Donovan

Donovan Leitch (born 10th May 1946) is a Scottish singer-songwriter who emerged as part of the mid-1960s folk music scene.

Donovan was born in a tenement in Maryhill (Glasgow), the son of a lathe operator, although the family moved to Hatfield (England) in 1956. At first he was called the British answer to Bob Dylan, despite the fact that his own vision and style couldn't be more different from Dylan's. Donovan first hit the pop charts in 1965 with his single "Catch the Wind".

He produced hit after hit throughout the sixties and his Sunshine Superman album was considered an innovative breakthrough to a new pyschedelic pop sound. His 1967 double album A Gift from a Flower to a Garden completed the transition from beat poet folkster to hippie troubadour. His career continued though the 1970s and picked up again with re-issues of his old songs in the 1990s.

As a close friend of The Beatles he travelled to India with them during their famous trip, and taught them how to fingerpick on their guitars.