Donovan - 1968 - Atlantis FLAC

 Atlantis/There Is A Mountain/Hurdy Gurdy Man /Lalena

 

 Donovan Phillips Leitch (born 10 May 1946) is a Scottish singer, songwriter and guitarist. He developed an eclectic and distinctive style that blended folk, jazz, pop, psychedelic rock, and world music (notably calypso). He has lived in Scotland, Hertfordshire (England), London, California, and since at least 2008 in County Cork, Ireland, with his family. Emerging from the British folk scene, Donovan reached fame in the United Kingdom in early 1965 with live performances on the pop TV series Ready Steady Go!.

Having signed with Pye Records in 1965, he recorded singles and two albums in the folk vein for Hickory Records (US company), after which he signed to CBS/Epic Records in the US – the first signing by the company's new vice-president Clive Davis – and became more successful internationally. He began a long and successful collaboration with leading British independent record producer Mickie Most, scoring multiple hit singles and albums in the UK, US, and other countries.

His most successful singles were the early UK hits "Catch the Wind", "Colours" and "Universal Soldier" in 1965, the last written by Buffy Sainte-Marie. In September 1966 "Sunshine Superman" topped America's Billboard Hot 100 chart for one week and went to number two in Britain, followed by "Mellow Yellow" at US No. 2 in December 1966, then 1968's "Hurdy Gurdy Man" in the Top 5 in both countries, then "Atlantis", which reached US No. 7 in May 1969.

He became a friend of pop musicians including Joan Baez, Brian Jones and the Beatles. He taught John Lennon a finger-picking guitar style in 1968 that Lennon employed in "Dear Prudence", "Julia", "Happiness Is a Warm Gun" and other songs. Donovan's commercial fortunes waned after parting with Most in 1969, and he left the industry for a time.

Donovan continued to perform and record sporadically in the 1970s and 1980s. His musical style and hippie image were scorned by critics, especially after punk rock. His performing and recording became sporadic until a revival in the 1990s with the emergence of Britain's rave scene. He recorded the 1996 album Sutras with producer Rick Rubin and in 2004 made a new album, Beat Cafe. Donovan was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2012 and the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2014. 

 

"Atlantis" is a song written and recorded by Scottish singer/songwriter Donovan. It was released as a single in 1968, and became a worldwide success; becoming a No. 1 hit in Switzerland in 1969, No.2 in Germany and South Africa, No. 12 in Canada, No.4 in Austria and No.15 in Australia. In the United States, where it served as the b-side to "To Susan on the West Coast, Waiting," it reached No. 7, whilst in the singer's native country the single managed only a modest No. 23 placing.

"Hurdy Gurdy Man" is a song by the Scottish singer-songwriter Donovan. It was recorded in April 1968 and released the following month as a single. The song gave its name to the album The Hurdy Gurdy Man, which was released in October of that year in the United States. The single reached number 5 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the US and number 4 on the UK Singles Chart  in Australia it peaked at No.5.

 "Laléna" (also spelled "Lalena") is the title of a composition by Donovan for whom it was a Top 40 single in the autumn of 1968, reaching #33 on the Hot 100 in Billboard and No.72 in Australia.

"There Is a Mountain" is a song and single written and performed by British singer-songwriter Donovan, released in 1967. It charted in the UK at No.8 It charted in the USA at No. 11 on Billboard's Hot 100 and at No.9 on the Cashbox chart it also charted at No25 in Australia.