The Autobiography of Donovan: The Hurdy Gurdy Man (Paperback)

~ Donovan Leitch (Author) "I liked the danger wi' Harry..." (more)
Key Phrases: bohemian manifesto, fat angel, finger style, New York, Brian Jones, Mickie Most (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

A folk rocker and early prince of flower power, Donovan (b. 1946) shares wistful memories of his youth growing up in bombed-out Glasgow, Scotland; rambling adolescence in England; and precipitous stardom at age 18. Early on, Donovan (who's known by his first name) contracted polio, leaving him lame. An art student, Donovan left home by 16 to wander with his lifelong friend Gypsy Dave and taught himself how to play guitar by mimicking the folk styles of the Carter Family, Doc Watson, Woody Guthrie and Ramblin' Jack Elliott, among others he credits. After appearances on the British TV show Ready Steady Go! in 1965, he landed a record contract, and Catch the Wind (with its Bob Dylanesque sound) rode the crest of the British Invasion. Fusing folk with jazz and metal, Donovan forged "Celtic rock," and in his recording sessions, engineered brilliantly by Mickie Most, he worked with all the happening musicians and even collaborated with the Beatles. Donovan toots his own horn, amiably. As he achieves in his music, Donovan writes his bohemian manifesto personably and earnestly, stopping short around 1970, when he reunited with muse Linda Lawrence and dropped out. Color photos not seen by PW. (Dec.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Booklist

The quintessential flower-child musician begins his memoirs in the Scots of Glasgow, where he was born in 1946. Moving with his family to England, he changed his accent to conform to new surroundings. He heard Bill Haley and the Comets while still in Scotland, bought Buddy Holly records in England, and as a teenager turned to Joan Baez, Pete Seeger, and Woody Guthrie. At 16, he left home, hitchhiking to Cornwall to lead an itinerant life. Eventually settling in London, he made his first records, prided himself on being the Scottish Woody Guthrie, and enjoyed his first real success with the hit "Catch the Wind" and his first American tour. Anecdotal and name-dropping, he also discusses the British rock invasion of America, folk-rock, his first LSD trip, his drug bust in London, and a visit from a Paul McCartney armed with tunes that would eventually be "Eleanor Rigby" and "Yellow Submarine." In the late sixties, tired of it all, he walked away from the music business. A warm, gentle recollection of a turbulent time. June Sawyers
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin (January 9, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312364342
• ISBN-13: 978-0312364342
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (27 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #310,560 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

32 of 36 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Herky Jerky Man, December 18, 2005

By	Boz Hubris "thecultofbob" (Detroitish) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Autobiography of Donovan: The Hurdy Gurdy Man (Hardcover)

I love Donovan and his music and this book as well for the most part, but I find myself a little less enamored with all the self-aggrandizing which permeates much of the book. Interspersed with the gently flowing prose and poetry of his writing and the wonderful anecdotes are pegs of a ladder in which he continuously climbs up high and shouts out his own accolades (he was the first person to feature electric violin, he started 'world music', he influenced Warhol's banana art on the Velvet Underground album via 'Mellow Yellow', he taught Lennon his plucking style, he, he, he.). Which I suppose is the purpose of an autobiography but coming from such a 'mystical soul' I find it a bit perplexing and contradictory and disappointing(This coming from a grown man who opened a Christmas present [which is the book being reviewed] two weeks early.). That said, it doesn't take away anything from what he accomplished or the book itself, it merely shows him being human like the rest of us. It is a quick breezy read that gives much more than it takes and never bogs down in muddy or unnecessary detail.

****3/4

34 of 40 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Cut Him Some Slack, December 30, 2005

By	rain cloud (USA) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: The Autobiography of Donovan: The Hurdy Gurdy Man (Hardcover)

Geez, people, what is this? I suppose if you didn't live through the sixties and follow this guy's career maybe you would think he was making stuff up.

He wasn't, ok?

First, the issue of being a guitar virtuoso.

Any human being that can play the acoustic guitar like donovan after only playing for two or three years is a virtuoso, ok? He was playing at a level it usually takes ten years to reach. Even the great doc watson said it takes five years on guitar to begin to kind of "come into your own."

Donovan was already donovan after only two or three.

(This equals the development of a couple of other astounding musicians from the sixties I can think of, a guy named McCartney and that other guy, eric what's his name, the one with Cream. Oh, yeah, Clapton).

Maybe since donovan stuck with acoustic and went the singer-songwriter route non-musicians who don't know his time-line don't get it.

Now, as to his being hugely more influential than given credit for being. I really think that's true.

I was nuts about his music way back and remember the first time I heard that great song by the kinks "Lola" (we drank champaigne that tasted just like cherry cola, la, la, la, la Lola). The first time I ever heard that I thought IT WAS DONOVAN. I mean, the style, the voice, the mood, the playfulness, it all sounded just like him. He really was one of the great under-rateds. There were lots of great songs back then that bore his unmistakable influence. Why? Other musicians knew what a buzz he was and couldn't keep from taking notice is why.

To the point, I read Sir Paul's book and he mentioned him several times. Lennon and McCartney both really liked him and respected his music and talent.

So what if he toots his own horn. He's been consistently short-sheeted most of his career. Most of his fan base is aged or dead and I really don't fault him for it. I mean, big deal. Compared to the decades of enjoyment and inspiration he's put out who cares?

I say more power to him.

P.S.
Anybody who can write a song like Isle of Islay is qualified to be considered a musical genius in my book.

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Read and decide for yourself., December 27, 2005

By	Buz McGuire (Mississippi) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Autobiography of Donovan: The Hurdy Gurdy Man (Hardcover)

I would advise that you read this book for yourself and draw your own conclusions. I've been a Donovan fan for the past 37 years, and , what he says in this book is true. When you listen to his entire catalog of material and you consider when he began and how revolutionary his music was for the times, you begin to really appreciate his part in rock history. He was the first major Western rock artist to meld instruments and styles from around the world. What he brings to rock music musically is as important as what Dylan brought to it lyrically. Each album is different, and the non-hits are often of a higher quality than the hits. And, while it is true that the book is filled with his accomplishments and his associations with the icons of the 60's music scene, it's all true. And, as an earlier reviewer points out, isn't that the point of an auto-biography?

Give the book a try, and, while your at it, give his music a try. If you get Donovan, then you really get him, and there's no one else quite like him. If you don't get him, it's your loss.