Donny Hathaway
| Donny Hathaway | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Donny Edward Hathaway |
| Also known as | Donny Pitts |
| Born |
October 1, 1945 Chicago, Illinois, US |
| Origin | St. Louis, Missouri, US |
| Died | January 13, 1979 (aged 33) New York, New York, US |
| Genres | Chicago soul, soul, jazz, gospel, R&B, blues |
| Occupation(s) | Musician songwriter, arranger, conductor, producer |
| Instruments | Vocals, piano, keyboards |
| Years active | 1967–1979 |
| Labels | Curtom, Atco |
| Associated acts | Lalah Hathaway, Roberta Flack, Curtis Mayfield, Leroy Hutson, Earth, Wind & Fire, Quincy Jones |
Donny Edward Hathaway (October 1, 1945 – January 13, 1979) was an American jazz, blues, soul and gospel singer, songwriter, arranger and pianist. Hathaway signed with Atlantic Records in 1969 and with his first single for the Atco label, "The Ghetto", in early 1970, Rolling Stone magazine "marked him as a major new force in soul music." His enduring songs include "The Ghetto", "This Christmas", "Someday We'll All Be Free", "Little Ghetto Boy", "I Love You More Than You'll Ever Know", signature versions of "A Song for You" and "For All We Know", and "Where Is the Love" and "The Closer I Get to You", two of many collaborations with Roberta Flack. "Where Is the Love" won the Grammy Award for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals in 1973. At the height of his career Hathaway was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia and was known to not take his prescribed medication regularly enough to properly control his symptoms. On January 13, 1979, Hathaway's body was found outside the luxury hotel Essex House in New York City; his death was ruled a suicide.
Hathaway, the son of Drusella Huntley, was born in Chicago but raised with his grandmother, Martha Pitts, also known as Martha Crumwell, in the Carr Square housing project of St. Louis. Hathaway began singing in a church choir with his grandmother, a professional gospel singer, at the age of three and studying piano. He graduated from Vashon High School in 1963. Hathaway then studied music on a fine arts scholarship at Howard University in Washington, D.C., where he met close friend Roberta Flack. At Howard, he was also a member of the Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity. Hathaway formed a jazz trio with drummer Ric Powell while there but during 1967 left Howard just before completing a degree, after receiving job offers in the music business.
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