Added: 4 years ago
From: dgtlkttn
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  • lovely version of this Leon Russell-penned classic. But have a listen too to Leon himself!

  • listen to gerald levert sing this song. he does it great justice

  • Beautiful voice, What id give to be able to sing like that.

  • I LOVE IT!!

  • Great Video. I've always loved this song by him.

  • What record is this from?!

  • Donny Hathaway Live, i'm pretty sure, i might be wrong tho

  • are there many live records? I have one and this isn't on it

  • I love it !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!yes

  • melts my heart...beautiful!

  • yeah me 2

  • This song is one of the greatest I've ever heard.

    Donnie tocuhes the soul when he sings. A truly amaZing voice.

  • donny hathaway has the perfect voice and tone can sing his off

  • Wow!

  • wow... the best.

  • Donny has changed my life...I wish we had more artist like him to influence the youth and the direction of the music scene.

  • YES!

  • Donny is in my top 3, with Marvin (cause he's a DC native) and Stevie (the genius). Just don't ask me to pick between the 3.

  • This man could very well be the greatest soul singer to ever live and this song, this performance is evidence.

    "I love in a place where there's no space or time."

  • how cum u hate donny so much?

  • i love this song ant body know where i can get the piano music to this!!!!

  • IF you like this - listen to Ray Charles' version and Leon Russell who wrote it

  • He has one of the most amazing voices I have ever heard. I am blown away everytime I hear him sing.

  • I LOVE THIS SONG LOVE SHANNON

  • The first time I really began to appreciate Donny Hathaway was while watching HBO's film version of the Terry McMillan book "Disappearing Acts" ..the movie is filled with alot of his music

  • This song is tragically beautiful. I know we all have our stories but this reminds me of my true love I was not ready to appreciate and lost 5 years ago. He recently called to profess his forgiveness and tell me he wants to give it one more try. This time I am ready to truly give him my all with holding nothing. He quoted Donny...'I love you in a place where theres no space or time.' He would say that when we were together and I never knew what it meant until he was gone.  Now I understand...

  • Donny Hathaway sounds great live! Too bad a lot of Artist today sound not as good Live.*L*

  • I agree with you. Today's artist's are more studio aritst then performance artist. The mark of a true performer is the ability to performe beautifuly before an audiance. A lot of time the live performances were better then then the recordings which would make you buy the music. Some of today's artist don't have that quality.

  • some of todays artists?...u mean 95% of em?...listen to josh groban live, more times than not he sounds like shit...buble knows wassup tho,, hes a straight stud.

  • I am really getting into Donny Hathaway now. For the longest time all I ever knew was "The Closer I Get to You" and "This Christmas." But now I see the gift. OMG. He touches my heart in that hurt place and I cry for a life ended way too soon, and a beautiful voice silenced forever.

  • WOW! His voice sounds exactly like the CD. What an amazing talent he was.

  • sounds even better... :)

  • Thank you!

  • The male Billy Holiday.

  • Billy Holiday was pitchy at times and never quite hit the notes as written. That was her style. Donny had perfect tone quality that was not missing anything. If you are going to compare him to a female jazz singer compare him to Sarah Vaughan. She Listen to her live version of My funny Valentine recorded at the Satin Doll in Japan. You can compare the vocal genius of the two with the similar style of song.

  • wow

  • I would like to leave this song to the woman that I fell in love with.  ESL

  • dgtlkttn, I love you for posting a live version of this song!

  • When I hear him sing, I can't help but feel a since of pain, past suffering and disperation. I think he used his music as a barrier to keep out the demons. Unfortnately, the protection was short lived. RIP Donnie!

  • Listening to this performance and realizing how comfortable and natural Donny was playing music, it just makes the magnitude of death all the more unbelievable. I know that he harbored critical mental health problems but it's so tragic that THIS wasn't enough for him.

    He is so beloved and cherished and for him to leave this world probably never truly knowing how many people he touched is just so damn heartbreaking.

    It just makes you wonder what he was thinkin when he looked out his window.

  • The voice of an angel, gone much too soon.

  • this is my favorite singer, he was ahead of his time

  • I love Donnie! his voice touched you when he sang, and even after all of these years it still gets me when he sings! and I was born nearly 10yrs after he died! what an effortless voice!

  • One of the ten songs I would want with me if I was on a desert island like Tm Hanks in "Castaway." Amazing.

  • *** CONGRATULATIONS ***

    This video was just awarded the highest honors at YouTubes BIGmuzicLover, CUZ life's too short to listen to CRAP!

  • Donny Hathaway is greatly missed. His voice, his soul, his music and did I say his voice. His music deaply touches the soul. I was not even born yet when this man was around and the first time I heard Young, gifted and black many years ago I fell in love with his beautiful voice. Needless to say I have been hooked ever since. Thank you for te music your music and spirit live on. RIP Donny Hathaway.

  • His soul just speaks to you.

    Thank God for Donnie.

  • listen, how the brother announate his words. Donny Hathaway, was going through something that we didn't know about. Donny was trying to tell us in this song of life. Donny, will forever be remembered as one the greatest singer.... Peace

  • my favourite song!

    miss you donny!!

  • Touches the Soul!

  • No one can sing this song the way that donnie does........sorry usher!

  • even though i wasn't born in the era when this song came out it still gives me chills. i'm only 21 but this is real music and artists now a days can't compare to the passion and emotion that is felt in his voice. thank you donny for your priceless gems you left the world.

  • couldn`t say it any better!

    this is simply gold for ears ;)

  • Hey Ijust turned 18 and feel the same way. Theres nothing like listening to such profound artist of his caliber. Hathaway, Stevie Wonder, then take it back farther to Etta James, Ella, can go on for days love them all.

  • FIERCE.

  • chills and more chills. I've never heard this sung by Donnie Hathaway. It is beautiful!

  • Read all of the comments below...

    All agree, this is the best live track ever. If you don't feel this one, you'd better check your pulse. Donnie was in pain and it comes through in every note. This one keeps me believing in the power of music.

  • The best verson ever! The pain, the love, the passion, the clarity. WOW! Moves me to tears everytime.

  • The audience were blessed to have been there and listen to such perfection.

  • How is it that this many sang this song it was only him and his lover in the room? Yet he was able to sing it in front of so many people. WOW! I mean just listening to the way he sings the lyric, you would think he wrote this to that one special girl in a room with a piano, paper, pen & a couch for her to lay on as he looks at her & comes up with the words. That is talent. THAT IS R&B MUSIC & WHAT IT IS ALL ABOUT!!

  • man...this cat cuts through your soul!!! his voice is truly touched by God.

  • I used to like the temptations version until i heard donny. Its about to have me strecthed out on the floor. Ooooo weeee!!!!

  • Just the most sincere voice, Tone to die for...Donny, you will stay with us all, God rest you Brother.

  • It was originally written by Leon Russel. Hathaway's version is the standard...Ray Charles version is nice and if you get a chance find the live version he did with Willie Nelson right before he died, its Ray's goodbye and pretty touching. Just a beautiful song Donny just kills it, its chilling.

  • I love too song....thank you for posting

  • Donny made you LISTEN to this song. Not just hear it. Every damn word. Every tone, every pitch. And to do it with the best instrument on the planet (piano), is just over the top.

    Should've been complete silence. The audience irritated me. COMPLETE SILENCE!!

  • can anyone tell me who wrote this song, because i was on the phone and was on hold and this song was playing but it was ray charles singing it, it was a nice version but couldnt touch this version...wish we had donny for a little while longer

  • leon russell, I believe.

  • I wish Hathaway had a little more time here so that we could have learned and more, respected more, experienced more, felt more ... y'all feel me on this one.

  • This man is one of the greatest ever!!! So underrated, I wasn't born when this music came out but I am glad I found it. I ain't soft or nothing but damn, this brings a tear to my eye

  • Awesome!

  • God I love this song, Dam he jamming.R.I.P.

  • just beautiful !!!

  • No other voice can do what Donny does to me. So filled with emotion. No one else is even close. I wish he wouldn't have died so young. Listening to my dad's original records, it's impossible to say what he would have done today. R.I.P to the most soul filled singer I've ever listened to.

  • this is top class ! Donny daaamnn!!

  • The best song ever..love ya donny xxx

  • My God - nobody sings like him, what a loss. Thanks for the live recording

  • juste magique !! quelque chose venu d'ailleurs ...

  • no im not crying...

  • this is soul at its best,this man should get waaaaayyyy more props...this is one of thee best male soul singers of all time...

  • WOW it doesnt get any better than this!

  • the very best

  • top

  • foyrs2lyfe i feel u im in my twenties (24) and i too love donny and stevie among others and its true that younger people can appreciate great music classics

  • theres no words to describe how this song ,makes me feel

  • great singer i was 6 when he died but his music has moved me all my life!

  • He made us greater.

  • I get the goosebumps everytime i listen to Donny.

    RIP

  • WE MISS YOU...DONNY!!

  • É maravilhoso ouvir Donny, e perceber a escola que ele fez!

    5 estrelas

  • You see how Donny got the ladies moaning laughing so over come will all these different emotions......... His voice was trully a Gift from God ...HIM and Stevie my two all time favorite singers.This is coming from a 22 year old .

  • I totally agree you 100%

    and this is coming from a 15 year old

  • Yes...I'm sure Donny would be proud of ya both

  • I got Donny's Greatest Hits I just wish there was Videos with some of Donny's live performances

  • why was them woman laughing for

  • Simply outstanding! whew

  • best version ever

  • THIS IS A TRUE LOVE SONG

  • Lawd have mercy!!!!! Have mercy!!!! Donny is enough to have me stretched out on the floor!!!!

  • Lol, you and me too

  • donny is the man

  • magnifique

  • wow

  • this is simply amazing.

    i close my eyes and let it all take me away for a moment...

  • Without question one of the BEST vocalist ever.......truly MISSED!

  • am i hearing it wrong or are the crowd being kind of rude around the end part?

  • No, the audience is so incredibly in to it, especially that woman who won't (can't?) keep quiet, talking all the way through ("go Donny!" "wooh!"), making it clear she is feening for Donny! They laugh at her exhuberance. I LOVE this version and WISH it was on video somewhere. I can't believe this was never taped??

  • NEVER TAPED????? What a tragedy.... one of the best performances of all time

  • I grew up listening to Donny Hathaway and now my kid have the honor of listening to him and the message in the his music. I got a chance to make my ma a cd of him a couple of years ago before she passed away and she loves it, and would listen to it at work. She loved Donny Hathaway. She was just a lover of music.

  • I wish more young singers would listen and emmulate singers like Mr. Hathaway. Rolling off vocal run after run does not mean you are singing great or conveing great emotion. Donny doesn't go through one run and yet he expresses deep emotion and soul through beautifully executed phrasing, tonation and feeling. That's singing. God Bless

  • Dang this is what u call soul!

  • Miraculous, every word has meaning, depth and honesty,,, what a great Artist! ,,, so often the truly Gifted carry burdens we don't and can't understand. Donny,, Thank You!

  • I couldnt even begin to explain what this song does to and for me, it takes me places mentally that I am still trying to understand. Hands down Donny Hathaway was and will always be one of my favorite artist. Thanks for posting this song!!!!!!

  • Time and time again this song makes me feel good. I never new donnie before this song, but I'm glad I found him. Rest in peace Mr. Hathaway. This is truely a beautiful song.

  • this just makes me want to always keep music in my life because no matter how i feel this song puts me in an inspiring mood thank Donnie you will live on forever and ever im glad i got the chance to her you in my life time

  • grown folks music. you cant just play that at any time. that's one of those "right occasion" songs.

  • that is the ultimate love song and this version is awesome!!!!

  • I´m singin songs like this... but i havnt a webcam :(!

    I really would like to show you something of mine in future.

    And he´s the man... thats pure music..!!!

    RIP

  • This song speaks to an artist's soul. Whether you are a writer, an actor, a painter, or a musician, all should sit and bathe in this man's passion to speak on life through his amazing gift. RIP Donnie, this artist appreciates you.

  • 2 elements for a fulfilling life.....GOD and Donny Hathaway.

  • danke dass du mich auf diesen künstler aufmerksam gemacht hast- ich l... dich ch........

  • Phenomenal...brings a tear to my eye. Not many artists make music like this anymore.

  • This song.....man....i don't even have words. So much passion, so much emotion. His voice is so beautiful. When I hear REAL music like this..it makes me feel like I was truly born in the wrong generation. I am 30 yrs old and there are few artists that BRING it like they did in this era.

  • Christina Aguilara's version is by no means as good as this. But she respected his version and that is something to note for a young artist.

  • "I love you, I love you in a place/

    where there's no space and time/

    I love you for my life/

    you're a friend of mine/

    and when my life is over/

    remember remember remember when we were together/

    we were alone and I was singing this song to you/

    we were alone and I was singing this song to you/

    we were alone and I was singing this song to you."

    Amazing! When I think about how he took his own life, I want to cry . . . .

  • Whenever I hear Robin Thicke's "To the Sky" I think of Donny Hathaway. Yeah Thicke has that Marvin Gaye feel, but he's more Hathaway than Gaye IMO.

  • To whoever said that Christina Aguilera's version is hot obviously an idiot. I love Christina but not when she sings this classic. Very over the top, way too messy...Listen to this and you know what I mean.

  • Co-sign! She messed this up big time. She's very talented but seldom knows what to do with it and goes too far, oversings & runs out as a result.

  • does anyone know what year this song was recorded?????

  • 71, I believe.

  • I was so thankful that the crowd just mostly stopped and listened. Most crowds just don't have the control and class to just listen to music, even music this good. Amazing performance!

  • nothing short of amazing. he was and still is one of the best.

  • she killed it alright.......

  • The only other version I like is the Herbie Hancock and Christine Agulier's version she killed it.

  • Yep, she literally ran it in the ground & mangled it beyond recognition.

  • lol I take it you dind't like her version I really thought she did a good job on it but hey nothing beats the original.

  • Ever hear of a group called the Temptations??? Their version of this tune was the title song of an album they recorded in 1975. It was absolutely fantastic. By the way, Karen Carpenters version of "A Song For You" was simply sublime, also. Donny was a breathtakingly superior vocalist, and his rendition of this tune falls right in line with the truly outstanding versions.

  • come on who haven't heard of the temptations they did do a nice cover of this song.

  • PERFECTION.

  • This is SOUL!!!

  • simply amazing

  • amazing.......

  • what a voice!!

  • Nobody does it better than the original... NOBODY!!!

    Thank you for gracing us with your talent Mr Hathaway~

  • Leon Russell was the original...I think...but I get where you going :)

  • say his name, just say his name, it's real simple, just say his name, first name will suffice, Donny. very nice

  • I get goose bump everytime this man opens his mouth. That is a great impression from someone that is longer with us physically, but spritually. He is the BEST male vocalist that ever song SOUL, REAL SOUL music.

  • wow

  • Simply the best that ever did the R&B thing!

  • From the first to the last notes....HMMMMMMMMM good.

  • That's not right. The song was written and recorded by Leon Russell in 1970. It was recorded and made popular by Donny Hathaway in 1971 (he died in 1979.) Ray Charles performed it in 2003.

    Then others like Usher and Buble.....

  • this is an amazing version of my favorite song, clark king also does an unbelieveable version,.. you can probibally find it on youtube @ "clark king song for you"

  • I love this song !!I wonder why he took his own life?

  • Man this song touches me EVERY time I hear it...Sends chills through my body...Such a powerful and simple song...Donny sang this song better than anyone...I've heard like a trillion different versions of it and the only 2 that even come close are Usher's and Elliot's....

  • Donnie is the greatest. If you like this one... Whitney Houston version on youtube is the best I've ever heard this song.

    Whitney Houston - A Song For You live (WHH 1991)

  • HIS VOICE makes me cry all the time ... he s just unbelievable !!!!!! (as for Elliott Yamin you must admit he s one heck of a singer too ... extremely nice person too)

  • Can you all please visit Eliot Yamin's youtube version and comment please. Those asshole believe Yamin's version is the best. They've probably never even heard Donny's & I still haven't heard anyone sing this song without trying to copy Donny's riffs and arrangement

  • He just took his time to deliver his music. It was as if the woman he was singing to was with him at every performance of this song. This will always be a popular song. No one can do it like Donny Hathaway.

  • I love this song

  • oops....sorry.  Excellent comment

  • perfection, absolute perfection. it brings me to tears... perfection.

  • What a magnificence?!! You can feel the intensity, the pain, the genius and the huge talent of a man that dedicated his art and his sensibility to all the world. Me, you, everybody. Tnx Tnx and Tnx again Donny

  • makes me wanna make music foreverr!! this is pure gold.

  • This work still is moving me !!!

  • Chills, thrills all up my spine

  • I feel the same way

  • gregory1404 sur skyblog

  • False!! Donny hattaway IS THE ORIGINAL it was 30 years ago. I love this song