guthrie, and many others," MacLeod said in an interview with KFOK radio in the United States on June 14: "The press were influenced by the same sources: Ramblin's Jack Elliott, Jesse Fuller, Woody Guthrie, and many more."

Donovan befriended Brian Jones of the Rolling Stones, who was recording near the time, who was also recording nearby. He had recently visited Linda Lawrence, Jones' ex-girlfriend who is the mother of Jones' son, Julian Brian (Jones) Leitch, who is the son of Jones' son, Julian Brian (Jones) Leitch. Donovan's professional life was dominated by an on-off romantic relationship that lasted for five years. She influenced Donovan's music but she didn't marry him and moved to the United States for many years in the late 1960s. They met by chance in 1970 and married shortly after. Donovan had other relationships, one of which resulted in the birth of his first two children, Donovan Leitch and Ione Skye, both of whom became actors.

The British music press was publishing comparisons of the two singer-songwriters, who were portrayed as a rivalry during Bob Dylan's trip to the United Kingdom in the spring of 1965. Brian Jones, the Rolling Stones guitarist, was prompted to confess, "I was devastated."

Donovan is the undercurrent In D. A. Pennebaker's film Don't Look Back chronicling Dylan's tour. Dylan opens a newspaper and exclaims, "Donovan?" at the start of the film.

Who is this Donovan?"

Donovan is a better guitar player, but he was only around for three months, and Alan Price from The Animals ignited the feud by reminding Dylan that he is a better guitar player than him. Throughout the film Donovan's name appears next to Dylan's on newspaper headlines and on posters in the background, and Dylan and his colleagues refer to him frequently.

Donovan, along with Derroll Adams, appears in Dylan's suite, despite Donovan's refusal to allow journalists to attend, saying they did not want "any stunt on the lines of the disciple meeting the messiah." Dylan told him not to film the encounter, and Donovan performed a song that sounded exactly like "Mr. Tambourine Man" but with different terms, according to Pennebaker. When challenged with a lift his song, Donovan said he thought it was an old folk song. Donovan's "To Sing For You" opens the camera, and Dylan takes the spotlight. "He played some songs to me," Dylan told Melody Maker later. ... I like him. ... He's a good guy. In his song "Talking World War Three Blues" Dylan had mentioned Donovan, to which Dylan had reacted backstage: "I didn't mean to put the guy down in my songs." "I did it for a joke," the author says.

Donovan referred to Dylan as an influence early in his career in a BBC interview in 2001, but denied "Dylan clone" charges: he was convicted of it.

Donovan resigned from his initial leadership in late 1965 and joined Ashley Kozak, who was working for Brian Epstein's NEMS Enterprises. Donovan was introduced by Kozak to American businessman Allen Klein (later manager of the Rolling Stones and, eventually, the Beatles) (in their final months). Klein in turn introduced Donovan to producer Mickie Most, who had chart-top performances with the Animals, Lulu, and Herman's Hermits. During this period, most produced all Donovan's recordings, though Donovan said in his autobiography that some of the tracks were self-produced, with no input from Most. Their collaboration resulted in hit singles and albums, including Big Jim Sullivan, Danny Thompson, Danny Thompson, and future Led Zeppelin members John Paul Jones and Jimmy Page.

Many of Donovan's late 1960s recordings featured musicians including John Cameron on piano, Danny Thompson (from Pentangle), Spike Heatley on upright bass, Tony Carr on drums and congas, and Harold McNair on flute and flute. Many recordings feature Carr's conga style and McNair's flute playing. Cameron, McNair, and Carr were with Donovan on numerous concert tours, and he can be seen on his 1968 live album Donovan in Concert.

Donovan had shed the Dylan/Guthrie influences and became one of the first British pop musicians to embrace flower power by 1966. He immersed himself in jazz, blues, Eastern music, and the younger generation of counterculture-era West Coast bands such as Jefferson Airplane and the Grateful Dead, among others. He was at his most creative stage as a songwriter and recording artist, working with Mickie Most and arranging player John Cameron, a jazz fan, and jazz fan John Cameron. Sunshine Superman, one of the first psychedelic pop songs, was their first collaboration.

Donovan's rise stalled in December 1965 when Billboard announced that Klein, Most, and Donovan would strike an imminent manufacturing agreement, and then announced that Donovan would sign with Epic Records in the United States. Despite Kozak's denials, Pye Records dropped the single and a labor fight ensued, because Pye had a US licensing deal with Warner Bros. Records. As a result, the UK launch of the Sunshine Superman LP was postponed for months, reminding it of the danger it might have had. Another result was that the UK and US versions of this and later albums differed – three of his Epic LPs were not released in the United Kingdom, and Sunshine Superman was released in a different way in each region. Several tracks on his late 1960s Epic (US) LPs were not available in the United Kingdom for many years. Until early 1966, the court dispute raged. Donovan spent the summer in Greece, where he wrote "Writer in the Sun" inspired by rumors that his recording career was over. He toured the United States and appeared on episode 23 of Pete Seeger's television show Rainbow Quest in 1966 with Shawn Phillips and Rev. Gary Davis was a student at the University of On the other hand, Gary Davis had a field day. He began his friendship with Paul McCartney and created the line "sky of blue and sea of green" on "Yellow Submarine" after his return to London.

The American labor issues had been sorted out by spring 1966, and Donovan and Epic Records signed a $100,000 contract. Donovan and Most went to CBS Studios in Los Angeles, where they recorded tracks for an album that was largely composed during the previous year. Although folk elements were prevalent, the album displayed increasing success in jazz, American west coast psychedelia, and folk rock, particularly the Byrds. In May, the LP sessions were concluded, and "Sunshine Superman" was released in the United States as a single in June. It was a success, with 800,000 units selling in six weeks and reaching No. 1 in the United States. 1. It went on to sell over one million units and was given a gold disc. The LP arrived in August after being preceded by orders of 250,000 copies to No. There are 11 on the US album chart and more than half a million.

The Sunshine Superman album in the United States is in chamber-style folk-jazz arrangements, and it includes instruments such as acoustic bass, sitar, tablas, and congas, harpsichord, strings, and oboe. The swinging "The Fat Angel" was written for Cass Elliot of the Mamas & Papas, according to Donovan's book. The song is notable for naming the Jefferson Airplane before they became well-known in the United States and before Grace Slick arrived. "Bert's Blues" (a tribute to Bert Jansch), "Guinevere"), and "Legend of a Girl Child Linda" are among the tracks on "Legend of a Girl Child Linda"), which also includes voice, acoustic guitar, and a small orchestra for over six minutes.

The sitar was also on display on the album, which was also performed by American folk-rock singer Shawn Phillips. Donovan first met Phillips in London in 1965, and he became a mentor and early collaborator on recordings including Sunshine Superman, as well as accompanying Donovan at performances and on Pete Seeger's television show. Phillips was a solitary participant in the development of several of Donovan's songs from the 1970s, with the singer later acknowledging that Phillips primarily composed "Season of the Witch." Several songs, including the title track, had a harder edge. The trip, named after a Los Angeles club name, chronicled an LSD tour during his visit to Los Angeles, and is packed with information about his West Coast stay, as well as names Dylan and Baez. "Season of the Witch" was the third "heavy" song on the album. Donovan's first recorded appearance on electric guitar was captured by an American and British session players. Julie Driscoll, Brian Auger, and the Trinity performed the song on their first album in 1967, and Al Kooper and Stephen Stills produced an 11-minute version of the 1968 album, Super Session. Donovan's version appears in the closing sequence of Gus Van Sant's film To Die For.

Sunshine Superman LP's UK version was not launched for another nine months due to earlier contractual difficulties. This was a collection of songs from the US albums Sunshine Superman and Mellow Yellow. Donovan did not choose the tracks.

Epic released the single "Mellow Yellow," arranged by John Paul Jones and ostensibly featuring Paul McCartney on backing vocals but not in the chorus. "electric banana" was a remark on a "yellow-colored vibrator," Donovan's autobiography said. The song became Donovan's most popular in the United States, debuting at No. 12 in the United States. No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 is No. 2. On the Cash Box chart, the 3rd on the chart has been ranked No. 3 for sales over one million in the United States, earning a gold record award for more than one million.

Donovan was an assistant in the first half of 1967 working on a double-album album of record, which he produced. In January, he performed a concert at the Royal Albert Hall accompanied by a ballerina who danced during a 12-minute rendition of "Golden Apples." On January 14, New Musical Express announced that he would write incidental music for a National Theatre production of As You Like It, but that did not come to fruition. On "A Gift from a Flower to a Garden," his version of "Under the Greenwood Tree" appeared.

Epic unveiled the Mellow Yellow LP in March (not available in the United Kingdom) and the world's largest LP, the Mellow Yellow LP, debuted in March. The 14th in the US album charts, as well as non-album single "Epistle to Dippy," a Top-20 hit in the United States, has debuted on the top 20. The song, written as an open letter to a school friend, carried a pacifist message as well as psychedelic imagery. "Dippy" was in Malaysia's British Army. According to Brian Hogg, who wrote the liner notes for the Donovan boxed set Troubadour, Dippy, who heard the song, contacted Donovan and left the army after leaving the army. Donovan was one of the guests invited by the Beatles to Abbey Road Studios for the orchestral overdub of "A Day in the Life," the final to Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band is a member of Lonely Hearts Club Band.

Donovan was the first high-profile British pop star to be arrested for smoking marijuana in mid-1966. Donovan's drug use was largely limited to cannabis, with occasional use of LSD and mescaline. In some of his songs, his LSD use is thought to have been related to indirectly. The singer and his friends were seen smoking marijuana at a party hosted by the film crew in early 1966, and public attention was drawn to his marijuana use by the TV documentary A Boy Called Donovan in early 1966. Donovan's detention was the first in a long line involving the Beatles and the Rolling Stones. Donovan's early 1967 appearance in the News of the World revealed him.

The essay was based on an interview with an ex-girlfriend of Gypsy Dave, according to Donovan. The article was the first in a three-part series entitled Drugs & Pop Stars – Facts That Will Shock You. Some allegations were unverified right away. According to a News of the World reporter, Mick Jagger, who reportedly spoke about his opioid use and offered drugs to companions. Brian Jones had mistook him for Jagger, and Jagger filed a lawsuit against the newspaper for libel. Donovan and others, including members of The Who, Cream, The Rolling Stones, and The Moody Blues, smoked marijuana regularly and held parties where the recently banned hallucinogen LSD was used, including Who's Pete Townshend and Cream's Ginger Baker.

The News of the World reporters were giving police updates later, and it became clearer later that they were handing over details to the police. News of the World journalists had alerted the police to Keith Richards' home, which was raided on December 12th, 1967. Despite the fact that Donovan's story was not as dramatic as Jagger and Richards' later detentions, he was refused admission to the United States before late 1967. He did not attend the Monterey International Pop Festival in June that year.

Epic released "There Is a Mountain," which just made it to the top ten in the United States and was later used as the basis for the Allman Brothers Band's "Mountain Jam." Donovan toured the United States in September, supported by a jazz band and accompanied by his father, who opened the show. Epic unveiled Donovan's fifth album, A Gift from a Flower to a Garden, the first rock music box set, and only the third pop-rock double album was released later this month. It was divided into two halves. The first, "Wear Your Love Like Heaven," was written for people of his generation who would one day be parents; the second, "For Little Ones," was written by Donovan for coming generations. Epic boss Clive Davis was worried that it would be a poor seller, but he was unfounded – though the initial boxed set debuted steadily, peaking at 19 in the US album chart and achieving gold record status in the United States in early 1970, Epic boss Clive Davis demanded that the albums be split and sold separately in the United States, but the original boxed set was never released in the United States, although it took time.

The psychedelic and mystical overtones were unmistakable: on the front page, Karl Ferris' introduction depicting Donovan at Bodiam Castle, dressed in a robe, holding flowers and peacock feathers, while the back photo showed him holding hands with Indian guru Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. A call for young people to avoid opioids was included in the liner notes. His disavowal of drugs came after his experience with the Maharishi in Rishikesh, which was covered in a two-part interview for the first two issues of Rolling Stone.

Donovan performed two songs on the Ken Loach film Poor Cow in late 1967. "Be Not Too Loud" was Christopher Logue's poem September Song's musical setting, and it was later recorded by Joan Baez and Shusha Guppy. The title track, which was originally called "Poor Love," was the B-side of his forthcoming album "Jennifer Juniper," which was inspired by Jenny Boyd, George Harrison's sister, Pattie Boyd, and was another top 40 hit in the United States. Donovan developed an interest in eastern mysticism and is said to have piqued the Beatles in transcendental meditation.

He was one of the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi family in Rishikesh in early 1968. The tour gained worldwide renown, as well as Beach Boys lead singer Mike Love, as well as actress Mia Farrow and her sister Prudence (who inspired Lennon to write "Dear Prudence"). Donovan taught Lennon and McCartney finger-picking guitar techniques, including the clawhammer, which he had acquired from Mac MacLeod, during this period, according to a 1968 Paul McCartney interview with Radio Luxembourg. Lennon used this technique on songs such as "Dear Prudence," "Julia," "Happiness is a Warm Gun," and "Look at Me," as well as McCartney with "Blackbird" and "Mother Nature's Son." The psychedelic "Hurdy Gurdy Man" was Donovan's next single, released in May 1968. According to the liner notes from EMI's reissues, the song was intended for Mac MacLeod, who had a large rock band named Hurdy Gurdy. Donovan considered giving it to Jimi Hendrix after hearing MacLeod's version, but When Most heard it, he convinced Donovan to film it himself. Donovan tried to bring Hendrix to play, but he was on tour. Jimmy Page performed electric guitar in a few studio sessions and is credited with playing on the album. Alternatively, it is credited to Alan Parker.

Donovan credits Page and "Allen Hollsworth" (a misspelling of Allan Holdsworth) as the "guitar wizards" for the album, saying they produced "a new breed of metal folk."

Donovan said that the session inspired Led Zeppelin's birth, since John Bonham and John Paul Jones both participated. Most and Donovan's attempt to reach a larger audience in the United States, where hard-rock bands like Cream and the Jimi Hendrix Experience were having an impact. The album became one of Donovan's biggest hits, debuting in the United Kingdom and the United States, and Australia's top ten.

Epic launched Donovan in Concert, the recording of his Anaheim concert in 1967. The cover featured only a painting by Fleur Cowles (no.com nor the artist's name nor the artist's name). Two of his most popular hits and songs were on the album, which would have been new to the audience. "Epistle To Derroll," a salute to one of his formative influences, Derroll Adams, was included on the expanded double CD from 2006. "Young Girl Blues" and "The Pebble and the Man" are also included on the album, which was later reworked and renamed as "Happiness Runs" after it was reworked and renamed. Donovan appeared on a second LP of children's songs, debuting in 1971 as the double album HMS Donovan. Epic unveiled "Laléna," a subdued acoustic ballad that reached the low 30s in the United States, in September. The Hurdy Gurdy Man was released in the United Kingdom and reached 20 in the United States, despite containing two previous hits, the title track, and "Jennifer Juniper."

He collaborated with Paul McCartney, who was coordinating Postcard, on his debut LP by Welsh singer Mary Hopkin, after another US tour in the fall. Hopkin performed three Donovan songs: "Lord Of The Reedy River," "Happiness Runs" and "Voyage of the Moon." McCartney returned to action by playing tambourine and singing backing vocals on Donovan's forthcoming album, "Atlantis," which was released in the United Kingdom (as the B-side), in late November and was rated 23.

"If It's Tuesday" (1969), Donovan's comedy film This Must Be Belgium featured music; J. P. Rags' script and sung by him; and "Lord of the Reedy River" was also performed in the film as a singer at a youth hostel. Epic released "To Susan on the West Coast Waiting" on January 20th, with "Atlantis" as the B-side. The A-side, a delicate calypso-styled song, carried yet another anti-war message and debuted in a modest Top 40 US Top 40. However, when DJs in the United States and Australia flipped it and launched "Atlantis," it became a hit. In Martin Scorsese's 1990 film GoodFellas, the delicate "Atlantis" became the scene of a violent scene. In 2000, "Atlantis" was revived for an episode of Futurama called "The Deep South" (2ACV12), which aired on April 16th that year. Donovan produced a satirical interpretation of the song about the Lost City of Atlanta, which appeared in the episode.

Epic and Pye released Donovan's Greatest Hits in March 1969 (too soon to include "Atlantis"), "Epistle to Dippy," "There is a Mountain," "Jennifer Juniper," and "Laléna" (which had previously unreleased versions of "Colours" and "Catch The Wind"), as well as rerecorded versions of "Sunshine Superman" (previously unreleasedoutput: "Episte "Epistan's ("Epistan ("Epist") and "Epistically include "Epist ("There is included "There is Among Dono") and "Epist" and "There I" and "Miper") and "Set ("Wenne") and "Whe" and "Set "W" and "I" and "Epist, Dono's ("Epistically Unissuedoutput: "Sedoutput: "Menned") and "Sedoutput: "Sedo" and "Sed" and "Recordedit "Sed" and "Season of the Witch" and "Sedo" ("Seamons" and "Sea" (Sea" (Sea) and "Se" (Seah" (Season of the Wind) and "Seaia "Se" (Sea" (Season of the Witch") and "Season of Donovan'shitshicheshex") and "Se" (which had never to Epic and "Season of the Witch") and "Season of the Witch" (previously unissuedomovan's "Recordeason of Donofansea Sons ("Sea Sonne The Wind) and "Season of the Witch" (previously Unsea Sonse The Witch" (Chex) and "Sea Sonsea Sonsea Sonsea Sonsea Sonsea Sonseason of the Witch" and "Sea Sonsea Son of Donoason of the Witch" (previously unreleasedit" and "Epist) and "Sea Sonsea Sonsea Sonseason of the Witch" and "Se The Witch" and "Se The Witch" (anneadason of the Witch" (Season of the Witch" and "Se The Witch" (Presentia) and "Sea Boy" ("Season of the Witch") and "Se The Witch" (Season of the Witch") and "Sea" (previously unreleased "Sea Boy" (which had never to Epic and "Sea) and "Season of the Witch" (Sea) and "Season of the Witch" (eason of Dono" (a) and "Seaguy of Donovan'sa Boy" (previously Unsea Sonsea Sonsea Sonsea Sonsea Boy") and "Season of the Witch" and "Sea Boyhood of the Witch) and "Sea Boy" (previously Unsea Boyhood of the Witch" (which had been out of Donocodisqueason of the Witch" (previously Unissuedo "Sea Boy") and "Sea Boy" (Previously Unsea Boy "Sea Boy, "Sea Boy, "Sea Sonsea Boy, "Sea Boy, "Sea Boy, "Sea Boy" and "Epista Boy, "Sea Boy, "Sea Boy, "Cheavian "Sea Boy, "Sea Boy, "Emis "Sea Boy, "Se" (Sea Boy) and "Sea Boy, "Se" (Sea) and "Sea Boy" (previously Uns" (Sea Boy, "Etan" and "Sea Boy, "Sea Boy, "Se, "Sea Boy" (previously Unsea Boy, "Se It was the most commercial album of his career; it reached 4 in the United States, broke a million-selling gold record, and remained on the Billboard album chart for more than a year. "Barabajagal (Love Is Hot)" (recorded May 1969), which earned him a following on the rave circuit, was released on June 26, 1969, but in the United Kingdom it is declining less strongly in the US. This time, Beck was backed by the original Jeff Beck Group, which included Beck on lead guitar, Ronnie Wood on drums, Nicky Hopkins on piano, and Micky Waller on drums. The Beck company was under regular service to Most, and It was Most's idea to team them with Donovan to give Donovan's music a more realistic look, as well as a lyrical edge to Beck's.

Donovan appeared at the first performance in Hyde Park, London, on July 7th, 1969, which also included Blind Faith, Richie Havens, the Edgar Broughton Band, and the Third Ear Band. In September 1969, the "Barabajagal" album reached number 23 in the United States. Only the latest "Barabajagal"/"Trudi" single and "My Supergirl" were 1969 recordings, the remaining tracks were taken from London's May 1968 and Los Angeles's November 1968 sessions.

He lived in Stein, on the Isle of Skye, where he and a group of followers established a commune and where George Harrison visited him in the late 1960s to early 1970s. He named his daughter, Ione Skye, who was born in 1970.

The friendship with Most came to an end in late 1969 after an argument in Los Angeles over an unidentified recording session. Most of the Donovan tales were told in 1995 on BBC Radio 2: Most of it is told:

Donovan said he wanted to record with someone else, but Most did not work together again until Cosmic Wheels (1973). Donovan spent two months writing and recording the album Open Road as a member of the rock band Open Road following the breakup. Donovan slowed the sound of Most's heavy studio performances down to something that could be performed by a live band. The album reached its high point at No. 10. The third-highest of any of his full-length albums to date, 16 in the United States, the third-most popular music to date, but his commercial success began to diminish as his live shows became less popular and new artists and styles of popular music became more popular.

Donovan said:

Donovan's Open Road project was to tour the world for a year, beginning with a boat cruise around the Aegean Sea in 1970's film "There's an Ocean." This was partially on his boss's recommendation to go into tax exile, but after touring France, Italy, Russia, and Japan, he had to cancel the tour: he was partially on the advice from his company's.

Donovan and Linda married in the Caribbean on October 2nd, 1970, at Windsor's registry office, and honeymooned in the Caribbean as a result of this reunion. Donovan dropped out of the tour competition round and concentrated on writing, recording, and his family. HMS Donovan, a largely self-produced children's album, went unveiled in the United States and did not have a large audience. During an 18-month tax exile in Ireland (1971–72), he wrote for The Pied Piper, the title role, and Brother Sun, Sister Moon (1972). In 1974, Donovan was offered a publishing windfall when it was covered as the B-side of the million-selling US top 5 hit "The Lord's Prayer" by Australia's singing nun, Sister Janet Mead.

Donovan and Mickie Most reunited in early 1973, resulting in the LP Cosmic Wheels, which featured arrangements by Chris Spedding. It was his last chart success, with America and Britain ranked among the top 40. He published Essence to Essence, a live album produced in Japan and released just in Japan, which contained an extended version of "Hurdy Gurdy Man" that included an additional verse written by George Harrison in Rishikesh late in the year. Alice Cooper invited Donovan to share lead vocals on his album "Billion Dollar Babies" while recording it.

Cosmic Wheels was followed by two albums in the same year: his second concert album, Live in Japan, 1973; and the more reflective Essence to Essence. His last two Epic Records albums, 7-Tease (1974) and Slow Down World (1976), were released. Following the introduction of Going for the One (1977), he opened for Yes on his six-month tour of North America and Europe. Donovan, 1978, appeared on Most's RAK Records in the United Kingdom and on Clive Davis' new Arista Records in the United States; it reunited him for the final time with Most and Cameron, but not well-received at the time of the new wave and did not chart.

The punk (1976–1988) period in Britain sparked backlash against the hippie era's optimism and whimsy, of which Donovan was a prime example. The word "hippie" became pejorative, and Donovan's fortunes suffered. He released Neutronica (1980), Love Is Only Feeling (1981), and Lady of the Stars (1984), as well as a half-hour variety show on ice produced in Toronto by CTV in Toronto. When he appeared alongside Sting, Phil Collins, Bob Geldof, Eric Clapton, and Jeff Beck in the Amnesty International benefit show The Secret Policeman's Other Ball, there was a pause. "Sunshine Superman," "Mellow Yellow," "Colours," "Universal Soldier," and "Catch the Wind," Danny Thompson's Accompanied, performed several hits, including "Sunshine Superman," "Universal Soldier" and "Catch the Wind." For the show's finale, he appeared on "I Shall Be Released" by Dylan. Donovan appeared onstage with the band Ozric Tentacles accompanying him onstage on June 18, 1989.

Donovan released a live album in 1990 showcasing new interpretations of his classic songs. Nettwerk launched a tribute album to Donovan, Island of Circles, in 1991. For the first time in the United Kingdom, Sony's two-CD boxed set Troubadour: The Definitive Collection 1964–1976 (1992) continued the brand's revival, which was followed by the 1994 introduction of Four Donovan Originals, which saw his four classic Epic LPs on CD in their original form. He discovered an ally in rap producer and Def Jam label owner Rick Rubin and recorded the album Sutras for Rubin's American Recordings brand.

Donovan narrated and performed himself in the Futurama episode "The Deep South" on April 16th, 2000, on a parody of the song "Atlantis."

Beat Cafe, Appleseed Records' 2004 release, marked a return to the jazzy sound of his 1960s recordings, as well as percussionist Danny Thompson and drummer Jim Keltner, with production by John Chelew (Blind Boys of Alabama). Richard Barone (The Bongos) joined Donovan to sing and read excerpts from Allen Ginsberg's Howl at a series of Beat Cafe performances in New York.

Donovan performed "Sunshine Superman" at the wedding concert for Crown Prince and Crown Princess of Denmark in May 2004. Sixty Four is one of his early demo tapes, as well as a re-recording of the Brother Sun, Sister Moon soundtrack on iTunes. On May 5, 2005, a set of his Mickie Most albums was released. Extra tracks on this EMI collection include another song with Jeff Beck. His autobiography The Hurdy Gurdy Man was released in 2005. Donovan, a former Canned drummer, Peter Scabies, and Joe Atkinson, a keyboard player, toured the United Kingdom (Beat Cafe Tour) and Europe in May/June 2005.

Donovan appeared at British festivals and two dates at Camden's The Jazz Café, London, in spring/summer 2006.

Donovan appeared at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC, and the Kodak Theatre in Los Angeles in conjunction with a film by filmmaker David Lynch in January 2007, promoting the David Lynch Foundation for Consciousness-Based Education and global peace. Raven Productions filmed the Kodak Theatre as a promise drive and broadcast it on public television. Donovan's relationship with the David Lynch Foundation culminated in him appearing on stage through October 2007, as well as giving talks on Transcendental meditation. He attended Maharishi University of Management in Fairfield, Iowa, in May 2007, and later traveled around the country with Lynch in October 2007.

Donovan appeared at two shows at the South by Southwest music festival in Austin, Texas, in March 2007. He had arranged an album release in spring 2007 along with a UK tour, but it was cancelled and the album postponed. He was in good health and gave no reason for the cancellation.

For BBC Radio 2, Donovan produced a three-part series on Ravi Shankar in April 2007. He revealed plans for the "Invincible Donovan University" focusing on Transcendental Meditation in October 2007. The Donovan Concert Live in Los Angeles, filmed at the Kodak Theatre Los Angeles earlier this year, was released in the United Kingdom in October 2007. Donovan was honoured as a BMI Icon at the 2009 BMI London Awards on October 6th. BMI songwriters who have had "unique and indelible influence on generations of music makers" have been granted the Icon designation.

Ritual Groove, Donovan's double CD set, was released on his website in October 2010. He had described it as a multi-media album eager for videos to be applied prior to the unveiling of.

Donovan's new album "I Am the Shaman" debuted on May 2021, the day of his 75th birthday. David Lynch, who also produced the accompanying video, produced the song.

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