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blog post How Bob Dylan stopped that pretender, Donovan

posted by Tom Power on Feb 16, 2012

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In 1965, Bob Dylan was on tour in England. And while he was enjoying his reign as king of folk music, (and in many ways king of all pop and folk culture), everywhere he went he saw magazines saying he was old hat. All throughout England, front pages of newspapers and arts magazines proclaimed that there was a "New Dylan" and his name was Donovan Leitch.

You might know Donovan as the singer of such groovy, incredibly dated bits of psychedelia like Mellow Yellow and Sunshine Superman, but back in '65 he was a bit of a Dylan clone. He wore the same sunglasses, the same boots, and sang the same kind of lyrical folk songs that Dylan was making famous. And since Dylan was going into more esoteric, conceptual forms of songwriting, a lot of ex-Dylan fans flocked to the young Scot to sate their need for another Dylan.

The filmmaker D.A Pennebaker happened to be on the road with Dylan during his tour, and was shooting footage that would eventually make up his legendary documentary Don't Look Back. And he captured footage of a confrontation that would go down in the history books.

Dylan was in his hotel room with his entourage, and word came around that Donovan wanted to meet him - so Dylan invited him up to hang out. Eventually one of Donovan's people spied the cameras and thought it would be a good chance for Donovan to rightfully claim his prize as the new voice of a generation - so he asked if Donovan could sing a song for Dylan.

Donovan sang a song called "To Sing For You", and in the middle Dylan exclaimed "Hey that's pretty good man!". It was uncomfortable in the room, and Donovan's people smirked knowing grins - their guy had won. That was until Dylan asked for the guitar.

The following exchange is one of the most famous (and one of the only) throwdowns in folk music history. Dylan retuned the guitar and sang arguably his best (and newest) song "It's All Over Now, Baby Blue" and in an instant - everyone knew who was the better.

See for yourself...seriously, you gotta see this.

In just one performance Bob Dylan showed everyone what all the fuss was about, and proved that he was that good. Donovan went on to have a pretty good career singing psychedelic jams, and Dylan went on to continue to change the world.

posted by Tom Power on Feb 16, 2012

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#1 posted by
mxb2001
on Feb 16, 2012

You might know Donovan as the singer of such groovy, incredibly dated bits of psychedelia like Mellow Yellow and Sunshine Superman

Actually no, I know him as a great artist the likes of which we don't even have today. Dylan's good too, not putting him down like the author felt he needed to do to Donovan to attempt to prove some point.

#2 posted by
sweetholymosiah
on Feb 16, 2012

seems like it was a respectful expression of talent on both sides

#3 posted by
sweetholymosiah
on Feb 16, 2012

now i will go download that documentary.

#4 posted by
Tom Power
on Feb 16, 2012

I mean Donovan is very good. He isn't THAT good, and there's a lot of songwriters around today that are AS good, and many that are better. It's hard to deny that Sunshine Superman and Mellow Yellow don't sound a little dated though.

#5 posted by
RonM
on Feb 16, 2012

Double negative alert, Tom -- I'd think you'd want to say ". . . and mellow yellow DO sound a little dated, though". Eh? It IS the CBC!

I do remember Mellow Yellow when it was first out, and thinking that I couldn't understand a word. No problem now. Weird how our orientation to convention changes over time.

#6 posted by
zoot aloors
on Feb 16, 2012

Leitch's clenched-jawed silence halfway through the video spoke volumes. Although, to be kind, both artists were super popular in our household growing up...

#7 posted by
flannel tom
on Feb 16, 2012

@mxb2001

I don't think he (Tom Power) was trying to put down Donovan so much as he was saying "Hey look, a folk music "battle" and guess what? Dylan kills it. Again."

Either way, that's a great 4:33 slice of a couple of songwriters sharing songs in a very groovy time, indeed.

#8 posted by
jcdales
on Feb 16, 2012

Funny I heard Hurdy Gurdy Man for the first time in a long time and thought it had aged very well.

#9 posted by
Tom Power
on Feb 17, 2012

Also - how about the guy yelling "DOMINIC BEHAN IS A FRIEND ON MINE"? He's so angry, and Bob tries his best to be polite.

#10 posted by
dacks
on Feb 17, 2012

Donovan had some pretty boss breakbeats http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k4El6d3qEKg

I can't think of too much head-nodding Dylan.

Not that the talent equation changes much. But I never gave Donovan much of a chance until he started being sampled.

#11 posted by
Tom Power
on Feb 17, 2012

@Dacks

Very cool.

#12 posted by
NathanHooper
on Feb 17, 2012

Great movie--great scene! The only reason Dylan and Donovan should be mentioned in the same sentence is to show how much better Dylan was than the riff-raff around him at the time. He may not be as consistent as he once was but Dylan still pumps out some great songs. For my money, the best songwriters of the past 50 years are Dylan and Waits!

#13 posted by
Pinto21
on Feb 17, 2012

Sily...

Yes, the moment caught on film is definitive but says a great deal more about amphetamines and the the self-centered nature of genius than about the talent of Donovan. Of course Dylan wouldn't of said the same about Martin Carthy and the English Folk Revival that he absorbed in detail when he need to.

Who wasn't influenced by Dylan and who didn't Dylan steal from? As for the next Dylan? Donovan, Paul Simon, Tim Hardin, John Prine, Steve Forbert and countless legions of also served, caught up in in the wake of the most important artist of the 20th Century.

#14 posted by
carlyg
on Feb 17, 2012

I have a serious crush on 1965 Bob Dylan!

#15 posted by
RandyRobbinsMusic
on Feb 17, 2012

Don't Look Back is excellent... The best way to pick it up for those that don't have it, is in the recently released '65 Revisited DVD set, which includes a whole extra movie of footage shot during that 8 date tour of England.

I actually just read an interview with DA Pennebaker where he said something interesting about that encounter. It's not in the film, but this also went down (this excerpted quote from Donovan's wiki page, but the full interview is in a book called 'Wanted Man: The Search for Bob Dylan' containing articles originally published in the Telegraph):

"Of course, when Donovan met him he was very excited and decided to play something for him. Dylan said he liked Catch The Wind, but Donovan said, I've written a new song I wanna play for you. So he played a song called My Darling Tangerine Eyes. And it was to the tune of Mr Tambourine Man! And Dylan was sitting there with this funny look on his face, listening to Mr Tambourine Man with these really weird words, trying to keep a straight face. Then Dylan says, Well, you know, that tune ... I have to admit that I haven't written all the tunes I'm credited with but that happens to be one that I did write! I'm sure Donovan never played the song again!" --D.A. Pennebaker

#16 posted by
Tom Power
on Feb 17, 2012

@RandyRobbinsMusic

Wow! I hadn't heard that story. Poor old Donovan can't catch a break.

#17 posted by
RandyRobbinsMusic
on Feb 17, 2012

I should also say that I like Donovan as well. I didn't grow up then, so I don't think of him strictly as a Dylan clone. Catch the Wind, Season of the Witch, Mellow Yellow... all good stuff. Plus a bunch of others, to make up a few solid albums. And a decent live album too.

Also, if you're an Allman Brothers fan, Donovan sorta co-wrote the Mountain Jam... It's largely improvised, but the theme melody is based off of a quirky Donovan tune, 'There is a Mountain'... Thus, Mountain Jam. "First there is a mountain, then there is no mountain, and then there is. Oh Juanita! Oh Juanita! Oh Juanita! I call your name."

#18 posted by
drknssonthedge
on Feb 17, 2012

Came to know Dylan very young, came to know Donovan later in my teens.

From my later vantage point, I cannot believe a comparison was even possible. All these many years later and some people still cling to some sad belief that some string of comparison let alone competiton exists between this giant mover and a pop d'jour wanna be.

Can't stand Donovan (turn radio off when it comes on) has no relavance, Dylan on the other hand, can fill a 6hr. list on shuffle and never get a complaint from the kids; "This is old".

Tom stop patronizing the boomers, it wasn't all classic. Yuck to Donovan

#19 posted by
bassrock
on Feb 17, 2012

Can't think why you'd want to use Dylan to beat up on Donovan. Although Donovan's never been in the same class as Dylan (very few artists are), his music was well worth listening to and still is. Thanks to the blessed miracle of recorded music, they're both available whenever the mood suits.

#20 posted by
bobbydyle
on Feb 17, 2012

Until now, I always thought Donovan was alright. An ardent Dylan fan since the early 60's, I never thought to compare. The lyrical strength of Dylan compared to the junior styling and lyrics of Donovan offer no comparison. Thanks Tom,for this little gem.

Bobby

#21 posted by
newaylovesmusic
on Feb 17, 2012

I spy with my little eye a kind and gentle Englishman who set himself up via his own youthful pride and naivety… I hand played too soon and way too fast. North Atlantic bubble burst, as skillful and amused American minstrel called and then trumped with the calmness of a mischievous boy :-); who isn't competing, because he knows he has already won.

#22 posted by
DylanFan61090
on Feb 17, 2012

Except that Donovon asks Dylan to play 'It's All Over Now, Baby Blue'. Obviously, Dylan's performance surpasses Donovon's but any argument putting significance on Dylan's song choice is moot.

#23 posted by
Tom Power
on Feb 19, 2012

Really enjoying these posts everyone. Thanks so much for all your input. @DylanFan61090 - Where did you hear all that?

#24 posted by
moylek
on Feb 19, 2012

I would rather have seen 1968 or 1972 Dononovan up against Dylan - when he had found his own voice and was doing things that still sound fresh if you hear them for the first time in 2012 (if you he can get past some of the hippy-dippy lyrics, that is).

If you skip Donovan's Top 40 hits and listen to something like "Gift from a Flower to a Garden", you'll hear nothing of the Dylan wannabe - though you might hear Belle & Sebastian 30 years before their time, for example.

#25 posted by
peato
on Feb 19, 2012

Dylan made millions of dollars putting his name on traditional tunes. What was that about imitation????????

this is why we don't trust journalists, 1) checkthe bias in the photo for this article,2) the film is glorifying Dylan if Pennebaker was doing a film on Donovan it'd be a different. 3) you could have chosen some very bad Dylan songs from the 'born again period' to put against Donovan's hippy - dippy and then who would win. Dylan remember, was baptised in Pat Boone's swimming pool. How cool was that?

#26 posted by
Tom Power
on Feb 20, 2012

@peato I say Dylan's 'Born Again' period is still better, lyrically especially, than Donovan's "hippy dippy" period.

Dylan put his own lyrics to traditional music - something that had been done for eons before. The difference is Dylan's lyrics weren't just rhymes about another event like a shipwreck or something. Dylan was writing broadside ballad style lyrics about really grand themes like conflict, love and journeys. That kind of melodical appropriation was really what made him brilliant in the early days. While the Greenbriar Boys were just doing Bill Monroe tunes, and Dave Van Ronk was just doing Blind Boy Fuller tunes, Dylan was making new (and old) folk songs.

#27 posted by
Tom Power
on Feb 20, 2012

Mind you, there were a lot of Dylan imitators who were actually really good. Donovan, at least that that point in his career, wasn't one of them.

#28 posted by
rimbaud22ca
on Feb 20, 2012

Donovan's "Catch the Wind", simply a beautiful song, is oft-pointed to by Neil Finn, among others, as a primary songwriting inspiration. In India, Donovan taught some finger-picking to John Lennon that can be heard on "Dear Prudence". CBC R2 Drive Host Rich Terfry recently did an item giving credit to Donovan for bringing together the musicians that would become Led Zeppelin for his "Hurdy Gurdy Man". There's "Barabajagal" made with the original Jeff Beck group, that's been a hit with more than one generation. Rick Rubin, recently featured on CBC's Q, billed as one of the savviest and greatest producers of this era, is a major Donovan fan and personally financed and produced a 1996 album for the musician. There's numerous examples of original tunes, collaborations, and interpretations (eg. his classic cover of Buffy Sainte Marie's "Universal Soldier") that demonstrate the considerable and continuing contribution he's made to popular music.

On the occasion of Bob Dylan's 60th birthday, the BBC's Alex Webb spoke with Donovan, who offered commentary that can deepen discussion of musical roots and context (moving past the egos and hype):

"The British folk scene was ruled by Ewan MacColl, who wanted us to keep to British traditional music and not listen to Woodie Guthrie, Pete Seeger or Joan Baez - although he married a Seeger girl.

The one who really taught us to play and learn all the traditional songs was Martin Carthy - who incidentally was contacted by Dylan when Bob first came to the UK.

Bob was influenced, as all American folk artists are, by the Celtic music of Ireland, Scotland and England.

But in 1962 we folk Brits were also being influenced by some folk Blues and the American folk-exponents of our Celtic Heritage."

With specific reference to the Dylan-Donovan hype whipped up in go-go '60s, and, occasionally, regurgitated today, he says:

"We were not captured by his influence, we were encouraged to mimic him - and remember every British band from the Stones to the Beatles were copying note for note, lick for lick, all the American pop and blues artists - this is the way young artists learn.

There's no shame in mimicking a hero or two - it flexes the creative muscles and tones the quality of our composition and technique.

It was not only Dylan who influenced us - for me he was a spearhead into protest, and we all had a go at his style.

I sounded like him for five minutes - others made a career of his sound."

And Donovan addressed the trumped-up rivalry this way:

"I am the counterpart to what Bob represents in the USA - I am the European singer-songwriter who is the most successful at appealing to the mass yet keeping the integrity of the subjects of which I write.Like troubadours, Bob and I can write about any facet of the human condition. To be compared was natural, but I am not a copyist".

The full interview is @ http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/1347199.stm

With the launch of CBC Music, it may be high time, be that your '60s or later definition, for folks to put aside preconceptions and prejudices and to listen with open ears.

#29 posted by
rimbaud22ca
on Feb 22, 2012

This is not exclusive to Donovan, Dylan, nor any other singer-songwriter, obviously, it can help sometimes to hear music in a style, or by an artist, with which one is comfortable, first, as a way to getting past any blockages toappreciating the artistry of the original.

Some folk gateway versions for Donovan - include his 1965 debut, "Catch the Wind", as recorded by Lester Flatt & Earl Scruggs - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3QyKGm8CFek - or The Irish Descendants - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eoqtLu-QrZ0 - or Joan Baez & Mimi Fariña - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OmEyb87NlQo For other genres, there's covers of this song by Eartha Kitt, The Blues Project, Paul Revere and the Raiders, Chet Atkins, Johnny Rivers, Bruce Springsteen, Cher, Glen Campbell, Dottie West, Claudine Longet, Peter Fonda, Buck Owens, Sammy Hagar, Susanna Hoffs and, lots more, yup, diverse, acts.

One of my favourite Donovan covers, not on YouTube, unfortunately, is Cindy Lee Berryhill's "Season of the Witch". CLB coined the term "anti-folk", but, her sound appeals to folkies and anti-folkies. Richard Thompson does a characteristically fine interpretation, and it IS on YouTube - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QQwUnJ_B9fc As with numerous Donovan songs, there are covers from each decade since first release, and in wide range of genres and styles: Julie Driscoll, Dr. John, Al Kooper – Mike Bloomfield – Stephen Stills, Robert Plant, Hole, and Karen Elson are among those to record this song.

"Sunshine Superman" covers span 45 years - from 1966 until 2011. It's recorded by artists as singular as Mel Tormé - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MMKDRBlsWF8 - and Joel Plaskett faves Hüsker Dü - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y84ERGNjmp4 Most recently, jazz chanteuse and CBC favourite, Emilie Claire Barlow - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fUUTTNI74CQ - interpreted this tune, and it's been spinning on The Afternoon Edition, Tonic and Q, among other programs this year. (The Strombo Show played Donovan's original last month.)

And, on, through the catalogue one can go - making musical discoveries. Amnesty International's recent 80 track Dylan release is one way to hear things, but, I find there's a world more fun wading into YouTube channels!

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