Folkies need love too.

Donovan was not a British Bob Dylan. They were extremely different. He was not angry or cynical. He was a Troubador, an enternainer, and a storyteller who wrote and sang about love and beauty with a sensitivity that matched Dylan's darker sense of irony, sarcasm, and poetic genius. Donovan was a far superior musician, guitar player, and singer, too. I'm not saying he was "better" than Dylan, just that his genius was just as strong in a different way. His long string of hits listed in reviews above speak for themselves, and his album "A Gift From a Flower to a Garden" is full of beautiful timeless ballad tales that is an achievement that stands among the greatest albums of his or any time. To have had influenced the great John Lennon and many other singer/songwriters who followed, and to have continued his performing into the present, this man is an underappreciated giant of rock and roll and surely should have been inducted by now.

"Season of the Witch" is a cool song...not enough to get him in HOF tho, IMO...

Title Year Highest UK
Chart position Highest US
Chart position
"Catch the Wind" 1965 #4 #23
"Colours" 1965 #4 #61
"The Universal Soldier" (EP) 1965 #1 #53
"Turquoise" 1965 #30 -
"Josie" 1966 - -
"Sunshine Superman" 1966 #2 #1
"Mellow Yellow" 1966 #8 #2
"Epistle to Dippy" 1966 - #19
"There is a Mountain" 1967 #8 #11
"Wear Your Love Like Heaven" 1967 - #23
"Jennifer Juniper" 1968 #5 #26
"The Hurdy Gurdy Man" 1968 #4 #5
"Laleña" 1968 - #33
"Atlantis" (UK A-Side) /
"To Susan on the West Coast, Waiting"
(US A-Side) 1968 #23 #7
"Barabajagal (Love Is Hot)" 1969 #12 #36
"Riki Tiki Tavi" 1970 - #55
"Celia of the Seals" 1971 - #84
"I Like You" 1973 - #66
"Maria Magenta" 1973 - -
"Sailing Homeward" 1974 - -
"Rock n' Roll With Me" 1974 - -
"Dark-Eyed Blue Jean Angel" 1975 - -
"Rock n' Roll Souljer" 1975 - -
"Dare to Be Different" 1977 - -
"The Light" 1977 - -
"Mee Mee, I Love You" 1981 - -
"Neutron" 1981 - -
"Lay Down Lassie" 1982 - -
"Jennifer Juniper"
(Singing Corner meets Donovan) 1990 #68 -
"Newest Bath Guide" 1992 - -
"Atlantis" (reissue) 2001 - -
"Happiness Runs" 2005 - -

Hurdy Gurdy Man

British Bob Dylan

Had some good hits, especially Hurdy Gurdy man, even if his music is now dated due to all the psychedlia. Still had an influence and helped push foward production values. Others should still get in before him but he deserves it at some point!

yes

Yes, but their are a dozen that should get in first...

At his core he was a folkie who briefly flirted with Psychedelic Rock and Roll.  He was a memorable but hardly influential force in both fields.

First there is a mountain

He had a string of hits that were anything but run-of-the-mill. "Sunshine Superman", "Mellow Yellow", "Wear Your Love Like Heaven", "Hurdy Gurdy Man" and "Season of the Witch." Other standout songs include "Catch the Wind" and "Epistle to Dippy." Catchy tunes and introspective lyrics together in an original package. I should add that "SunshineSuperman came out in 1966, the year before the charts reflected a major shift in the culture (obviously the shift was well under way, but radio took a while to catch up). Looked at that way, comparable chart hits of that year came from the Beatles, Dylan, the Stones, and the Mamas and Papas. All are already in the HOF.

Total injustice that he's not already in. Whether you base it on quantity of records sold, popularity as a live performer, influence on other artists, innovativeness, ability to meld wide varieties of musical styles, or any other reasonable criteria, Donovan is a hugely important figure in music history.

he's good

Donovan was OK in his day; I'm not so sure about him being in the Hall of Fame but some who made it probably should not have been so lucky. I do like his name a lot though!

Don't get me wrong. I like his music and have heard him live. All the shows were pretty much alike with the same stories. I don't think he is good enough to merit inclusion in the Hall of Fame. Several people have said that his stories are exactly that - his stories. I am sure he honestly believes them, especially after telling them over and over. I also noticed that several people sign on under several different names to vote for Donovan more than once. If he were truely that great, he would be able to stand on his own merit without having people resort to subterfuge to up his ratings. Were I he,I would consider that a slap in the face. There a many extremely good musicians, but not all merit the Hall of Fame.

Underrated and undervalued. Wrote many classics in many styles and was ahead of his time. Let him in!

...

Donovan, one of the best!

Some has dismised Donovan Leitch's musical output as trite hippy-dippy 60's fodder, but I've listended to all of the cuts below for decades and they stand the test of time. In particular the repetative chorus of ATLANTIS, which, like The Beatles' "Hey Jude" and "Aquarious/Let the Sunshine" by the 5th Demension, blistfully sails on forever, is fantastic. BARBAJAGAL (with JEFF BECK GROUP) is a hot jam. HURDY GURDY MAN or tremsouse songs of the era. Many f his more mwellow ballads preach of the peace in our times that was the late 1960's, but you must applaud the singers of that time for peacefully protesting the only way they knew how: thru song. DONOVAN should be in the R&RHoF.

Atlantis

Barabajagal (Love Is Hot)

Catch the Wind

Colours

Epistle to Dippy

Happines Runs

Hurdy Gurdy Man

Lalena

Jennifer Juniper

Mellow Yellow

Season of the Witch

Sunshine Superman

Superlungs

There Is a Mountain

To Susan on the West Coast Waiting

Universal Soldier

Wear Your Love Like Heaven

Great musician and poet. Songs covered by many other celebrities. Often remembered for his earlier (1960s) work but later works are just wonderful and often overlooked.

It is long overdue for Donovan. He should be recongized for his many huge hits in the 60's and 70's and the numerous influences he has had on other artists of his time, ie The Beatles, Led Zepplin, The Pentangle and others. Donovan should also be considered for his fusion of traditional celtic music with rock , classical and jazz.

Donovan has been well looked over for many years. His skill and talent should be rewarded. There is more to him than "Mellow Yellow", listen sometime to "Lady and her shawl", and you will get a sense of some of his greatness.

John Lennon said :"Listen to him. He's a poet, as great as we are..." He was talking about DONOVAN. His songs are magic. The words are beautiful. Just drink what they said. HURDY GURDY MAN - 8 LITTLE FISHES - BEAT CAFE - SUNSHINE SUPERMAN - LALENA - MELLOW YELLOW - and so more If you begin, it stays with you for all life.

the greatest

the greatest

Just listen to Open Road, For Little Ones, Sutras, Beat Cafe, and the non-singles on Hurdy Gurdy Man, Sunshine Superman, and Mellow Yellow - and nearly countless other works - musical and poetic excellence abounds

Donovan is more than deserving with all that he has contributed to folk, pop, rock and cletic rock. He has always been underrated and yet remains one of the best bards of our modern age.

Original & influential. He was combining different world styles and genres before anyone ever coined the term World Music. If you get Donovan, you love the music, and it stays with you for life.

I agree completely with Donovan's being inducted into the Hall of Fame! It should have happened years ago!

Donovan should have been in the Hall of Fame long ago! His talent has been vastly under-rated!

Donovan should have been in the Hall Of Fame a long time ago

British BOB DYLAN. Hail Atlantis!!!

Shamefully overlooked! Jennifer Juniper is such a cool song on a Sunny Saturday afternoon!

never

His music really sticks with you, so YES!

Definitely a major talent of his own- shared a territory with Bob Dylan was a much better guitarist than Dylan at least when he began, but, Dylan caught up to him. Maybe wasn't quite the poet Dylan is, but then, they had a different aesthetic, each of them. That doesn't mean Donovan was not great of himself, and not a HUGE infleunce on G. Harrison & Lennon-McCartney.

His claim to fame involves more often who he worked with, rather than his track record.

Influential on modern rock and combination of genres.