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Donny Hathaway Cause Of Death
donny hathaway cause of death













donny hathaway cause of death

Hathaway, the son of Drusella Huntley, was born in Chicago, Illinois, and was raised by his grandmother, Martha Pitts, also known as Martha Crumwell, in the Carr Square housing project of St. Hathaway’s parents were successful musicians, however she lost her father at the age of 10 and investigators determined the cause of death was suicide. She attended The Chicago Academy of Arts, then in 1989 she signed to Virgin Records and would release the song Inside the Beat.Reflections on Hip Hop Donny Hathaway traced the lonely line between gospel and.

Career Hathaway worked as a songwriter, session musician, and producer for Curtis Mayfield's Curtom Records in Chicago. 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. At Howard, he was also a member of the Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity. Hathaway then studied music on a fine arts scholarship at Howard University in Washington, D.C., where he met Roberta Flack. He graduated from Vashon High School in 1963.

Former Cleveland Browns president Bill Futterer, who as a college student promoted Curtom in the southeast in 19, was befriended by Hathaway and has cited Hathaway's influence on his later projects.That year, Hathaway signed to Atco Records, then a division of Atlantic Records, after being spotted for the label by producer/musician King Curtis at a trade convention. They also recorded the duet "Just Another Reason", released as the B-side. Hathaway recorded his first single under his own name in 1969, a duet with singer June Conquest called "I Thank You, Baby". After becoming a "house producer" at Curtom, he started recording there.

His third album Roberta Flack & Donny Hathaway was an album of duets with former Howard University associate and label mate Roberta Flack that established him, especially on the pop charts. The track appeared the following year on his critically acclaimed debut LP, Everything Is Everything, which he co-produced with Ric Powell while also arranging all the cuts.His second LP, Donny Hathaway, consisted mostly of covers of contemporary pop, soul, and gospel songs. 1", which he co-wrote with former Howard roommate Leroy Hutson, who became a performer, writer, and producer with Curtom.

It was recorded at two concerts: side one at the Troubadour in Hollywood, and side two at The Bitter End in Greenwich Village, Manhattan.Hathaway was the co-composer and performer of the Christmas standard, " This Christmas". The album is on the British online music and culture magazine The Quietus' list of "40 Favourite Live Albums". The album also included other covers, including versions of Carole King's " You've Got a Friend", " Baby I Love You", originally a hit for Aretha Franklin, and " You've Lost That Loving Feeling".Perhaps Hathaway's most influential recording is his 1972 album, Live, which has been termed "one of the best live albums ever recorded" by Daryl Easlea of the BBC. It sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc by the RIAA on September 5, 1972.

Donny Hathaway Cause Of Death Movie Come Back

He told UK music journalist David Nathan in 1973, "I always liked pretty music and I've always wanted to write it." Added the writer, "He declined to give one particular influence or inspiration but said that Ravel, Debussy and Stravinsky were amongst whom he studied." He returned to the charts in 1978 after again teaming up with Roberta Flack for a duet, " The Closer I Get to You" on her album, Blue Lights in the Basement. It also included his classic ballad, "Someday We'll All Be Free" and a six-minute symphonic-styled instrumental piece called "I Love The Lord, He Heard My Cry". In the mid-1970s, he produced albums for other artists including Cold Blood, where he expanded the musical range of lead singer Lydia Pense.His final studio album, Extension of a Man came out in 1973 with two tracks, "Love Love Love" and "I Love You More Than You'll Ever Know" reaching both the pop and R&B charts. He composed and conducted music for the 1972 soundtrack of the movie Come Back Charleston Blue. Blige ( A Mary Christmas), Seal, Train and CeeLo Green, among other artists.Hathaway followed this flurry of work with contributions to soundtracks, along with his recording of the theme song to the TV series Maude. "This Christmas" has been covered by numerous artists across diverse musical genres, including The Whispers, Diana Ross, Aretha Franklin, The Temptations, The Four Tops, Stevie Wonder, Alexander O'Neal, Christina Aguilera, Chicago, Harry Connick, Jr., Dru Hill, *NSYNC, Gloria Estefan, Boney James, The Cheetah Girls, Chris Brown, Anthony Arnett ( First Baptist Bracktown Christmas Celebration), Patti LaBelle and Mary J.

There was nothing I could do but write something that might be encouraging for him. I hoped that at some point he would be released from all that he was going through. What was going through my mind at the time was Donny, because Donny was a very troubled person. It's pretty special when an artist can create something that wipes them out." Edward Howard, lyricist of the song, adds, "It was a spiritual thing for me. Donny literally sat in the studio and cried when he heard the playback of his final mix. Atlantic then put out another solo single, "You Were Meant For Me" shortly before his sudden death.Liner notes for later releases of his final solo album explain: "Donny is no longer here, but the song "Someday We'll All Be Free" gathers momentum as part of his legacy.

In 1971, he was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia for which he was prescribed various medications. Mental illness During the peak of his career, Hathaway began to suffer from severe bouts of depression and exhibiting unusual behavior. Both daughters are graduates of the Berklee College of Music. Lalah has enjoyed a successful solo career, while Kenya is a session singer and one of the three backing vocalists on the hit TV program American Idol. They had two daughters, Eulaulah Donyll (Lalah) and Kenya Canc'Libra. The two met while attending Howard University where both were studying music.

Flack and Hathaway then resumed studio recording to compose a second album of duets.Sessions for another album of duets were underway in 1979. The effects of his depression and severe mood swings also drove a wedge in his and Flack's friendship they did not reconcile for several years, and did not release additional music until the successful release of "The Closer I Get To You" in 1978. From 1973 to 1977, Hathaway's mental instability wreaked havoc on his life and career and required several hospitalizations. However, Eulaulah Hathaway has said that her husband became less than diligent about following his prescription regimen when he began feeling better and often stopped taking his medications altogether. After Hathaway was diagnosed and began taking medication, his mental state improved.

Hours later, Hathaway was found dead on the sidewalk below the window of his 15th-floor room in New York City's Essex House hotel. Given Hathaway's behavior, Mercury said that he decided the recording session could not continue, so he aborted it and all of the musicians went home. According to Mtume, Hathaway said that white people were trying to kill him and had connected his brain to a machine for the purpose of stealing his music and his sound. Each reported that although Hathaway was singing fine, he began behaving irrationally, seeming to be paranoid and delusional.

That same year, they used that tribute song's arrangement to do a cover of Hathaway's song "This Christmas", included on their Happy Holidays to You Christmas album.According to Allison Keyes from NPR, Hathaway's solo recordings are "part of the foundation of American soul music" and have "influenced performers from R&B singers Alicia Keys & Aaliyah to rapper Common to singer-guitarist George Benson". Later in 1979, the Whispers recorded the tribute song, "Song for Donny", for their self-titled album. According to Mercury, Hathaway's final recording, included on that album, was "You Are My Heaven", a song Mercury co-wrote with Stevie Wonder.Hathaway's funeral was conducted by Reverend Jesse Jackson. Flack was devastated and, spurred by his death, included the few duet tracks they had finished on her next album, Roberta Flack Featuring Donny Hathaway. The glass had been neatly removed from the window and there were no signs of a struggle, leading investigators to rule that Hathaway's death was a suicide.

donny hathaway cause of death