Donovan - Blackbird

[moonoverbluewaters]

Say hello to Bob Dylan for me. Love, M. from the 70's. Thanks.

[whocares1694]

Wish he was touring the states. 

[LODATO1]

gee, i like this a lot.

[gorpusasasa]

But ! It's Bilbo !

[royrhodes]

As a guitarist , Donovan is not in the same league as Paul McCartney .

Paul was a superb bass player ,( the most melodic ) . A great acoustic guitarist ,..excellent on piano ,..electric guitar ,..and probably ( musically ) ,..the most inventive Beatle of 'em all !. John had the charisma ,..and obviously superb songs ,and performances ,..but on production and ideas,..I reckon Paul comes out on top ! ( I think most of the Beatle A- sides were Pauls. )

[Peterkr10]

@royrhodes He actually taught John Lennon how to play fingerstyle though.

[all4musica]

Donovan I Love your voice, songs!! One of my favorite singer of all times!:) I did have the pleasure to see you perform Live some yrs ago in Dewey Beach, Delaware~xo

[potrezeb1]

Gadzooks ....It's Barry Corkhill from Brookside !!!

[kallidan1]

Pore Donovan (and all the others...).

We used to buy their albums, followed their fashion, we traveled the world around to get a clips of your performance and spent all our allowance and savings just to listen to you. Many died and killed them self just for you guys.

[kallidan1]

I still admire the Beatles, Donovan, Prince, and all the other 70' heroin, hashish smoking musicians for their music contribution to the world.

But... Should it not be put into a legislation world around, that at least "1% of CD sale of 'dead' super-stars should be put into humanity"?

After all, that's what they "all" said they where fighting for (but did the least), and now only their spoiled ancestors are living like kinks on our past admiration and death of thousands.

[DNAblues]

Agreed. Donovan' s music gets better every day. I have been playing and replaying an old album of his A Gift From A Flower to a Gardeen every day.

The nasty coments on here are from people who never lived through the 60s and joined in the Flower Power Movement that is SO Donovan.

[zyxquark]

Actually, the song Lennon most impressively used Donovan's finger-picking style on which was written in india was "JULIA." that's a far more beautiful song than dear prudence and is also a clearer representation of that style. I love donovan. i was always a fan. he can do no wrong with me.

[sejd51]

Famous folk singer gone bad!

[DNAblues]

@sejd51 I remember listening to Donovan speaking on a DVD where he says "we went to India to bring back meditation to the West. And they did. yYs he's older so what? His music will always be beautiful but maybe it's one of those things where you had to be there, physically and spiritually, to really get it.

[poltergiest11]

THIS IS AMAZING! FOR A MOST WONDERFUL TALENTED POETIC GENIUS AS HIM TO STILL BE ALIVE AND STILL SHARE HIM SELF AT AN OLD AGE! I LOVE THE ENERGY HE CREATES WITH HIS COMPLETE UNITY AND CONSCIENCE WHEN PLAYING HIS MUSIC! PEACE AND LOVE AND SMOKA DA GANJA FOR THE JAH!

[tovakaye]

sweetly sweet

[GloucesterAdam]

Looks a bit like Brian May there! Anyway, great video and a wonderful cover.

[TheDrunkenHer0]

Just because modernity has taken over your sight doesn't mean this is cheesy.

It's fucking majikal.

Donovan is fucking majik

[pearlsfortheswines]

oh no..how could he take the metronome tap out of this song? The whole song is falling apart!

[GriffonKeeper]

He still has a wonderful voice!

[jbone0987]

donovan , you were more humble when you were younger

[jbone0987]

@jbone0987 but i still love ya ,,,cuz we are all changed by the pain of time

[splendidoyster3]

Is that Sam Gamgee?!

[MrChiefpumpkin]

he keeps dematerializing!!! Fairplay, he's still got it!

[189bri]

artest dont retire

[godwhatcanihave]

so fly high little, fly free little, im a little, little, fly free little, little black little bird blackbird litte. little . little

[tomlynntigard]

A very good compliment from one great artist to another. The orchestral part was especially superb.

[flythebike]

The tempo is just too slow.

[nsn1978]

Great version of the song which is probably best heard but not seen.

[Pineandfeather]

Wow, that was an incredible blow to any integrity he had left. It was so awful I actually started to feel sorry for him.

[SA300]

Time for retirement.

[beatboy001]

Great song ,beautiful music ! Donovan  and Mc Cartney - superstars !

[DonDonCastCastt]

Poor Donovan just trying to relive the old days, but to tell you what I don't really think he cares if he is "Cheesy", the man just loves to make music weather you like it or not.

[Sixtiesera]

@DonDonCastCastt  Agreed =]

[Rush1013]

@DonDonCastCastt

hes not trying to relive the old days or be cheesy, hes always like this, hes a psychedelic guy.

[MDS1958]

Poor Donovan, huh? How has your music career evolved over the past 50 years? I thought so.

[freedomland11]

@MDS1958...really..he wrote that comment a year ago..I would've just ignored it :)

[whittingham4665]

nobody other than don and macca should sing this song seeing that don taught the fabs to play this type of guitar in india ( the clawhammer style )

[philrocks08]

whys he wearing a womans blouse

[asd910ddm]

GARBAGE

[Hoopermazing]

Why? 

[RICK8044]

I like much of this artist's work and when I was younger I listened to his music. Perhaps my taste's have changed in some respect but maybe there comes a time to lay down the guitar or play it and sing for the grandkids and that shirt. Too bad Lawrence Welk is gone. I wonder if Donovan plays the accordion. Please have a little mercy Donovan we still have good memories of your younger days don't ruin them. I still have a lot of his music and I was just wondering why?

[titomw]

donovan-unofficial(dot)com

what a great site!!

[kahikokeiki]

Beautiful

[derjoni]

trash

[hippygravy240]

This was a Beatles song, buddy.

You should be careful of what you call as "trash".

[wildwitchwoman46]

i hav 2 keep coming back 2 this -it is so very beautiful

[RICK8044]

Yhis video is just annoying at best.

[zobodobokobo]

@RICK8044 i know, it's just not as good as the beatles or john denvers, if you haven't heard his, you should check it out

[davidbowieswaffle]

It is impossible for me to make it 15 seconds into the video without laughing. It's supposed to be deep and beautiful, but it is really cheesy and embarrassing. Donovan you really lost it buddy

[12stepmaster]

123jhouse.... The history behind this tune is that Mac Macleod of St Albans taught Donovon claw picking techniques.... when Donovon was in India meditating with the Mahrishi Yogi and Beatles etc.... he taught 2 of the Beatles this picking style which they later used on Blackbird..... without Donovon this tune may never have happened....

[Otispuss2]

@12stepmaster Thanks for the post. I really enjoy getting the little historical gems behind the story.

[Bluebird9021]

@12stepmaster actually if Paul McCartney has said that the picking style he used on "Blackbird" he and George came up with when trying to play Bach's songs on guitar to impress girls. He's said in numerous interviews. But yes Donovan did teach them a style which John used afterwards most notably on "Dear Prudence."

[DNAblues]

@Bluebird9021 I remember Bob Dylan talking about how much he enjoyed Donovan's finger picking style. He taught John while in India how to pick. That is not debatable.Donovan was and is an incredible musician. His jazz is also great. What you don't seem to get is how much India and Transcendental Meditation affected Donovan and George Harrison, as well as Mia Farrow and others on that trip.

Listening to Donovan's old music is truly magical.

[okltsply]

@12stepmaster Ah...not even close. Paul does not use the Travis style of picking he does a weird plucking/strumming with the index finger. Lennon used what Donavan showed him on Julia and Dear Prudence(Travis picking). The opening 3 chord progression of this comes from a Bach piece that Paul and George use to play pre-Beatles(can't remember the name) after that it's all Paul.

[haulofrecords]

..........and it was Donovan who did all the vocal bird sounds on the Beatles recording of Blackbird.

[wildwitchwoman46]

Altho not one of your songs -it is so beautifully sung -Thank you

[fossie32]

nice

[lizkaye]

He sounds the same as he did in my youth - wonderful! Fun to hear him sing a Beatles tun. Missed this one previously. Thanks for posting!

[BeatnikManfred]

...I had to come back and listen to this again...just wonderful.....

[Celticcanadian69]

too cheesy for me

[123jhouse]

Poor old Donovan. I love some of his old tunes, but this is pretty cheesy. I couldn't help but laugh when he keeps disappearing and reappearing somewhere else, comedy gold. I mean, can you imagine Dylan doing this.....nah.

[AsherSax]

I know. Donovan, and especially Dylan, are way above this kind of thing. Yet it doesn't really surprise me Donovan would do it, since he hasn't been popular since the 60s, unlike Dylan.

[cgkstevenson]

I really liked Donovan, learnt to play a lot of his songs back in 1969, and still play some, but he was always a bit pretentious.

Now I think he should really stop dyeing his hair. Bit like Macca. Sadly Macca's voice is going , should have quit the fags a long time ago, but Donovan's still seems ok-ish.

[JAGAE]

he is so wonderful

[yadamatrix]

I like turtles

[ehrensenffan]

Uhm ... he did it in his distinctive Lalena-style, which it's way off the original and makes the song to his own. One may like it or one may not. I don't.

[DHudelson]

it's the very slow vibratto that makes it most difficult. Also some alterations of chord progression that rob the composition of its original richness - although the orchestral portion does reverse much of that.

[23Footsie]

Delightful.

[ronokki]

I am really disappointed. I am a big Donovan fan and Blackbird is one of my favorite beatle songs, but this version is kind of...eh

[alba4232]

Donovan yer Scottish!Dinnae deny it .Sing a sang o'bonnie Scotland !A' ken weel yer love lies here in Scotland. A' think yer braw jist dae us a favour an gie us a guid Scots sang!Mon Donovan Saor Alba

[sammymfc1]

The guy has (a Scottish sensitivity)... a quality you could obviously not understand far less own.

[mattsgotslacks]

i love donovan, but the beginning kills it for me. he makes it kindof awkward, and i hate to say it but pretentious. But once the string section comes in it's absolutely beautiful

[tecusen]

I have to agree... I love Donovan and I love The Beatles, but this cover is painful to listen to and to watch.

[tbdeawh]

He adds a weird touch to this song, not sure I like it. other smight appreciate it but i prefer john denvers.

lol this guy def. took a lot of acid. look it up on wikipedia.

[beatleandy1]

Cool Donovan!

[chuckyman007]

dude I love Blackbird... by the BEATLES!!! this is simply the worst cover ever....EVER!!

[kwiat77]

if you really loved blackbird, and the beatles... you wouldnt put down this cover, or donovan. go do your homework, and then come back when you're ready.

[chuckyman007]

I know the fingerpickingstyle is from Donovan, but his voice is just not right for this song....to my opinion. Donovan made much better songs.

[chuckyman007]

gay

[greeniem]

he reminds me of my acid casuality friends :)

[robertlaberge]

Donovan should do a whole album's worth of fine covers like this one,

of songs that sound like his.

[neutrolino]

I played Donovan's special guitars for a minute or two...Julian let me.

[waxwall]

Beautiful! Where did this video come from?

[jonasjar]

pretty nice! had no idea donovan ever did this.

[BeatnikManfred]

Lieber Frank,

vielen Dank für dieses wundervolle Video.

Habe ich noch nie zuvor gesehen oder gehört.

Alles liebe für Dich und Deine Familie.

Manni

[frandra]

simply beautiful & heart melting dear Donovan!

Jai Guru Dev

Frank

[Airhockeylirare]

ooh<33

[GarryLoc]

Amazing video...Thanks for uploading!