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An exclusive interview with singer-songwriter Donovan (Maryhill, Scotland, 1949). Donovan Leitch spoke with LARB earlier this year, at a stop on his ongoing “Retrospective/Sunshine Superman” 50th-anniversary world tour. He discusses folk music, “the bohemian manifesto of free speech” of the Beats, and using psychedelia (his groundbreaking 1966 album Sunshine Superman is one of the earliest examples of the genre) to introduce Celtic themes and jazz into pop radio. He also explains the deep meaning of his songs “Season of the Witch,” “Hurdy Gurdy Man,” and “Sunshine Superman,” and the ongoing relevance of the current live renditions of “Universal Soldier” and “Isle of Islay.” Donovan’s spiritual journey as a longtime follower of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi’s Transcendental Meditation (TM) is also discussed. (9:45 mins.)
LARB Contributor
Michael Kurcfeld is a journalist, originally from the print world, but since 1990 working in electronic media. Since founding Stonehenge Media, he has produced film and arts coverage for NYTimes.com, WSJ.com, Huffington Post, PBS, Bravo, Yahoo Movies, 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment, and Film.com. He produces the Photographer Spotlight series for the Los Angeles Review of Books.
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