From the Tiger Beat Archives, January 1966
Something strange happens when Donovan walks into a room. Ever since he was a small boy, people have felt this about him. There’s a magical quality that goes along with his singing that often seems to come from somewhere else.
His background is filled with hardships, as he was out on his own at 15, wandering about the countryside in Europe singing songs for his supper. “But I loved it,” Donovan states. “It gave me the experience I needed to write and sing about things that are true.”
Once he spent two weeks in prison for a crime he didn’t commit, but even here Donovan used his time to compose songs. Donovan is the last person in the world to ever do anything dishonest because he believes dishonesty is one of the main things wrong with the world.
“I don’t wear clothes for the effect,” he insists. “I’m no showman. I’m a singer and I love the guitar. If people don’t like my clothes, I don’t care because I want to be accepted for who I am.”
His unusual young life makes Donovan hard for many people to understand. A girl who spent time in Hollywood with him during his recent visit says, “He’s a fantastic person, but I don’t think I could take him home and introduce him to my parents because they might not understand him. He’s so truthful and honest about everything, he would take a lot of getting used to.”
Donovan believes there’s no time to pretend something. He can only be himself. do good things in the world without being himself. There are few enough good things in the world without wasting time pretending to be something you aren’t.
Often compared with Dylan, Donovan is far more mystical than this. When he sings, it’s almost like he holds some magic formula, while Bob Dylan is far more of the world in his songs.
“He scares me,” the mother of a teen admits. “There’s something about him that gets right to the heart of things. He sings about things sometimes that people don’t really want to face…like ‘Universal Soldier.’ I don’t know that teenagers are ready for this kind of thing.”
“He’s absolutely fab,” another girl who knows him states. “He invited me swimming with him and he’s just like any other boy. He loves to mess around and have fun. All this talk about him being far out and it all just isn’t true.”
Yet, to those who truly know him, Donovan is amazing. He combines the old world with the new in his performances. He reminds people of a wandering minstrel from the old days while the lyrics to his songs are about the latest things happening in the world. He’s quiet yet vital and in talking to him you sometimes feel that some of Donovan is far off somewhere else and that he’s only giving you half of his attention. Not because he’s being rude, but because there’s more to this boy than can ever come to the surface.
Some people believe in magic, and these are the people who believe in Donovan. He doesn’t fit into any form of society because he’s unique. His manner of speaking, dressing, and working are all foreign to the world. He never worries or cares about success like most of today’s other stars. Girls, to Donovan, are like companions and he’s easy and gentle with them. But a girl never feels as though she can get too close to him, really, because he seems to have so much to do and so many important things on his mind.
Though Donovan claims to be a simple, down-to-earth person, he’s probably the most complicated singer living today. He has a message to deliver to people which keeps a tremendous pack of responsibility on his back at all times.
Perhaps someday all of his strange personality will come to the surface, but for now he remains a mystery. In the meantime, we can all enjoy his magical quality which is too often missing in this busy world.
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