Donovan made his US television debut on Shindig!

Donovan made his US television debut on Shindig! along with The Hollies, The Turtles and the Dave Clark Five on September 30, 1965

Donovan (born Donovan Philips Leitch; 10 May 1946) is a Scottish singer-songwriter and guitarist.

Emerging from the British folk scene, he developed an eclectic and distinctive style that blended folk, jazz, pop, psychedelia, and world music. He currently lives with his family in County Cork in Ireland.

Donovan came to fame in the United Kingdom in early 1965 with a series of live performances on the pop TV series, Ready Steady Go!

, and his popularity spread to the US and other countries. After signing with the British label Pye Records in 1965, he recorded a handful of singles and two albums in the folk music vein. After extricating himself from his original management contract, he began a long and successful collaboration with leading independent record producer Mickie Most, scoring a string of hits in the UK, the US, Australia and other countries. His successful records in the 1960s included the UK hits "Catch the Wind" and "Colours" in 1965, while "Sunshine Superman" topped the US Billboard Hot 100 chart the following year, and reached number two in Britain. Donovan was the first artist to be signed to CBS/Epic Records by then-new Administrative Vice President Clive Davis, who later became head of the CBS Record empire.

Donovan was one of the leading British recording artists of his day. He produced a series of hit albums and singles between 1965 and 1970. He became a friend of leading pop musicians including Joan Baez, Brian Jones, Bruce Springsteen, and The Beatles. He influenced both John Lennon and Paul McCartney when he taught them his finger-picking guitar style in 1968. Donovan's commercial fortunes waned after he parted ways with Mickie Most in 1969, and he left the music industry for a time.

He continued to perform and record sporadically in the 1970s and 1980s, but gradually fell from favour. His gentle musical style and hippie image was scorned by critics, especially after the advent of punk rock. Donovan withdrew from performing and recording several times during his career, but he underwent a revival in the 1990s with the emergence of the rave scene in Britain. Late in the decade, he recorded the 1996 album Sutras with producer and long-time fan Rick Rubin and in 2004 released a new album, Beat Cafe. On 28 September 2010, Donovan was nominated for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame 2011

Retro History for September 30 The 50s 60s 70s 80s

Retro History For The Decade 1980

1989 NASA closes down tracking stations in Hawaii and Ascension
1989 Nolan Ryan's perfect game broken in 8th, but gets his 300th strikeout
1989 Senegambia separates back into Gambia and Senegal
1989 Toronto Blue Jays wins AL East title
1988 Andrei Gromyko retires
1988 Dave Stieb, loses 2nd consecutive no hitter bid with 2 outs in 9th
1988 IBM announces shipment of 3 millionth PS/2 personal computer
1988 Louise Ritter, U.S., jumps 6'8" to win Olympic gold medal
1988 Robin Givens and Mike Tyson appear on Barbara Walter's Show
1988 Los Angeles Dodger Orel Herschiser breaks former Dodger Don Drysdale mark by pitching 59 consecutive scoreless innings
1987 Suriname constitution ratified
1986 U.S. performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
1986 U.S. releases soviet spy Gennadiy Zakharov
1985 Howard Stern gets fired from WNBC AM in New York
1984 Bowie Kuhn ends career as Baseball Commissioner
1984 Browns set a team record for allowing most sacks (11), Kansas City wins 10-6
1984 California Angel Mike Witt, pitches a perfect game over Texas Rangers, 1-0
1984 New York Yankee Don Mattingly wins AL batting crown with .343 avg
1982 National railroad strike in Belgium
1981 Last game at Minn's Metropolitan Stadium, lose to Kansas City 5-2
1981 Seoul, South Korea is selected to host 1988 Summer Olympics
1980 1,754 turn out to see Phillies play New York Mets at Shea Stadium
1980 A's Rickey Henderson sets AL stolen base record at 98 en route to 100
1980 Iran rejects a truce call from Iraqi President Saddam Hussein
1980 U.S.S.R. performs nuclear test at Semipalitinsk, Eastern Kazakhstan U.S.S.R.

Retro History For The Decade 1970

1979 Milwaukee Brewers lose 5-0 ending 213 straight games without a shutout
1979 Nancy Lopez wins LPGA Mary Kay Golf Classic
1978 Major Indoor Soccer League grants 1st 6 franchises to Cincinnati,
1978 Phillies clinch NL East title
1978 Cleveland, Houston, New York, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh Phillies win 3rd consecutive NL East Division title
1977 Dutch Antillean government-Evertsz resigns
1977 Ringo releases "Ringo the 4th" album
1977 U.S.S.R. performs nuclear test at Novaya Zemlya U.S.S.R.
1975 5 drown in flash flood of sewer and water tunnel (Niagara Falls New York)
1974 General Francesco da Costa Gomez succeeds General Spinola as President of Portugal
1973 3rd New York City Women's Marathon won by Nina Kuscsik in 2:57:07
1973 4th New York City Marathon won by Tom Fleming in 2:21:54
1973 Mel Gray begins NFL streak of 121 consecutive game receptions
1973 Sandra Palmer wins LPGA Cameron Park Golf Open
1973 U.S.S.R. performs underground nuclear test
1973 New York Yankees close 50th year at Yankee Stadium losing 8-5, Ralph Houk
1972 Passenger train derails killing 48 (Rust Stasie South Africa)
1972 Roberto Clemente, is 11th to get 3,000 hits
1971 Last Washington Senator home game, New York Yankees win career 5th forfeit game Yankees trailing 4-2 in 9th with 2 outs, fans rush field
1970 New American Bible published

Retro History For The Decade 1960

1969 Atlanta's 10th straight win, clinches NL West pennant
1968 1st Boeing 747 rolls out
1968 AL and NL umpires form a new Association of Major League Umpires
1968 Sharon Miller wins LPGA Seven Lakes Golf Invitational
1968 Supremes release "Love Child"
1967 BBC starts their own popular music radio station
1967 Palace of Fine Arts reopens (1st time during 1915 exposition)
1967 U.S.S.R.'s Kosmos 186 and 188 complete 1st automatic docking
1966 Botswana (Bechuanaland) gains independence from Britain (National Day)
1966 U.S.S.R. performs underground nuclear test
1965 Donovan's 1st U.S. TV appearance (Shindig)
1965 Los Angeles Dodger Don Drysdale (23-12) wins 13th straight game, 7 by shutouts
1964 "Oh What a Lovely War" opens at Broadhurst Theater New York City for 125 performances
1963 "Student Gypsy" opens at 84th St. Theater New York City for 16 performances
1963 56th Postmaster General: John A Gronouski of Wis takes office
1962 A's Bill Fischer ends 84 1/3 consec innings pitched without a walk
1962 John F. Kennedy routes 3,000 federal troops to Mississippi
1962 James Meredith registers for classes at University of Mississippi
1962 KCRL TV channel 4 in Reno, NV (NBC) begins broadcasting
1962 KMEX TV channel 34 in Los Angeles, California (IND) begins broadcasting
1962 Mickey Wright wins LPGA San Diego Golf Open
1962 New York Mets lose record 120th game as Cubs turn triple play and beat New York 5-1
1960 Flintstones premieres, 1st prime time animation show
1960 On Howdy Doody's last show Clarabelle finally talks "Goodbye Kids"
1960 West Germany signs trade agreement with East Germany

Retro History For The Decade 1950

1958 French Guinee becomes independent republic Guinea
1958 U.S.S.R. performs nuclear test at Novaya Zemlya U.S.S.R.
1957 French government of Mauroy, resigns due to Algeria
1957 WKYT TV channel 27 in Lexington, Kentucky (CBS) begins broadcasting
1956 Phillies Robin Roberts gives up a major league record 46th home run
1956 White Sox Jim Derrington, 16, is youngest to start a game (he loses)
1954 "Boy Friend" opens at Royale Theater New York City for 483 performances
1954 Nautilus, 1st atomic-powered vessel (sub), commissioned by the Navy
1953 Auguste/Jacques Piccard dives with bathosphere to 3150 m (record)
1953 Earl Warren appointed Chief Justice of the Supreme Court
1953 Robert Anderson's "Tea and Sympathy," premieres in New York City
1953 WICS TV channel 20 in Springfield, IL (NBC) begins broadcasting
1953 WMT (now KGAN) TV channel 2 in Cedar Rapids-Waterloo, IA (CBS) begins
1950 1st congress of International Astronautical Federation opens in Paris
1950 Radio's "Grand Ole Opry" is broadcasted on TV for 1st time
1950 WSM TV channel 4 in Nashville, Tennessee (NBC) begins broadcasting

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Vintage Retro Music & Retro Pop Culture is our passion and what we LOVE. We keep it going everyday for the love of producing it for you to enjoy. Thanks for viewing. Much Peace! Donovan made his US television debut on Shindig!