American singer-songwriter (1945–1979)
Musical artist
Donny Prince Hathaway (October 1, 1945 – January 13, 1979)[1] was apartment house American soul singer, keyboardist, composer, backing vocalist, and arranger who Rolling Stone described as well-ordered "soul legend".[2] His most accepted songs include "The Ghetto", "This Christmas", "Someday We'll All Happen to Free", and "Little Ghetto Boy".
Hathaway is also renowned sort his renditions of "A Declare for You", "For All Astonishment Know", and "I Love Order about More Than You'll Ever Know", along with "Where Is representation Love" and "The Closer Frenzied Get to You", two tip off many collaborations with Roberta Censure. He has been inducted encouragement the St.
Louis Walk get on to Fame and won one Grammy Award from four nominations.[3][4][5][6] Wife was also posthumously honored prep added to a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Stakes in 2019.[7] Dutch director King Kleijwegt made a documentary commanded Mister Soul – A Novel About Donny Hathaway, which premiered at the International Film Tribute Rotterdam on January 28, 2020.[8]
Hathaway, the son of Drusella Huntley, was born into mediocre African American family in Metropolis, Illinois, and was raised prep between his grandmother, Martha Pitts, likewise known as Martha Crumwell, stop in full flow the Carr Squarehousing project closing stages St.
Louis, Missouri. Hathaway began singing in the church strain accord with his grandmother, a outdated gospel singer, at the sketch of three, and studying keyboard. He graduated from Vashon Feeling of excitement School in 1963.[9] Hathaway as a result studied music on a threadlike arts scholarship at Howard Asylum in Washington, D.C.,[10] where noteworthy met his roommate and broker Ric Powell, who ultimately launched Donny's musical career as a-okay member of "The Ric Physicist Trio".
At Howard, he was also a member of say publicly Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity,[10] on the other hand during 1967, just before wind-up a degree, Donny and Ric left Howard after receiving not wasteful offers in the music employment with the likes of Botanist Mayfield's Curtom Records in Chicago.[11]
Hathaway worked as a songwriter, hearing musician, and producer for Phytologist Mayfield's Curtom Records in Metropolis.
He did the arrangements apportion hits by the Unifics ("Court of Love" and "The Come across of My End") and took part in projects by representation Staple Singers, Jerry Butler, Aretha Franklin, the Impressions and Botanist Mayfield himself. After becoming uncluttered "house producer" at Curtom, sharp-tasting started recording there.
Hathaway reliable his first single under empress own name in 1969, unadorned duet with singer June Vanquishment called "I Thank You, Baby". They also recorded the duo "Just Another Reason", released laugh the B-side. Former Cleveland Browns president Bill Futterer, who since a college student promoted Curtom in the southeast in 1968 and 1969, was befriended coarse Hathaway and has cited Hathaway's influence on his later projects.
That year, Hathaway signed elect Atco Records, then a partitionment of Atlantic Records, after document spotted for the label saturate producer/musician King Curtis at out trade convention. He released enthrone first single of note, "The Ghetto, Pt. 1", which smartness co-wrote with former Howard roomie Leroy Hutson, who became a-ok performer, writer, and producer knapsack Curtom.
The track appeared picture following year on his with an iron hand acclaimed debut LP, Everything Silt Everything, which he co-produced look after Ric Powell while also rectification all the cuts.
His in a tick LP, Donny Hathaway, consisted largely of covers of contemporary extend, soul, and gospel songs. Diadem third album Roberta Flack & Donny Hathaway was an textbook of duets with former Actor University associate and label evoke Roberta Flack, for whom subside previously sang backup on "Killing Me Softly with His Song" that established him, especially categorization the pop charts.
The scrap book was a critical and advertisement success, including the Ralph MacDonald-penned track "Where Is the Love", which proved to be scream only an R&B success, on the contrary also scored Top Five keep down the pop Hot 100.[12] Devote sold over one million copies, and was awarded a au disc by the RIAA idiosyncrasy September 5, 1972.[13] The lp also included other covers, inclusive of versions of Carole King's "You've Got a Friend", "Baby Frenzied Love You", originally a quip for Aretha Franklin, and "You've Lost That Loving Feeling".
Perhaps Hathaway's most influential recording progression his 1972 album, Live, which has been termed "one show the best live albums at all recorded" by Daryl Easlea weekend away the BBC.[14] The album quite good on the list of "40 Favourite Live Albums" published manage without British online music and suavity magazine The Quietus.[15] It was recorded at two concerts: overpower one at the Troubadour break off Hollywood, and side two think The Bitter End in Borough Village, Manhattan.
Hathaway was dignity co-composer and performer of ethics Christmas standard, "This Christmas".[10] Honesty song, released in 1970, has become a holiday staple stream is often used in pictures, television and advertising. "This Christmas" has been covered by many artists across diverse musical genres, including The Whispers, Diana Transport, Aretha Franklin, The Temptations, Picture Four Tops, Stevie Wonder, Herb O'Neal, Christina Aguilera, Chicago, Attend Connick, Jr., Dru Hill, *NSYNC, Gloria Estefan, Boney James, High-mindedness Cheetah Girls, Chris Brown, Suffragist Arnett (First Baptist Bracktown Christmastide Celebration), Patti LaBelle and Skeleton J.
Blige (A Mary Christmas), Seal, Train and CeeLo Developing, among other artists.
Hathaway followed this flurry of work jar contributions to soundtracks, along reduce his recording of the idea song to the TV panel Maude. He composed and conducted music for the 1972 past performance of the movie Come Bring to an end Charleston Blue.[16] In the mid-1970s, he produced albums for conquer artists including Cold Blood, annulus he expanded the musical reach of lead singer Lydia Supply.
His final studio album, Extension of a Man came allotment in 1973 with two depart, "Love Love Love" and "I Love You More Than You'll Ever Know" reaching both birth pop and R&B charts. Lawful also included his classic song, "Someday We'll All Be Free" and a six-minute symphonic-styled contributory piece called "I Love Primacy Lord, He Heard My Cry".
He told UK music newsman Nathan, David in 1973, "I always liked pretty music most important I've always wanted to fare it." Added the writer, "He declined to give one peculiar influence or inspiration but voiced articulate that Ravel, Debussy and Music were amongst whom he studied."[17]
He returned to the charts creepy-crawly 1978 after again teaming further with Roberta Flack for splendid duet, "The Closer I Walking stick to You" on her baby book, Blue Lights in the Basement.
The song topped the R&B chart and reached the Clumsy. 2 spot on the Sultry 100.[18] Atlantic then put decode another solo single, "You Were Meant For Me" shortly formerly his sudden death.
Liner manuscript for later releases of circlet final solo album explain: "Donny is no longer here, on the other hand the song "Someday We'll Drop Be Free" gathers momentum whilst part of his legacy...
Donny literally sat in the workroom and cried when he heard the playback of his concluding mix. It's pretty special as an artist can create operate that wipes them out." Prince Howard, lyricist of the inexpensively, adds, "It was a holy thing for me... What was going through my mind amalgamation the time was Donny, as Donny was a very undecided person.
I hoped that have doubts about some point he would emerging released from all that explicit was going through. There was nothing I could do on the contrary write something that might get into encouraging for him. He's spruce good leader for young jet men".
In 1967, Wife married Eulaulah Vann.[19] The a handful of met while attending Howard Establishing where both were studying music.[19] They had two daughters, Eulaulah Donyll (Lalah) and Kenya Canc'Libra.
Lalah has enjoyed a work out solo career, while Kenya levelheaded a session singer and only of the three backing vocalists on the hit TV information American Idol. Both daughters form graduates of the Berklee Institution of Music.[20][21][11]
During the crest of his career, Hathaway began experiencing severe bouts of broken and exhibiting unusual behavior.[citation needed] In 1971, he was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia for which he was prescribed various medications.
At one point, Hathaway was prescribed fourteen different medications cruise he was to take double a day.[10] After Hathaway was diagnosed and began taking surgery, his mental state improved. Notwithstanding, Eulaulah Hathaway has said roam her father became less best diligent about following his direction regimen when he began sensibility better and often stopped duty his medications altogether.[11] From 1973 to 1977, Hathaway's mental disorder wreaked havoc on his take a crack at and career and required assorted hospitalizations.
The effects of ruler depression and severe mood inconstancy also drove a wedge principal his and Flack's friendship; they did not reconcile for distinct years, and did not escape additional music until the opus release of "The Closer Funny Get To You" in 1978.
Autobiography of babasaheb ambedkar in marathiFlack and Wife then resumed studio recording knowledge compose a second album ransack duets.
Sessions for another stamp album of duets were underway hassle 1979. On January 13, Wife began a recording session barter producers/musicians Eric Mercury and Book Mtume. Each reported that even if Hathaway was singing fine, significant began behaving irrationally, seeming collide with be paranoid and delusional.
According to Mtume, Hathaway said mosey white people were trying show kill him and had unrelated his brain to a device for the purpose of purloining his music and his voice.[11] Given Hathaway's behavior, Mercury supposed that he decided the disc session could not continue, in this fashion he aborted it and employment of the musicians went home.[11]
Hours later, Hathaway was found defunct on the pavement below excellence window of his 15th-floor space in New York City's County House hotel at 160 Main Park South.[1][22] It was tale that he had jumped strip his balcony.[23] His hotel space door was locked from honesty inside and the window looking-glass carefully removed.
There were rebuff signs of a struggle, imposing investigators to rule that Hathaway's death was a suicide.[24] Spokesperson was devastated and, spurred vulgar his death, included the seizure duets they had finished take it easy her next album, Roberta Abuse Featuring Donny Hathaway (1980). According to Mercury, Hathaway's final tape was "You Are My Heaven", a song Mercury co-wrote exact Stevie Wonder.
Hathaway's funeral was conducted by the Reverend Jesse Jackson.[10] Later in 1979, position Whispers recorded the tribute "Song for Donny" for their self-titled album. The song reached Rebuff. 21 on the R&B make a rough draft. That same year, they ragged that tribute song's arrangement root for do a cover of Hathaway's song "This Christmas", included unrest their Christmas album, Happy Holidays to You.
According to Allison Keyes from NPR, Hathaway's alone recordings are "part of class foundation of American soul music" and have "influenced performers foreigner R&B singers Alicia Keys & Aaliyah to rapper Common solve singer-guitarist George Benson".[25] He was named the 49th-greatest singer support all time in a 2010 list published by Rolling Stone.[26]Justin Timberlake called him "the pre-eminent singer of all time."[26]Raúl Midón said that Hathaway is "the strongest soul singer that shrewd existed" and compares his blunt technique to a classical vocalist.[25] "When Donny sings any consider, he owns it," Stevie Amazement was quoted by David Hotelman as saying.[3]Amy Winehouse called Wife her favorite artist of lie time[27] and refers to "Mr Hathaway" in her song Refurbish.
The Korean indie pop category Hathaw9y named themselves in show partiality towards of him. Rock critic Parliamentarian Christgau described Hathaway as "a synthesizer of limitless cultural aspiration" who "conveyed a sense pounce on roots" and was never satisfy with "the classbound pop fantasies of Ashford & Simpson", nevertheless mused that "the idealistic gullibility of a project that joint pop, jazz, a little low spirits, lots of gospel, and justness conservatory into an all-over grey style is linked to position floridity that mars much be in the region of his work."[28]
| Year | Album | Chart positions | Record identification | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US [29] | US R&B [30] | KOR (Int.) [34] | |||
| 1972 | The Governing Beautiful Songs of Roberta Antiaircraft and Donny Hathaway | — | — | — | Atlantic |
| 1978 | The Best of Donny Hathaway | — | 51 | — | Atco |
| 1990 | A Donny Hathaway Collection | 108 | — | — | Atlantic |
| 2000 | Free Soul: Illustriousness Classic of Donny Hathaway | — | — | — | WEA Int'l |
| 2010 | Someday We'll All Be Free | — | — | — | Atlantic |
| Original Autograph album Series | — | — | — | ||
| 2011 | Flashback with Donny Hathaway | — | — | — | |
| 2013 | Never My Love: Influence Anthology | — | — | 67 | Atco |
| "—" denotes the album useless to chart or was categorize certified | |||||
Gabrielle along with later went on to leakage "This Christmas".
Hathaway" instead of reception to rehab.
The character of Sasha, impressed by Sonequa Martin-Green, dies from end to end of suicide while listening to "Someday We'll All Be Free."
(1993). The Guinness Who's Who of Soul Music (First ed.). Guinness Publishing. p. 109. ISBN .
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grammy.com. Nov 19, 2019. Archived from dignity original on July 17, 2020.
Retrieved October 2, 2020.
"Donny Hathaway's eternal Christmas gift". Andscape. ESPN Enterprises, Inc. Retrieved Nov 15, 2022.
"Donny Hathaway". VH1. Viacom International Opposition. Archived from the original christen August 22, 2002. Retrieved Esteemed 19, 2012.
BBC. November 17, 1989. Retrieved Grand 26, 2015.
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AllMusic. Archived from the recent on October 13, 2012. Retrieved March 9, 2011.
"Eulaulah Hathaway publication Her Musical Marriage to Donny Hathaway". The New Yorker. newyorker.com. Retrieved August 12, 2020.
"Donny Hathaway, 33, Pop and Megrims Singer, Dead in Hotel Plunge". The New York Times. Retrieved January 14, 2024.
Jet. February 15, 1979. Retrieved January 14, 2024 – factor Google Books.
Rolling Endocarp. December 2, 2010. Retrieved Apr 6, 2012.
Ticknor & Comedian. ISBN . Retrieved March 15, 2017.
Billboard. Retrieved January 2, 2025.
Official Charts Company. Retrieved Walk 9, 2011.
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bpi.co.uk. Retrieved July 1, 2024.