Episode #186 | 07.16.24

Donny Hathaway: Angels, Demons, and Unexplained Visions

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In this episode

Donny Hathaway was a singer, songwriter, and performer so inspiring that he compelled Stevie Wonder to change the way he sang, got Amy Winehouse to name-check him in her lyrics, and made musical giants like Ray Charles and Aretha Franklin stand up and take notice. But he was as troubled as he was talented. He suffered from hallucinations and paranoia, and was haunted in the recording studio just hours before his mysterious death at the age of 33.

This episode contains themes that may be disturbing to some listeners, including suicide.

Sources

Donny Hathaway’s Donny Hathaway Live, by Emily J. Lordi

Unsung Episode 104: Donny Hathaway

The Eighth Tower: On Ultraterrestrials and the Superspectrum, by John A. Keel

Donny Hathaway, 33, Pop and Blues Singer, Dead in Hotel Plunge (NY Times)

Credits

Hosted by Jake Brennan.

Written by Zeth Lundy.

Copy edited by James Sullivan.

Scored and mixed by Matt Tahaney.

Additional music and score elements by Ryan Spraker.

DISGRACELAND theme song, “Crenshaw Space Boogie,” written and produced by Jake Brennan. Performed by Jake Brennan, Bryce Kanzer, Jay Cannava, and Evan Kenney. Mixed and engineered by Adam Taylor.

*illustrations by Avi Spivak @avispivak