An artist who went by one name, like Cher or Madonna, Donovan was born with a full name, Donovan Philips Leitch, on May 10, 1946 in Maryhill, Glasgow, Scotland. Donovan contracted Polio when he was a child and walked with a limp the rest of his life. His family had a love of folk music and so, with that influence, he learned the guitar. He started out to be an artist (the kind who paints) but dropped out of school after just a short time.

When he was fifteen, he left home to travel around the countryside. His family had moved to Hatfield, England and the Sixties were just getting started. He hooked up with another traveler who called himself Gypsy Dave and the two of them traveled from town to town, playing on street corners and passing the hat, like hippies. It was a great life. But, Donovan knew he couldn’t live like that forever, so when he was eighteen, he returned to London and began playing in clubs around the city. Eventually, a representative of Pye Records saw him play and signed him to a recording contract.

After recording some demos, Donovan’s manager arranged for him to perform on the British television show, Ready Steady Go. The result was so good, that they invited him back for another performance. Donovan was on his way.

His very first recording hit pay dirt, “Catch the Wind” charted in both England and in the United States (#23.) That was in 1965. He continued to record and release singles, but nothing really popped until at the end of 1965, he recorded “Sunshine Superman.” This song, as are all of Donovan’s songs, was written by Donovan himself. Several years before they were to become famous in their own right, Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones, of Led Zeppelin played on “Sunshine Superman.” The record was held up for several months due to some contract disputes, but finally was released in July of 1966.

Donovan was at first compared with Bob Dylan. They really were a lot alike, they dressed the same and both were heavily involved in the folk circuit. Later, as Donovan developed his own sound, the resemblance became weaker and weaker, until Donovan was finally able to stand on his own.

“Sunshine Superman” actually appeared in a comic book published by DC Comics, the people who publish the regular Superman. I’m not sure what his superpower is, but I would really like to read the comics that, the superhero Sunshine Superman appeared in.

Donovan continued to record until about 1969, when he fell off the charts. The Sixties were over and the taste in music was changing. He never hit number one again, although he came close with “Mellow Yellow” which reached number two. This song was interpreted to mean that you are smoking dried banana skins, which sounds ridiculous to me. It was eventually declared that smoking banana skins will not get you high, so that theory was debunked.

Donovan has been busy most of his life, writing music and releasing albums. He never hit the American charts again after 1969, but he stays in the game. As far as I know, he is still alive today. As of this writing, he is 71 years old and lives in America, today splitting his time between Chandler, Arizona and Moorestown, New Jersey.

“Sunshine Superman” entered the American pop chart on August 13, 1966 and spent one week at number one.