◇ image via WikipediaDonny Hathaway
Donny Hathaway is a Blues and Gospel act. Their catalogue also touches House and Jazz. Their sound grew out of Arif Mardin, Hotter than July, Phil Upchurch, Mtume and A Song For You. Those roots explain a lot about how Donny Hathaway arrange songs and choose their tones. They run in the same orbit as Marvin Gaye, Isaac Hayes, The Spinners, Roy Ayers Ubiquity and Rufus, sharing audiences, venues and reference points rather than a straight line of influence. Their influence carried into Ruben Studdard, Frazey Ford, That! Feels Good!, The Gap Band and 8701, where the same ideas turn up rearranged for a later generation. Altogether the chart holds 91 connections around Donny Hathaway, reaching back through Arif Mardin and forward to Ruben Studdard. Follow any of those threads to keep travelling the influence between bands and genres on Starverb.
Background
Donny Edward Hathaway was an American soul singer, keyboardist, songwriter, backing vocalist, and arranger who Rolling Stone described as 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 renowned for his renditions of "A Song for You", "For All We Know", "Jealous Guy" and "I Love You More Than You'll Ever Know", along with "Where Is the Love" and "The Closer I Get to You", two of many collaborations with Roberta Flack. He has been inducted into the St. Louis Walk of Fame and won one Grammy Award from four nominations. Hathaway was also posthumously honored with a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2019. Dutch director David Kleijwegt made a documentary called Mister Soul – A Story About Donny Hathaway, which premiered at the International Film Festival Rotterdam on January 28, 2020.
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Donny Hathaway connections
Donny Hathaway grew out of Arif Mardin, Hotter than July, Phil Upchurch and Mtume, shares an orbit with Marvin Gaye, Isaac Hayes, The Spinners and Roy Ayers Ubiquity, went on to shape Ruben Studdard, Frazey Ford, That! Feels Good! and The Gap Band. 91 connections mapped across roots, kindred and legacy.
Who influenced Donny Hathaway
Sounds and acts that shaped Donny Hathaway.
Artists similar to Donny Hathaway
Artists and scenes sharing an orbit with Donny Hathaway.
Bands Donny Hathaway shaped
Where the influence of Donny Hathaway travelled next.
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