Donny Edward Hathaway was born on October 1, 1945, and passed away on January 13, 1979. He was an American soul singer, keyboardist, songwriter, backing vocalist, and arranger. Rolling Stone called him a "soul legend." His most popular songs include "The Ghetto," "This Christmas," "Someday We'll All Be Free," and "Little Ghetto Boy." Hathaway is also well-known for performing "A Song for You," "For All We Know," "Jealous Guy," and "I Love You More Than You'll Ever Know." He also performed "Where Is the Love" and "The Closer I Get to You," which he recorded with Roberta Flack. Hathaway was inducted into the St. Louis Walk of Fame and won one Grammy Award out of four nominations. He was honored with a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2019 after his death. A documentary titled Mister Soul – A Story About Donny Hathaway, directed by Dutch filmmaker David Kleijwegt, premiered at the International Film Festival Rotterdam on January 28, 2020.

Early life

Hathaway was born to Drusella Huntley, a member of a Black American family in Chicago, Illinois. He was raised by his grandmother, Martha Pitts, also known as Martha Crumwell, in the Carr Square housing project of St. Louis, Missouri. At the age of three, he began singing in the church choir with his grandmother, who was a professional gospel singer, and started studying piano. He graduated from Vashon High School in 1963. Hathaway then studied music at Howard University in Washington, D.C., using a scholarship for the arts. There, he met Ric Powell, his roommate and a drummer, who helped start Hathaway's music career as part of "The Ric Powell Trio." He was also a member of the Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity. In 1967, before finishing his degree, Hathaway and Ric left Howard University to take job offers in Chicago with Curtom Records, which was owned by Curtis Mayfield.

Career

Donny Hathaway worked as a songwriter, session musician, and producer for Curtis Mayfield’s Curtom Records in Chicago. He arranged songs for the Unifics, including "Court of Love" and "The Beginning of My End," and participated in projects by the Staple Singers, Jerry Butler, Aretha Franklin, the Impressions, and Curtis Mayfield. After becoming a "house producer" at Curtom, he began recording there. In 1969, Hathaway released his first single under his own name, a duet with singer June Conquest titled "I Thank You, Baby." They also recorded the duet "Just Another Reason," which was released as the B-side. Bill Futterer, a former president of the Cleveland Browns, met Hathaway while promoting Curtom Records in the southeast during 1968 and 1969 as a college student. Futterer later credited Hathaway’s influence on his work.

In the same year, Hathaway signed with Atco Records, a division of Atlantic Records, after being noticed by producer/musician King Curtis at a trade convention. He released his first notable single, "The Ghetto, Pt. 1," which he co-wrote with Leroy Hutson, a former roommate from Howard University. The track appeared on his critically acclaimed debut album, Everything Is Everything, released the following year. Hathaway co-produced the album with Ric Powell and arranged all the songs.

His second album, Donny Hathaway, mostly featured covers of pop, soul, and gospel songs. His third album, Roberta Flack & Donny Hathaway, included duets with Roberta Flack, a former Howard University associate and label mate. Hathaway had previously sung backup on Flack’s song "Killing Me Softly with His Song," which helped him gain recognition on the pop charts. The album was a success, featuring the track "Where Is the Love," written by Ralph MacDonald. It reached the Top Five on the pop Hot 100, sold over one million copies, and earned a gold disc from the RIAA on September 5, 1972. Other songs on the album included covers of "You've Got a Friend" by Carole King, "Baby I Love You" (originally a hit for Aretha Franklin), and "You've Lost That Loving Feeling."

Perhaps Hathaway’s most influential recording was his 1972 album Live, which has been called "one of the best live albums ever recorded" by Daryl Easlea of the BBC. The album was listed in The Quietus, a British music magazine, as one of its "40 Favourite Live Albums." It was recorded at two concerts: side one at the Troubadour in Hollywood, and side two at The Bitter End in Greenwich Village, Manhattan.

Hathaway co-wrote and performed the Christmas song "This Christmas," released in 1970. The song became a holiday classic and has been covered by many artists, including The Whispers, Diana Ross, Aretha Franklin, The Temptations, The Four Tops, Stevie Wonder, and others.

Hathaway contributed to soundtracks and recorded the theme song for the TV series Maude. He composed and conducted music for the 1972 movie Come Back Charleston Blue. In the mid-1970s, he produced albums for other artists, such as Cold Blood, where he helped expand the musical style of lead singer Lydia Pense.

His final studio album, Extension of a Man, was released in 1973. It included two tracks, "Love Love Love" and "I Love You More Than You'll Ever Know," which reached both the pop and R&B charts. The album also featured his classic ballad "Someday We'll All Be Free" and a six-minute instrumental piece titled "I Love The Lord, He Heard My Cry." In 1973, Hathaway told UK music journalist David Nathan, "I always liked pretty music and I've always wanted to write it." He mentioned that composers like Ravel, Debussy, and Stravinsky influenced his work.

In 1978, Hathaway returned to the charts by teaming up with Roberta Flack for a duet, "The Closer I Get to You," on her album Blue Lights in the Basement. The song topped the R&B chart and reached No. 2 on the Hot 100. Shortly before his sudden death, Atlantic Records released another solo single, "You Were Meant For Me."

Liner notes for later releases of his final solo album explain: "Donny is no longer here, but the song 'Someday We'll All Be Free' gathers momentum as part of his legacy… Donny literally sat in the studio and cried when he heard the playback of his final mix. It's pretty special when an artist can create something that wipes them out." Edward Howard, the lyricist of the song, added, "It was a spiritual thing for me… What was going through my mind at the time was Donny, because Donny was a very troubled person. I hoped that at some point he would be released from all that he was going through. There was nothing I could do but write something that might be encouraging for him. He's a good leader for young black men."

Personal life

In 1967, Hathaway married Eulaulah Vann. They met at Howard University, where they both studied music. Together, they had two daughters: Eulaulah Donyll (Lalah) and Kenya Canc'Libra. Lalah became a successful solo singer, and Kenya works as a session singer. She is also one of the three backing vocalists on the TV show American Idol. Both daughters graduated from Berklee College of Music.

During his most successful years, Hathaway began experiencing serious depression and showed strange behavior. Between 1973 and 1974, he was taken to the hospital multiple times. He was later diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia and given different medicines to treat his condition. At one point, he was prescribed fourteen different medications to take twice daily. After starting his treatment, his mental health improved. However, Eulaulah Hathaway said her husband often stopped taking his medicines when he felt better. From 1973 to 1977, his mental health problems caused many challenges in his personal life and career, leading to several hospital stays. His depression and mood changes also caused a disagreement with his friend Flack. They did not reconcile for several years and did not release more music until 1978, when they successfully released the song "The Closer I Get to You." After this, Flack and Hathaway began working together again to create a second album of duets.

Death

In 1979, recording sessions for a new album of duets were beginning. On January 13, Donny Hathaway started a session with producers and musicians Eric Mercury and James Mtume. Both reported that although Hathaway was singing well, he began acting strangely, showing signs of paranoia and strange beliefs. James Mtume said Hathaway claimed white people were trying to harm him and that his brain was connected to a machine to steal his music and voice. Because of Hathaway’s behavior, Eric Mercury decided the session could not continue and ended it early. All the musicians left the session.

Later that day, Hathaway was found dead on the pavement below his 15th-floor hotel room window at the Essex House in New York City, located at 160 Central Park South. It was reported that he had jumped from his balcony. His hotel room door was locked from the inside, and the window glass had been carefully removed. There were no signs of a struggle, leading investigators to conclude his death was a suicide. Roberta Flack was deeply upset by his death and included the completed duets on her 1980 album, Roberta Flack Featuring Donny Hathaway. Eric Mercury stated that Hathaway’s final recording was the song “You Are My Heaven,” which Mercury co-wrote with Stevie Wonder.

Hathaway’s funeral was led by Reverend Jesse Jackson. Later in 1979, The Whispers recorded a tribute song called “Song for Donny” for their self-titled album. The song reached No. 21 on the R&B chart. That same year, they used the arrangement from “Song for Donny” to create a cover of Hathaway’s song “This Christmas,” which was included on their Christmas album, Happy Holidays to You.

Influence

Elton John's music was greatly influenced by Donny Hathaway. According to Allison Keyes from NPR, Hathaway's solo recordings are "part of the foundation of American soul music" and have "influenced performers from R&B singers Alicia Keys and Aaliyah to rapper Common and singer-guitarist George Benson." He was named the 49th-greatest singer of all time in a 2010 list published by Rolling Stone. Justin Timberlake called him "the best singer of all time." Raúl Midón said that Hathaway is "the strongest soul singer that ever existed" and compared his vocal technique to that of a classical vocalist. "When Donny sings any song, he owns it," Stevie Wonder was quoted by David Ritz as saying. Amy Winehouse called Hathaway her favorite artist of all time and refers to "Mr. Hathaway" in her song "Rehab." The Korean indie pop group Hathaw9y named themselves in honor of him. Rock critic Robert Christgau described Hathaway as "a blend of limitless cultural aspiration" who "conveyed a sense of roots" and was never satisfied with "the class-bound pop fantasies of Ashford & Simpson," but noted that "the idealistic, trusting nature of a project that combined pop, jazz, a little blues, lots of gospel, and the conservatory into an all-over black style is linked to the overly ornate style that sometimes made his work less effective."

Discography

• Phil Upchurch – Upchurch (Cadet, 1969)
• Phil Upchurch – The Way I Feel (Cadet, 1970)
• Aretha Franklin – Young, Gifted and Black (Atlantic, 1972)
• Roberta Flack – Roberta Flack Featuring Donny Hathaway (Atlantic, 1980)

Tributes

• On the 1999 album Rise by Gabrielle, the song "When a Woman" mentions singing along to Roberta Flack and Donny Hathaway. Gabrielle later covered the song "This Christmas."
• On the Whispers' 1979 self-titled album, the group honored Donny Hathaway with the song "Song for Donny," written by Carrie Lucas. This song used the melody from Hathaway's "This Christmas."
• In 1999, Aaron Hall recorded a short version of "Someday We'll All Be Free" for his group Guy's third album, Guy III, with Teddy Riley and Damion Hall.
• In September 2001, Alicia Keys performed "Someday We'll All Be Free" during the televised 9/11 tribute concert America: A Tribute to Heroes.
• In 2005, Raul Midón, a neo-soul singer, songwriter, and guitarist, worked with Hathaway's longtime producer, Arif Mardin, to create a tribute song called "Sittin' in the Middle."
• In her 2006 song "Rehab," Amy Winehouse mentions learning from "Mr. Hathaway" instead of going to rehab.
• In 2007, Deniece Williams covered "Someday We'll All Be Free" on her album Love, Niecy Style. She later said she cried in the studio while recording the song.
• The song "What a Catch, Donnie" from Fall Out Boy's 2008 album Folie à Deux is named after Donny Hathaway and mentions Roberta Flack, his writing partner.
• Bizzy Bone's song "A Song for You" includes a version of Donny Hathaway's original recording of the same name.
• In 2010, Amy Winehouse performed Donny Hathaway's song "We're Still Friends" at a live concert.
• In the 2013 song "Classic," the band MKTO mentions writing songs "like Hathaway."
• In 2017, during the The Walking Dead episode "The First Day of the Rest of Your Life," the character Sasha listens to "Someday We'll All Be Free" before dying by suicide.
• In 2019, during the Euphoria episode "And Salt the Earth Behind You," Hathaway's cover of "A Song for You" plays during a scene showing the death of a character's father.
• In the 2019 song "Ladies, Ladies, Ladies," JID raps about knowing a girl who "used to love Donny Hathaway."
• In 2021, Hathaway's cover of John Lennon's "Jealous Guy" was played during the credits of episode 7 of season 2 of Mythic Quest.