Mellow Yellow by Donovan Songfacts Mellow Yellow by Donovan Songfacts Songfacts In an interview with the June 18, 2011 edition of the NME, Donovan was asked what the song was actually about. He replied: "Quite a few things. Being mellow, laid-back, chilled out. 'They call me Mellow Yellow, I'm the guy who can calm you down.' [John] Lennon and I used to look in the back of newspapers and pull out funny things and they'd end up in songs. So it's about being cool, laid-back, and also the electrical bananas that were appearing on the scene - which were ladies vibrators." Donovan set out to capture the mellow vibe of the '60s with this song, adding what he called "cool, groovy phrases." These phrases were interpreted in ways he never imagined, as people came up with lots of ideas as to what the song meant. Most of these interpretations concerned drugs, but there were even rumors that the song was about abortion. There is certainly a drug influence on this song, but it's about much more than that.

In his Songfacts interview , Donovan said: "To be 'mellow' is to be cool, to be laid back, but it doesn't have to be with a smoke. It can be through meditation. And it was meditation that became more serious for The Beatles and me, and presenting that in our music." Paul McCartney appears somewhere on this track, but it's not clear where. He was rumored to be the whispering voice saying "quite rightly," but that was Donovan. McCartney dropped by the session and was captured on tape saying "Mellow Yellow" and doing some cheering. His voice is likely somewhere in the mix at the end of the song amid the revelry. Donovan had recently helped out McCartney on another "Yellow" song: He provided the "sky of blue, sea of green" line in " Yellow Submarine ." Both songs hit #2 US in 1966. When this song came out in 1966, there was a widespread rumor that it was about getting high on banana skins. The idea was that you scraped the fibers off of a banana skin and cooked them over a low fire. This was supposed to release the hallucinogenic qualities. Of course, it was never true!

>> Suggestion credit: Victor - Boston, MA Asked by the NME in 1967 why this song did so well in America, Donovan said it had to do with driving. "A great many of the discs are heard on car radios, and if the music is not sympathetic to the driver, one push of the button and he's on another station," he said. "You can almost change gear in time to 'Mellow Yellow.'" This was used in a popular 1999 commercial for The Gap titled "Everybody in Cords," promoting their corduroy pants, which come in shades of saffron and yellow. It was also used in a 1987 commercial for a product called Butter It, which is a "liquid butter alternative." In that one, the song was altered, with the line "quite rightly" changed to "just butter it." Donovan pushed to get his songs in as many commercials as he could, since it was great exposure for them and a nice source of income. How he felt about a liquid butter alternative was immaterial. In 1979, the Coca-Cola Company introduced a new soda called Mello Yello designed to compete with the Pepsi product Mountain Dew.

This song wasn't used in the advertising, as oddly, it was marketed as "the world's fastest soft drink," not a "mello" one. In our interview with Donovan, he said: "The story goes that they could use the title, but they didn't have to use the song. So I didn't mind. And they didn't want the song. But then it didn't sell, so maybe they should have used the song after all." Which Beatles Member Sang On Donovan’s Mellow Yellow? « 94.5 KOOL FM Which Beatles Member Sang On Donovan’s Mellow Yellow? April 22, 2011 3:32 PM Filed Under: Donovan interview audio , Donovan on Mellow Yellow , KOOL Top 6 @ 6 backstory , songs about color , songs about the color yellow , story about Mellow Yellow , top hits of 1966 , top hits of the 60's , what does Mellow Yellow mean More important, what the heck is the song about? A few years back I had the chance to ask [lastfm link_type=”artist_info”]Donovan[/lastfm] about it.

it was a surprise to me what a regular guy he was and he gladly gave me the explaination. That’s [lastfm link_type=”artist_info”]Paul McCartney[/lastfm] with the “quite rightly’s” in the song. Donovan Unofficial - Mellow Yellow Mellow Yellow All songs by Donovan P. Leitch. Bonus tracks from other reissues All bonus tracks by Donovan P. Leitch. * Previously unreleased. Label: Epic LN 24239 (mono) Epic BN 26239 (stereo) Cash Box: 13 weeks, #12 Record World: 14 weeks, #11 Musicians: · Donovan: vocals and acoustic guitar. · Joe Moretti: rythm guitar on track 01. · John McLaughlin: rythm guitar on track 01.

· John Cameron: arrangements on tracks 02, 04, 05, 06, 09 and Epistle To Dippy (both versions), Preachin' Love, Good Time and Superlungs; piano on tracks 04, 05, 10 and Preachin' Love, Good Time and Superlungs; harpsichord on track 10 and Epistle To Dippy; organ on track 10; celesta on tracks 02 and 06. · Big Jim Sullivan: electric guitar on track 05. · Jimmy Page: electric guitar on Epistle To Dippy. · Eric Ford: electric guitar on track 10. · Danny Thompson: bass. · John Paul Jones: bass and arrangement on track 01. · Phil Seamon: drums. · Bobby Orr: drums on tracks 01 and 10. · Tony Carr: percussion; drums on Epistle To Dippy. · Danny Moss: saxophone on track 01. · Ronnie Ross: saxophone on track 01.

· Harold McNair: flute on tracks 02, 04, 0 and Writer In The Sun and There Is A Mountain. · Shawn Phillips: sitar on track 10. · Pat Halling: violin on track 08. · Paul McCartney: uncredited backing vocals on track 01. Singles out of this album: · Mellow Yellow/Sunny South Kensington Trivia: · The Mellow Yellow album was not released in the UK due to the same contractual dispute that also prevented Sunshine Superman from a UK release. In June 1967 a mix of both albums was released as Sunshine Superman (PYE Records NPL 18181) in the UK, to keep the English fans up to date. · All this problems that prevented the release of Donovan's music in the UK led him to write resigned songs like Writer In The Sun , where he sadly weighs up the possibility of his own forced retirement from the music business at age 20. · The title song, Mellow Yellow , was released as a single the previous November, and became a huge hit in both sides of the Atlantic.

In a recent interview Donovan said that Mellow Yellow came up in a party in a hotel room, where he started making up the chords and lyrics so that all his friends could sing along. · Although it has been said that the words "quite rightly" in Mellow Yellow are whispered by Paul McCartney, in his autobiography The Hurdy Gurdy Man Donovan claims it was actually him, not Paul. He also clarifies Paul contribution to the song: you can hear him cheering at the end of the song, with other people gathered in the recording studio. · Sand And Foam is about a trip Donovan and Gypsy Dave made to the west coast of Mexico. · By the time Donovan composed the album Mellow Yellow, Linda Lawrence had refused to marry him. Donovan was hurt and confused and wrote the song Bleak City Woman , which said goodbye to Linda and welcome Enid Stulberger, his new American girlfriend. · House Of Jansch is dedicated to his friend Bert Jansch. This was the third Donovan album in a row with a song that paid tribute to this British folk musician. · Young Girl Blues was inspired by Linda Lawrence, and it's about her days working as a model in America.

A small part of the lyrics mentions female masturbation, which was very shocking those days. · Epistle To Dippy was an open letter from Donovan to an old friend from school. Dippy was in the army in Malaysia by then, and when he heard the song, he contacted Donovan and asked him for help. Donovan bought him out of armed service. This song wasn't included in any LP album and was release as a single in February 1967. · A recent Nick Drake biography, Darker Than The Deepest Sea: The Search For Nick Drake claims that the Mellow Yellow album was a significant influence on him. Mellow Yellow Lyrics by Donovan by fuck you all on 5/17/2008 4:53pm none by Laura on 6/19/2008 8:19pm I love this song! by NeNa on 6/20/2008 7:06pm i freakin love this song...its my showcase dance by mery on 6/21/2008 7:01pm i love this song!! my father's group play it.

it's very nice by grace on 6/27/2008 8:37pm i luv this song!! by April Ludwick on 7/14/2008 3:16pm your lyrics are wrong.:) by clepto chrissy on 7/17/2008 2:40am THE CALL ME MELLOW JELLO! by Clepto Chrissy Hater on 8/21/2008 9:42pm no, they call you mellow faggot. Don't try to change the lyrics on such a good song you suck ass by ShopRite Clerk on 8/22/2008 5:29pm Donovan blows! by ShopRite Clerk Sucks Balls on 9/16/2008 9:51pm dude you don't know what the fuck you are talkin about this song is awesome. you probly like the crap. you can't spell crap without rap.

by belamia99 on 9/27/2008 9:03am This is my favorite song!!!!I also play it on the piano!!!!!Its so fun!!!:) <3 by Jose Lopez Cuervo Margaritta Jones on 10/23/2008 5:16pm The big Yellow electric banana is a vibrator....da. Good song though by Mr. James Landis on 11/7/2008 9:19pm heh heh... I used to listen to this song on the jukebox at a coffee shop when I was 14. Smoking cigarettes and grooving with my friends over a cup of java. In case you youngsters don't realize it... this era was the musical Renaissance of the past few decades. I'm so blessed to have grown up during that period. by kjmjr on 11/16/2008 10:06am Donvan and real rock rules hip hop and rap have no soul.

New songs use the music from older songs because their is a lack or talent or soul music is dead by tdk on 11/21/2008 11:53am the song is cool, i just dont understand what it means!!!!!! by Sunshine on 12/4/2008 5:52pm Thanx for the memories. God, what a time we had. Itchycoo Park and all that! by Sofa Kingdom on 12/5/2008 6:23pm This song is pretty nice, but why is he singing about electric bananas?

by old rocker on 12/6/2008 12:09pm Shop-rite does the can-can..........I won't be back.So do as you like'''''''''''' by Captain Modoc Jack on 12/13/2008 10:20pm Volume #14 They call me mellow yellow by The p0t h3ad on 2/7/2009 3:27am i uvv this song i get high to it and stairway to heaven allll he time by Judging idiots on 2/23/2009 8:09pm uhhhhh donovan already admitted to this song being about a yellow vibrator by Renea on 3/17/2009 1:32pm They call me Mellow Yellow :) by saffron on 7/25/2009 10:00pm its so inbarising wen my mum sings the song by saffron jasper on 12/6/2009 12:04pm i love this song beceuse my dad allways sings it

 to me by Lived thru the time on 2/11/2010 12:05pm Electrical Banana is a group that Donovan discovered playing in some club in England was the story that came out at the time.

They recoded a few songs on some label. by red london bus 68 on 2/18/2010 7:20pm a magical song that is quite rightly loved.and Donavan lives in Castlemagner.good for him. by sexual on 7/22/2010 9:48am I drink Mellow Yellow. by 72bora on 8/14/2010 1:45am Lyrics close, except for this verse: Born high forever to fly Wind velocity nil Born high forever to fly If you want your cup I'll fill Bit of an egotistical song :-) by tony on 9/10/2010 5:47pm awesome song! that's paul mccartney whipering, "quite rightly". by bluesdogg on 1/20/2011 7:58pm bitchen song!!

by joecrozier on 3/2/2011 2:10am A song that I like very much by Amazed on 4/22/2011 5:39am Where did some of you people learn to be so rude. Obviously not brought up, but DRAGGED up. Do you think it is SMART! Very deluded if you do. Have some respect for your fellow human beings! by bald loving on 5/4/2011 3:12pm i just freaken love mello yello by terry358 on 9/7/2011 4:03pm I've heard different explanations for the lyrics. 1. People experimenting with smoking banana peels. 2.Electric viberator 3. A small band called 'Electric Banana' Donovan saw in a small night club and can be found on Youtube.com playing in Vietnam. A garage band at best ! by grchacha on 10/2/2011 7:50am there is a very nice coffee shop in Amsterdam that has been there since the 70's named Mellow Yellow after the song...

by Geezer on 3/30/2012 4:12pm Back when it came out, we were told it was about smoking banana peels so some tried it. Not a good idea. I also believe Saffron was a drug reference but wasn't into that scene. Loved the music though.

by RICHARD DAVIS on 5/6/2012 11:44am I KNOW FOR A FACT THAT SAFFRON IS A VERY EXPENCIVE SPICE FOR I WORK AT A GROCERY STORE AND WE SELL IT BUT HOW THEY GOT THE LYRICS TO THE SONG DONOVAN MUST OF BEEN STONED by johnf on 5/12/2012 2:30am The time from late summer 1966 to early summer 1967 - the period that begins with the Beatles release of Revolver and ends with Sgt.Pepper - was the real high point of the Sixties by johnf on 5/12/2012 2:32am The time from late summer 1966 to early summer 1967 - the period that begins with the Beatles release of Revolver and ends with Sgt.Pepper - was the real high point of the Sixties, and Donovan was flying as high as he says in the song then.

by Anita on 5/29/2012 2:59pm I always thought the refrain was, "Quite right, slick!' Hahahaha Cool old song by FIFASTREETGAMER on 6/24/2012 2:51am they call me smello Jello by Kathy from Caz on 6/26/2012 10:06pm Donovan stated "This song is for all the blondes out there." before he sang the song Mellow Yellow at the FREE Syracuse NY Jazz Fest at Jamesville Beach State Park on June 23, 2012. He was awesome!!! I was told he sings for free. He is definetely not "all about the money." He didn't sell anything. He signed fans' t-shirts and album covers after the concert. I love you Donovan!!! by KevyKanuckian on 8/1/2012 8:12pm No the reference to the electrical banana is definitely to do with smoking banana peels. The earlier references were correct. That was indeed the buzz of the day when that song was current. Sorry to disappoint the pervs!

The rumour was that a "Beatle" (Lennon was most mentioned) had slipped into the studio and said "quite right, slim" during the recording. I don't quite believe it, but at least the phrase sounds closer to what was uttered than "quite rightly". That is simply not what's said. by pegam�n on 5/9/2013 12:12am The song is about a vibrator, or dildo. Meaning, figuratively it�s a dildo who is singing. And Donovan really rocks, mind you. by forever slim on 6/20/2013 4:40am wow love the song but i am sure if someone out there knows Donovan personally maybe they could just ask the man what the heck this song was referring to. just saying!! please someone out there help with this one by squashit777 on 9/16/2013 6:18am correction to lyrics . last line of verse 3 is 'if you want to cop how I feel' cop meant understand by dasbeste on 11/21/2013 6:28am To cop is to grasp.

To cop a feel is to grasp a feel. But, grasp is also referred to understanding. To grasp a subject. :P by Wooly on 11/26/2013 12:24pm Isn't the lyric: - "I'm just mad about Fonteyn" ... as in Dame Margot ? by Ellyn on 12/3/2013 6:31pm First of all, I still don't know what it means, but wouldn't it be a great name for a Yellow Lab (dog, that is...)? by Peter on 5/1/2014 2:51pm I thought the second item he was mad about was 'Fontain' and at least once in the song he states, ' quite rightsly '. by Minister of Truth on 6/25/2014 6:47am Easy kiddies, Electrical banana is an elec guitar. And isn't "fourteen" Fountaine, a female name?

by john on 8/17/2014 3:26pm They call it mellow yellow (Quite rightly) by Saberblue on 12/22/2014 6:41pm Fourteen is supposedly a yellow(mellow) cheese called fontine but I like fourteen better :: ) by RJ on 1/2/2015 6:25am I'm 65 years old and I've always had my suspicions about this song, thanks to a lot of you I know now what I've been thinking is probably correct. Just a thought by zete on 2/23/2015 6:07am Donovan was, in a way, paying tribute to his teeny bob fourteen year old groupie girls. He was 'mad' about them and the things they would temp him to do. by Sporkweasel62 on 9/26/2015 2:37pm The rats, the rats, get them off me, get them off me. Lee Decker, Good Friday, 1984.

Name: Donovan - Mellow Yellow Lyrics | SongMeanings Donovan Love Is Hot, Truth Is Molten Donovan's Greatest Hits [Expanded Edition] Troubadour: The Definitive Collection 1964-1976 Super Hits Mellow Yellow/Wear Your Love Like Heaven Mellow Yellow Greatest Hits Live Vancouver 1986 The Very Best of Donovan: The Early Years Sunshine Superman: The Very Best of Donovan Great Donovan Try for the Sun: The Journey of Donovan In Concert [The Complete 1967 Anaheim Show] Very Best of Donovan [Sony] Donovan's Greatest Hits [Japan Bonus Tracks] The Definitive Collection [Sony] I'm just mad about Saffron Saffron's mad about me I'm just mad about Saffron She's just mad about me [Chorus: ] They call me mellow yellow (Quite rightly) They call me mellow yellow (Quite rightly) They call me mellow yellow I'm just mad about Fourteen Fourteen's mad about me I'm just mad about Fourteen She's just mad about me [Chorus] Born high, forever to fly Wind velocity nil Want to high, forever to fly If you want your cup our fill [Chorus] (So m

ellow, he's so mellow) Electrical banana Is gonna be a sudden craze Electrical banana Is bound to be the very next phase They call it mellow yellow (Quite rightly) They call me mellow yellow (Quite rightly) They call me mellow yellow [Chorus] Lyrics submitted by pink_angel016 , edited by jaZZjaZZ54 "Mellow Yellow" as written by Donovan Leitch Lyrics © Peermusic Publishing Oldest First +2 General CommentNope.

I heard the same thing but it isn't true. Also, Paul McCartney played with him on this track, as well as many others. It was Donovans way of setting a lightly visible tribute to Yellow Submarine, and McCartney was pleased and played along with him in the song. @mrs-mojo-risin 0 Saffron, as well as the extremely very very expensive yellow spice / colouring, is a girls' name. Who knows which one Donovan's so mad about? Flag greenaum on December 17, 2012 +1 General CommentAlso, I'm listening to the Donovan In Concert album of 1968 and he sings "I'm just mad about 14-year-old girls." It amuses me. @Schrei +1 General CommentOh dear, my little girl is called Saffron, I've been nicknaming her Mellow Yellow...

I didn't know what this song was about though, maybe I should keep the meaning from her until she's much older :) @telegramsam123 +1 General CommentSorry to disabuse any true fans of the drug theory, but when I saw Donovan in Seattle in 1975 he said that by 'Electric Banana' he was referring to dildos. I know, that's not actually a very pleasing or cool thought. I remember not liking to hear that from him at that time. Of course there's always the chance he was trying to cover up what still sounds like a drug reference. Flag rodman2005 on March 16, 2014 +1 General Comment"Mellow Yellow" was a song about girls using bananas as dildos. Then as technology advanced dildos became plugin. Then eventually battery operated. This is a natural progression of most things that if you can go from corded to cordless(battery operated) then why not. Who wants to drag around a cumbersome electrical cord if you can go cordless? Think about all the things around your house that gone this way. The list is endless.

For those that don't understand the words: "I'm just mad about Saffron( I just love my banana/dildo) Saffron's mad about me(My banana/dildo loves me) Women like to know that sex=love and love=sex. The classic line: "Tell me you love me before we go all the way" I'm just mad about Saffron(Personification of how much she enjoy the experience,.banana /dildo) She's just mad about me" (Humanizing the mental image(use of immigration to enhance the feelings...pleasure) The girl has given the banana a name "Saffron" to give it a human connection of a man's penis. By doing this it's no longer an inanimate object and she can feel more relaxed about the whole experience....let her imagination go wild with no inhabitations. Don't forget the mind/imagination plays a large part in all pleasure or pain we experience in life.

Mellow Yellow - Donovan | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic Mellow Yellow google+ AllMusic Review by Bruce Eder Mellow Yellow is actually more diverse in its sounds than Sunshine Superman , drawing on some of the same era's better follow-up material but also reaching back somewhat further for repertory. It was, as one could rightly guess, a by-product of the late-1966 hit title track, but the songs dated back in some instances as much as a year, to a point prior to Donovan 's having made the leap from folk to pop artist. "Mellow Yellow" itself was cut after "Sunshine Superman" and boasted one of the earliest arrangements by John Paul Jones to achieve international recognition (although not without some resistance from Donovan himself), with its broad, biting brass sound. The next two tracks, however, reached back to the singer-songwriter's earlier acoustic/folk songbag, and a very different point in his career -- the reflective, somber "Writer in the Sun" was written in Greece during the spring of 1966, when it looked as though Donovan 's career was in danger of ending due to legal problems.

By contrast, the hauntingly beautiful "Sand and Foam" dated from a somewhat happier visit to Mexico. "The Observation" manages to quote the album's title tune obliquely in its bass-line, even as the singer veers close to a beat-style poetry recital. "Museum," which sounds at times almost like an artier sequel to "Sunshine Superman" and a precursor to "There Is a Mountain" in its word pattern, breaks up the succession of blues settings on the album's second side, as does the jazz-flavored "Hampstead Incident." The album ends with "Sunny South Kensington," an upbeat number driven by radiant (albeit name-dropping) lyrics, Eric Ford 's crunchy guitar (emulating his contribution to "Sunshine Superman"), Shawn Phillips ' sitar, and an economical arrangement by John Cameron (who also plays the harpsichord). Track Listing Donovan - Guitarist, Songwriter - Biography.com Famous People Born on May 10 Synopsis Donovan burst onto the musical scene in 1965 with the folk songs “Catch the Wind” and “Colors,” and as his songs took on the psychedelic flavors of the day, he was soon helping to define the era.

With hits like “Hurdy Gurdy Man,” “Season of the Witch” and “Mellow Yellow,” Donovan cemented his reputation as a hitmaker who could bring the 1960s subculture to the mainstream with verve. Early Life Donovan Philips Leitch was born in the Maryhill area of Glasgow, Scotland on May 10, 1946. He began playing guitar at age 14 and teamed up with his musician friend Gypsy Dave to do a limited tour of the United Kingdom a few years later. In 1964 he recorded his first demo, which contained "Catch the Wind," a song that would gain greater popularity a year later, when it was released as a single. In 1965, Donovan emerged onto the larger music scene with a series of live performances on the British television series Ready Steady Go! At this stage in his career, Donovan resembled Bob Dylan in both appearance (scraggly) and musical style (folksy), but all that would change in 1965, when he began working with a new producer, British hitmaker Mickie Most.

The first Donovan/Most collaboration was "Sunshine Superman," one of the earliest overtly psychedelic songs, and one that helped ignite the musical counterculture revolution. The subsequent album was also titled Sunshine Superman, and it contained the song "Season of the Witch," which would become a classic as well. High-Profile Musician In October 1966, Donovan released the single "Mellow Yellow,” which was arranged by Led Zeppelin’s John Paul Jones. It became Donovan's signature song. Also in 1966, Donovan became the first high-profile musician to get arrested for possession of marijuana. The incident kept him out of the United States long enough for him to miss the now-legendary Monterey Pop Festival. By this time, Donovan had made some famous friends, prominent among them the Beatles' Paul McCartney. In February 1967, the Beatles invited Donovan to join them at Abbey Road Studios during the final recording session for "A Day in the Life," the last song on their album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.

Donovan was also one of the few musicians to collaborate with the Beatles, contributing lyrics and vocals to their song "Yellow Submarine." Later Years By 1969, Donovan had already released a greatest hits album, which went on to be his best-selling work. He continued to make new records as well, although after 1969 they were chiefly without Mickie Most, with whom he had a falling out. Donovan continued to tour, and he also wrote music for films, such as The Pied Piper and Brother Sun, Sister Moon, both released in 1972. Donovan is a supporter of the David Lynch Foundation for Consciousness-Based Education and World Peace, which is based on transcendental meditation, a practice that Donovan has embraced since the 1960s. He has never stopped playing music, either live or in the studio, and over the course of his career he has performed with folk music legends Pete Seeger, Joan Baez and Bob Dylan, and rock musicians Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin and Brian Jones of the Rolling Stones. In 2012, Donovan was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Fact Check We strive for accuracy and fairness.

If you see something that doesn't look right, contact us ! Citation Information Donovan - Biography - IMDb Biography Showing all 26 items Jump to: Overview (3) | Mini Bio (1) | Spouse (1) | Trade Mark (3) | Trivia (15) | Personal Quotes (3) Overview (3) 5' 10" (1.78 m) Mini Bio (1) Donovan Philips Leitch was born May 10, 1946, in Glasgow, Scotland. Music was always part of his home life, with both traditional Scottish/Irish songs at family and local celebrations, and popular music through radio and live performances. When Donovan was ten his family moved south to England, resettling in Hatfield. Before starting college in his teens, the young man had run away from home more than once; on one outing at fourteen, he found an old guitar in a trash can, still good enough to learn the basics on. Though interested in rock-n-roll through artists like Buddy Holly and The Everly Brothers , Donovan embraced the folk-music boom that swept both England and America in the early 1960s, and also the Beat Generation writers and poets.

Donovan settled into the St. Albans music scene, north of London, but traveled to different parts of the country, frequently with longtime friend "Gypsy Dave", who played kazoo and passed the hat while Donovan played guitar and harmonica and sang, for their keep. Their songs included traditional and recent folk music, songs by their friends (like Mick Softley) and the beginnings of Donovan's own writing, about what he'd seen and experienced away from home. On a beach trip to Southend with members of the St. Albans circle, Donovan played and sang between performances by an R&B group called the Cops and Robbers, and so impressed the group's managers that they expressed interest in signing him up as a performer. Beginning with taping some publishers' demos for other songwriters, Donovan was soon demoing his own material, and the tapes found their way to the ears of Elkan Allan , producer of Britain's popular rock show Ready, Steady, Go! (1963). Donovan's first appearance (in cap and denim) led to a short residency on the show, which in turn led to a recording contract with England's Pye Records.

His first singles were respectable UK hits in 1965, and made a minor impact on the American market that year. Promoted first as mainly a folk performer and a kind of British rival to Bob Dylan , evidence of Donovan's own blossoming style as writer and musician was undeniable as early as his second album, with its hints at jazz and a different kind of pop sense from Dylan's. When Dylan toured England in 1965, the two met for a well-publicized "summit" at his hotel suite; after an hour's private talk, they emerged smiling arm-in-arm to a waiting press conference. Press headlines announced "DYLAN DIGS DONOVAN!" and he joined Dylan and Joan Baez on the road, though he didn't perform with them onstage. (Donovan can be seen keeping Dylan and Baez company in Dylan's Bob Dylan: Dont Look Back (1967)). Donovan went on to the 1965 Newport Folk Festival, where he was welcomed.

After his first two mostly-folk albums in England (distributed in the US by Hickory Records), produced by his managers, Donovan immersed himself in the pop sounds of the "British Invasion" bands, and both his writing and choices in the studio reflected this. In 1966 Mickie Most became Donovan's new producer, and his sidemen began to include future Led Zeppelin members John Paul Jones (who arranged several Donovan tunes, augmenting the sound they were aiming for) and Jimmy Page . (John Carr usually played drums at Donovan's sessions, although John Bonham was also sometimes around.) Epic Records in the US expressed an interest in picking Donovan up for the American market, with Clive Davis offering a contract, and Allen Klein was also interested in taking over Donovan's management. New and bigger deals offered led to lawsuits, and Donovan vanished from the record market for a few months while matters were being settled. Emerging with new management and production teams, Donovan followed up his first US #1 single, "Sunshine Superman" (dedicated to John Lennon and Paul McCartney ), with his signature hit "Mellow Yellow", which reached #2 on the US charts late in 1966.

Working with Most, Donovan enjoyed hits on both sides of the Atlantic through the end of the decade. As a pop performer, he made frequent guest appearances on television in the UK and US; most notably in America on The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour (1967). He also contributed to the stage and film worlds, writing the title song for the movie Poor Cow (1967) and adapting William Shakespeare 's "Under The Greenwood Tree" for Britain's National Theatre. Later he would contribute the title song for the 1969 comedy If It's Tuesday, This Must Be Belgium (1969) (also appearing onstage in the movie), and star in The Pied Piper (1972). Donovan brought his parents along on tour, with his father Donald introducing him to the audience. Offstage, Donovan was a frequent guest collaborator and companion to other celebrities of the time; he contributed lyrics to The Beatles 's song "Yellow Submarine" and dated George Harrison 's sister-in-law Jenny Boyd (later to marry Mick Fleetwood ). In turn, Donovan's recording sessions sometimes included members of The Beatles, Paul Samwell-Smith and The Rolling Stones and their circle of musician friends, as guest performers.

When former Stones member Brian Jones died in 1969, Donovan married his widow Linda Lawrence, raising Jones' son Julian and having two daughters of their own. (Donovan also fathered son Donovan Leitch Jr. and Ione Skye by Enid Karl; family information is sparse at best.) An arrest for drug possession late in 1966 was a moving experience for him, as was his noticing that the flirtation his generation had had with marijuana and LSD was getting ugly, and many young people were turning to harder drugs and destroying themselves. In the notes for his 1967 album "A Gift From A Flower To A Garden", he called for all drug use to stop and for young people to find other ways to expand their consciousness, and peace from within, as they became the parents of the next generation. He set an example by studying meditation with the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi , and later embraced many Eastern lifestyle changes, including a vegetarian diet and studies in Hindu and Buddhist philosophy. Though not a major player in popular music since the end of the 1960s, Donovan continues to tour and perform, and recall the experiences and friendships of his heyday for the media.

His music (recorded and live) appears frequently in programs about the Sixties era, and has reached the newer generations through its use in TV commercials. In late 2005, he published an autobiography, "The Hurdy Gurdy Man." - IMDb Mini Biography By: quietguy Spouse (1) ( 2 October 1970 - present) (2 children) Trade Mark (3) Often played a sunburst Gibson J-45 Scottish Accent Curly dark hair Trivia (15) Fathered two children with Enid Graddis (a.k.a. Enid Stulberger): Donovan Leitch Jr. and Ione Skye . His song "Bleak City Woman" was about his meeting Enid, and choosing to romance her. Stepfather and adoptive father of Julian Brian Jones (Linda's son), whose biological father was Brian Jones . He and his wife Linda Lawrence have two daughters: Astrella Celeste and Oriole Nebula. His middle name, "Philips", was his mother's maiden name. When his song "Mellow Yellow" was first released, it was thought that the song was about smoking dried banana peels.

It was eventually revealed that the song was about a vibrator. Was on the short list of artists invited to perform at the Monterey Pop Festival. Unfortunately, he couldn't due to a drug indictment hanging over his head in Britain. Donovan To Be Inducted Into Songwriters Hall Of Fame | WLRN Donovan To Be Inducted Into Songwriters Hall Of Fame By editor • May 23, 2014 Related Programs: Originally published on May 23, 2014 1:27 pm Transcript This is FRESH AIR. I'm David Bianculli. (SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "WEAR YOUR LOVE LIKE HEAVEN") DONOVAN: (Singing) Color and sky brush and blue. Scarlet fleece changes you. Crimson ball sinks from view. Wear your love like heaven. Wear your love like heaven. Wear your love like heaven. Wear... BIANCULLI: Next month, the singer-songwriter Donovan will be inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame. He joined the Rock 'n Roll Hall of Fame in 2012.

Donovan wrote several folk rock hippie anthems of the '60s, such as "Sunshine Superman, "Mellow Yellow," "Hurdy Gurdy Man" and "Wear Your Love Like Heaven." After experiencing fame, in the '70s, he retreated to a more secluded life, but continued to record every few years. His latest album, "Shadows of Blue," recorded in Nashville, was released last year. We're going to hear an excerpt of Donovan's 2004 interview with Terry Gross. Let's start with his very first recording, a 1964 demo version of a song by Buffy Sainte Marie. As this recording demonstrates, during his early performing days, Donovan was often thought of as Britain's answer to Bob Dylan. (SOUNDBITE OF SONG "CODINE") DONOVAN: (Singing) An' my belly is craving, I got shakin' in my head. I feel like I'm dyin' an' I wish I were dead. If I lived till tomorrow, it's gonna be a long time. For I'll reel and I'll fall and rise on codine. An' it's real, an' it's real, one more time.

(Singing) When I was a young man, I learned not to care. Wild whiskey, confronted I often did swear. My mother and father said whiskey is a curse. But the fate of their baby is many times worse. An' it's real, an' it's real, one more time. TERRY GROSS, HOST: That's Donovan, recorded in 1964, a demo recording, his version of a song by Buffy Sainte Marie. So you were pretty kind of folk oriented at the very start. How did that start to change? DONOVAN: Well, although I'd begun performing as a folk singer, I was biting into the guitar with my guitar pick. And I didn't realize at first but what I was trying to do was come up with a kind of a Celtic rock, a kind of a fusion where the pop sensibilities and the blues, jazz as well, I could blend into my folk style. At the same time, I was also writing, of course, poetry, an enormous amount of songs started pouring out.

And the jazz I was listening to in college, Miles Davis and Charlie Parker and essentially, Billie Holiday from the jazz world and the classical music and The Beatles, The Rolling Stones and when Hendrix came along, listening to Jimi. The change was not sit down and write "Sunshine Superman," but out of my songs I met a producer called Mickie Most and John Cameron was the arranger and we began to make that album, "Sunshine Superman," which was so eclectic and so experimental and at least a year and a half before "Sgt. Pepper." GROSS: Well, since you just mentioned "Sunshine Superman," why don't we hear it? And this is your recording from 1966. (SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "SUNSHINE SUPERMAN") DONOVAN: (Singing) Sunshine came softly through my a-window today. Could've tripped out easy a-but I've a-changed my ways. It'll take time, I know it, but in a while you're gonna be mine, I know it, we'll do it in style. 'Cause I made my mind up you're going to be mine. (Singing) I'll tell you right now.

Any trick in the book and now, baby, all that I can find. Superman or Green Lantern ain't got a-nothin' on me. I can make like a turtle... GROSS: That's Donovan recorded in 1966. I have a very profound question for you and that is, where did you get your clothes in the '60s when you were on TV and radio and touring all the time? DONOVAN: We used to go down to the vintage, what you call vintage clothes shops and it was Portobello Road. And Brian Jones, who invented The Rolling Stones, was the first to raid the old velvets and the feathered boas and the corduroy jackets and the clothes from a bygone age. But all of us came out of art school so we were very into the image. And so The Who would dress up in pop art with targets and Union Jacks. They'd get their clothes made out of flags. 'Cause what the art students are wearing this year probably a lot of young people will be wearing next year. GROSS: My guest is Donovan.

His hits of the '60s include "Catch the Winds," "Sunshine Superman" and "Wear Your Love Like Heaven." Let's hear one of the songs he recorded in 1966. (SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "MELLOW YELLOW") DONOVAN: (Singing) I'm just mad about Saffron, Saffron's mad about me. I'm just mad about Saffron. She's just mad about me. They call me mellow yellow. Quite rightly. They call me mellow yellow. Quite rightly. They call me mellow yellow. (Singing) I'm just mad about 14. Fourteen's mad about me... GROSS: Now I just apologize in advance for asking you a question you've probably been asked more times than you could care to count. Your song "Mellow Yellow," which was a big hit in 1966, a lot of people assumed that that was about getting high by smoking banana peels. DONOVAN: The reference to smoking bananas completely shocked us all at the time. Wonder where anybody got that idea? You can't get high smoking banana peels. And then...

GROSS: I guess it's the line the electric banana. DONOVAN: Well, smoking of the peels, I didn't realize why that had been so is tied with my song until two, three years ago I was in Cleveland in the Rock 'n Roll Museum and I was sitting next to Country Joe McDonald and we started talking. And Joe said to me, hey man, by the way, it was me. I said what do you mean it was you? Mellow Yellow, man. And, you know, the bananas, smoking bananas. I said Joe, I got a feeling that I'm not going to like what you're going to tell me here. (LAUGHTER) DONOVAN: Tell me. He said, well, man, in San Francisco 1966 what we thought was we'd put the band on the back of the truck and we'd go down to an old yard I know and it has all these carnival floats that they threw away. And we found this giant banana and we put it on the truck and we started up the band and we drove down through Haight-Ashbury playing the music, advertising a gig.

But just to make sure that people knew we were coming, we announced to the press that you can get high smoking bananas. And he said that would've been the end of it, but that Friday you released the single "Mellow Yellow." GROSS: A-ha. DONOVAN: I said, Joe, thanks. Because I've been asked for 35 years why do you say you can get high smoking bananas. Because I guess millions tried it. BIANCULLI: We're listening to an interview Terry recorded in 2004 with Donovan, who next month will be inducted into the Songwriter's Hall of Fame. He told Terry his most popular song among other musicians was this one. DONOVAN: "Season of the Witch" seems to have been adopted again and again and again by so many bands because it makes them feel good when they play. And Led Zeppelin used to use my song "Season of the Witch" to warm up every rehearsal before every performance, so Jimmy Page tells me. GROSS: Interesting. Do you know why? DONOVAN: It's just too extraordinary chords, A7th and D9th and it's funny - when the...

GROSS: Would you just play those chords so we can hear them? DONOVAN: Yeah. I can play them. When we first start playing guitar when you're a young musician, you get hooked on a phrase or a musical phrase or a set of chords and this is the set. (SOUNDBITE OF SET OF CHORDS) DONOVAN: Now, when you're a young band and you start playing this, then you realize you're still playing this about two hours later, something must be good about these two chords. (LAUGHTER) DONOVAN: But it also allows you to play many different things when you're just vamping and jamming on these chords. Americans also have recorded it. Dr. John has recorded it for that movie "Blues Brothers II" and also the Allman Brothers I think did my song "The Mountain." But it was Al Cooper and Stephen Stills... GROSS: Right. DONOVAN: ...who recorded it as well. GROSS: Right. DONOVAN: But it's a spooky song and it actually spoke about being busted before I was busted - one of those prophetic things. (singing) Oh, no. Must be the season of the witch.

Must be the season of the witch. Must be the season of the witch. GROSS: Now... DONOVAN: That was "Season of the Witch." GROSS: Had you heard those two chords together in other songs or did you hear something in those two chords that inspired you to put them together? DONOVAN: This chord, the D9th... (SOUNDBITE OF CHORD) DONOVAN: ...I'd heard from Bert Jansch. Now, it's a very important chord in the world of folk blues and jazz because there's many songs that use it by going... (SOUNDBITE OF CHORDS) DONOVAN: ...here's the D9th. So it's part of the traditions of jazz and blues. (singing) There is a house in New Orleans. (speaking) It's in there. It's also in (singing) Hit the road, Jack, don't you come back no more, no more, no - (speaking ) It's in many of the blues progressions. And, hey. So it actually is a very established, emotional chord in many blues, yeah. GROSS: Well, Donovan, thank you so much for talking with us.

DONOVAN: Thank you, Terry. BIANCULLI: Singer-songwriter Donovan speaking with Terry Gross in 2004. Next month, he'll be inducted into the Songwriter's Hall of Fame. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR. Donovan Unofficial - Mellow Yellow Mellow Yellow All tracks by Donovan P. Leitch. Musicians: · Donovan: vocals and acoustic guitar. · Paul McCartney: uncredited backing vocals on Mellow Yellow. · John Paul Jones: bass and arrangement on Mellow Yellow. · Bobby Orr: drums. · Danny Moss and Ronnie Ross: horns on Mellow Yellow. · John Cameron: arrangement and keyboards on Sunny South Kensington. · Danny Thompson: bass on Sunny South Kensington. · Eric Ford: electric guitar on Sunny South Kensington. · Tony Carr: percussion on Sunny South Kensington. · Shawn Phillips: sitar on Sunny South Kensington. Trivia: · It was rumored that the song was about smoking dried banana skins, which was believed to be a hallucinogenic drug in the 1960s.

But Donovan's notes in the album clarify the origins of the rumor: it was started by Country Joe McDonald in 1966, and Donovan learned about it three weeks before the release of Mellow Yellow single. The controversial lyrics ("electrical banana") actually refered to a yellow vibrator. · The words "mellow yellow" appears on page 719 of the first American edition of Joyce's Ulysses, where it is used to refer to Mrs. Marion Bloom's buttocks, but it's not known if Donovan got the phrase from there. · Although it has been said that the words "quite rightly" in Mellow Yellow are whispered by Paul McCartney, in his autobiography The Hurdy Gurdy Man Donovan claims it was actually him, not Paul. He also clarifies Paul contribution to the song: you can hear him cheering at the end of the song, with other people gathered in the recording studio. · One of the oldest coffeeshops in Amsterdam is called "Mellow Yellow". Released: October 22, 1966

Question: Who wrote and recorded the 1966 song ‘Mellow Yellow’?
Answer: Donovan