Donny Hathaway

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Total Tracks: 11   Total Length: 51:18

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Hua Hsu

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Hua Hsu edits the hip-hop section of URB Magazine and writes about music, culture and politics for Slate, the Village Voice, The Wire and various other magazine...more »

01.11.10
Donny Hathaway, Donny Hathaway
1993 | Label: Rhino Atlantic

Marvin Gaye had intense — at times dangerous — charisma; Curtis Mayfield was righteous and proud; Al Green and Barry White oozed sex appeal; Isaac Hayes possessed that tender, smoky, wounded voice. In the pantheon of 1970s soul men, it is easy to forget about Chicago's Donny Hathaway, a brilliant musical mind and magnetic performer who never saw through his horizonless promise.

Raised around Chicago and St. Louis, Hathaway became a sought-after session singer and musician in the 1960s while attending Howard University. His gigs were so frequent that he left school in 1967. He worked as an in-house producer, songwriter and arranger for Chicago's famed Twinight Records before moving on to fill similar duties at Curtis Mayfield's Curtom Records. He stepped out on his own in 1970 with Everything is Everything, a minor hit powered by Hathaway's playful electric piano and effervescent, gospel-influenced range. Over the next few years, his ascension continued. His songs were sweeping and broad, his muses spiritual and eternal. His 1972 milestone Live, featuring a joyous take on Gaye's "What's Going On?" and a wrenching version of John Lennon's "Jealous Guy," is one of the richest live soul albums ever recorded. That year, he also collaborated… read more »

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Ahhhhhhhhhh, Donny!!!...

RaiderJack

While this was, of course, certainly not his best, the thing about Donny is that EVERYTHING the man did warrants attention....ESPECIALLY his live performances...he was simply one of the greats who left us entirely too early. Even listening to his daughter today is rather painful as the timbres of their voices are remarkably close. That being said, hopefully EMusic will indeed include all of his work. This is an eeeeeeexcellent foundation for budding singers/musicians who are serious about their craft.

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Soul-FULL

monajonz

And beautiful. Tragic that he left us too early, but we have many gifts of his songwriting and vocal expertise. I share his songs and his story with everyone I know, because every time I hear his voice, it moves me to tears.

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Underrated genius

enalnek

A shame that he didn't have as long a career such as Marvin Gaye-- both of them could make any woman's heart melt like butter, and both were equally talented.

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Oh My, Oh My!!!!!!!

isaacmusicman

I wished you have the other albums by Mr. Hathaway, but I know they will come. This dude right here was ridiculously talented. So much so that it is hard to describe!!! Giving Up and Song For You are the best on here, but with the talents of Donny just oozzing all over this album, it's no wonder it's a classic. Even the album art is stunning, it took me 30 years to learn the meaning behind it, but it was worth it! Man, I miss this dude! Between him and Marvin Gaye, I don't know who meant more to great singer songwriters that had soul and creativity!!! Man!!!

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Missing Donny Hathaway

GibsonL00

"For All We Know" is one of the best songs ever sung by anyone. Soul singer or otherwise, this guy was a genius who left a huge hole in popular music when he left us. Way too soon.

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wish you were still here..

phillysongster

Donny was here for too short a time when the mental demons tortured his mind and he decided to take his own life...miss you, Donny...thank God for your music..

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With just one exception, Donny Hathaway’s second full-length is a covers album, featuring one of the most pop-averse artists in soul music surprisingly offering interpretations of contemporary hit material like “A Song for You,” “He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother,” “Magnificent Sanctuary Band,” and (most effectively) “Put Your Hand in the Hand,” a laidback yet rolling, gospel-choir version of the song he was born to sing. In striking contrast to his debut, Donny Hathaway is a very dark record, and it opens on a particularly low note, with “Giving Up” (a 1964 R&B hit for Gladys Knight & the Pips). Most of Hathaway’s performances are slow, piano-led laments, powerfully delivered but with little melodic sway to convert listeners. It’s no coincedence then, that the only up-tempo song, “Magnificent Sanctuary Band,” is the standout. “Little Girl” is a nice piece of gospel testifying with great male harmonizing on the chorus, and “He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother” is a solid rendering of a song usually drenched in pathos. Still, whereas Everything Is Everything saw him leading the choir up in the front of church, Donny Hathaway sounds like the lament of a man alone in the sanctuary after services are finished. – John Bush

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