Donovan Leitch, The Autobiography of Donovan: the Hurdy Gurdy Man
(St.Martin's Press, 2005)
2005 has been a banner year for Donovan Leitch. It started in the summer of 2004 when his latest album Beat Cafe was released. It continued to sell steadily, to increasingly warm reviews. He toured here and there, presenting a strong mix of the new music with the old hits. Then Epic/Legacy released a marvelous retrospective box set of his music which covered his long career. Now, he has put down his guitar, put pen to paper, and presented us with his own story of his life. Interesting.
When Donovan first arrived on the scene, he was declared to be the "Scottish Bob Dylan." It's obvious from a cursory listen (and a chronology) that Donovan came to his sound as honestly as Dylan did, both influenced by the same forebears, Woody Guthrie, Ramblin' Jack Elliott, and more. Who among us wasn't? If you played an acoustic guitar in the '60s, and sang "folk" songs you owed a debt to the illustrious Mr. Guthrie and his friends! The comparison of Dylan and Donovan has placed them in a competition throughout both their careers. Now, a year after Dylan's Chronology hit the shelves, comes Mr. Leitch's Autobiography. Just as Dylan's book was written in an authentic Dylan-voice, Donovan's is very much his own work. And very different.
Donovan's prose style is rambling, and idiomatic. It works best if you read it aloud, with a Scottish burr, softly and gently, in a virtual whisper. Like the voice he used for "Atlantis," "...in the days before the grrreat flood..." Then it becomes almost spoken poetry. Otherwise, the text seems precious and twee. But spoken it takes on a life of its own.
There are many idiosyncracies. Spelling errors abound, British actor Tom Courtenay is called "Courtney," while bossa nova master Antonio Carlos Jobim is reduced to "Carlos Jobin." It leads me to believe that the book was composed on tape, and transcribed. It would certainly explain the spelling. A favourite topic is Donovan's powerful sex drive, from the time he was a child he showed an abiding interest in girl's undergarments. Fascinating! I think he shared that interest with Elvis Presley.
There is no false humility displayed on these pages. Donovan makes it clear that he released his first single before Bob Dylan released his. Dylan was an "albums" artist first! Donovan beat Dylan to the use of an electric guitar on stage too, he is quick to point out. He credits Martin Carthy (and others, like Bert Jansch) with helping him develop his fine fingerpicking style. He does go on to tell the reader just what a good student he was, and how he was able to master the techniques. But if it sounds like hubris, it's not. He is too charming to appear arrogant. Throughout it all he seems like a decent enough fellow.
Because his career began in the United Kingdom, and much of the history of rock is built on an American schedule, many false perceptions arose about Donovan. He DID seem a "johnny-come-lately" on this side of the ocean. But his achievements were many. "Sunshine Superman," "Mellow Yellow," "Atlantis," "Jennifer Juniper," "Hurdy Gurdy Man," and "Goo Goo Barabajagal" were but a few of the Top Ten hits he enjoyed, each one adding to the distinctive Donovan sound. He was an original, not simply a shadow. And he continues to be original. He sports some intriguing beliefs. He has experienced "astral travel." He is a Buddhist. He calls his music "Celtic-rock." He is influenced by all that has gone before, and feels one needs to learn about the past in order to create the future. His philosophies are spelled out in the pages of this book.
The story is filled with Sixties icons. The Rolling Stones (especially Brian Jones), the Beatles, Dylan, and more appear in brief but wonderful anecdotes. Donovan taught John Lennon to fingerpick. He captures the essence of the '60s, and brings it up to date in an altogether enjoyable romp through the past that is both curious and charming.
