Reconsidering Donovan

He was hip with his denim cap, unruly locks, acoustic guitar and a harmonica strapped around his neck. And he wrote songs that reverberated with the masses. Wait, wasn't that Bob Dylan?

Comparisions to Dylan were inevitable, but Donovan was simply too good to be dismissed as a copycat folk singer with a cool first name. He emerged on the Sixties music scene with a distinctive Scottish-English voice that sang catchy lyrics, a finger-picking style that other guitarists would emulate, and songs that hinted of the psychedelic days ahead. He was the first flower child from across the pond.

Sunshine came softly through my window today
Could've tripped out easy but I've changed my ways
It'll take time, I know it, but in a while
You're gonna be mine, I know it, we'll do it in style
'Cause I've made my mind up, you're going to be mine

"Sunshine Superman'' topped the Billboard chart on this day in 1966. It would be Donovan's only No. 1 hit, but there were many other worthy songs from his catalog, including "Catch the Wind,'' ''Hurdy Gurdy Man,'' "Season of the Witch'' and "Wear Your Love Like Heaven'' -- which might be best remembered in the commercial for Heaven Scent perfume.

Probably nothing matched "Sunshine Superman'' with its conga beat, sitar accents and the studio guitar work of Jimmy Page.

I'll tell you right now
Any trick in the book now, baby, all that I can find
Everybody's hustlin' just to have a little scene
When I say we'll be cool, I think that you know what I mean
We stood on a beach at sunset, do you remember when?
I know a beach where, baby, it never ends
When you've made your mind up forever to be mine

There went the Hurdy Gurdy man, singing songs of love...