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Top 10 Interesting Facts about Donny Hathaway

The late Donny Hathaway was an accomplished singer and songwriter having written several classic tunes and sang them also. He was famed for his sophisticated and amorous vocals which he used to produce different genres of music like gospel, R&B, soul, jazz and blues. Donny has influenced several musicians to take up different genres which shows that he was good at what he did and thus resulting in people looking up to him. Therefore, this article will explore the ten facts about this exceptional artist so that we can understand the impact he had on contemporary music and his influence on other artists.

1 He grew up in Chicago

He was a member of a musical family and was born in 1945 as “Donny Edward Hathaway” into a working-class family in Chicago, Illinois. He had a gospel singer for a grandmother named Martha Pitts. When he was just three years old, Hathaway began singing with his grandmother in a church choir, demonstrating early musical talent. Roberta Flack, his future collaborator, was a classmate of his when they both attended Howard University in Washington, D.C., where he pursued music studies on a fine arts scholarship.

2 He began playing the piano while he was young

A picture of a piano by Glynfindor-

Donny Hathaway was very talented in that apart from starting to sing at the church choir with his grandmother while he was only three, he also learnt how to play the piano. By the time he was in high school, he had become so good at it that he was able to win a scholarship to Howard University in 1964 to go and study music. While he was in college, Donny performed with a jazz trio known as the Ric Powell Trio, and ultimately dropped out of school after three years to pursue job offers he had received in the record business.

3 Worked as a producer when he entered the music industry

After dropping out of school to pursue employment opportunities, he started working as an arranger, producer, songwriter and session pianist before he got his big break. While working in these roles, he supported artists like Jerry Butler, Staple Singers and Aretha Franklin.

He then went on and teamed up with the Mayfield Singers, a studio support ensemble for Curtis Mayfield’s Impressions. Soon after producing “I Thank You, Baby,” a duet with June Conquest, Hathaway was promoted to house producer at Mayfield’s Curtom record label. The inner-city lament “The Ghetto, Pt. 1,” his debut single, was released around the end of the year after he later signed with Atco as a solo artist.

4 He recorded a theme song for Maude

Despite his reputation as a songwriter, Hathaway didn’t write the theme song in Maude it was rather a joint effort between jazz legend Dave Grusin and husband-and-wife songwriting team Alan and Marilyn Bergman. It’s safe to say, though, that Hathaway still managed to personalise the song, and soulfully hailed feminism’s trailblazers like Betsy Ross, Lady Godiva, and Joan of Arc.

5 He wrote songs for several films

Quincy Jones hired Hathaway to compose the entire score for Come Back, Charleston Blue, and he accepted the offer even though he had contributed to the soundtracks of other movies. Even though the album didn’t provide any big singles, the title tune managed to register on the Billboard Hot 100 in the low-to-mid 90s.

6 Awards

Donny Hathaway was recognized to be good at what he did and was even rewarded for it. He won a Grammy Award in 1973 for Where Is the Love, a song he released with Roberta Flack in 1972. Furthermore, he is also ranked number 49 on Rolling Stone’s list of 100 Greatest Singers of All Time. This shows that the singer was doing very well in the field of music that he was able to receive accolades and recognition for his exceptional work.

7 He was diagnosed with Paranoid schizophrenia

Amid his rising fame, Hathaway was hospitalised regularly for severe mood swings and sadness and was later diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia. The 1973 publication of Extensions of a Man, Hathaway’s final studio album, was made possible by times of mental clarity. Songs like “Someday We’ll All Be Free” and “I Love You More Than You’ll Ever Know” found a spot on the pop and R&B charts.

8 His personal Life

The accomplished singer met his wife Eulaulah while he was studying at Howard University. The couple was blessed with three daughters known as Kenya Hathaway, Donita Hathaway and Lalah Hathaway. In 1979, after a recording session with Flack, Donny Hathaway was left alone in his hotel room and there he either jumped or fell to his death.

9 He got an award posthumously

The records he produced, organised, and played on for other artists, such as Aretha Franklin, Willy Nelson, Curtis Mayfield, The Impressions, Roberta Flack, and Lena Horne, stand as a lasting testament to Donny Hathaway’s creative genius. A Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award was given posthumously to Hathaway in 2019. The long-lasting impact of Hathaway’s music, sensitive spirit, and sharp mind have been frequently discussed by his peers and collaborators after his passing.

10 His daughter followed in his footsteps

Donny Hathaway has a good musical career and at the time of his death, his career had just started picking up again. His daughter Lalah Hathaway followed in his footsteps and launched a solo music career and thus following in the footsteps of her father. This is a nice feat as Donny Hathaway was a musical legend and having his daughter follow a career in that field is a nice way to honour him.