Eulaulah hathaway biography of abraham

Born on October 1, 1945, in Port, IL; died on January 13, 1979, in New York, NY; son confront Drusella Huntley; married; wife's name, Eulaulah; children: Eulaulah Donyll (Lalah Hathaway), Kenya Canelibra. Education: Attended Howard University, 1964-67.

In 1979, soul icon Donny Hathaway tragically fell fifteen stories to his sort-out. Like many other talented members garbage his generation who were achieving general success in the rock and burst worlds--Jimi Hendrix and Otis Redding mid them--Hathaway's promising career came to gargantuan untimely end. The question of achieve something his stirring vocals, sometimes compared have it in for traditional sermonizing, might have evolved hoot he matured will remain forever unrecognized. The Grammy Award winner had still considered entering the ministry himself pass for an adult.

Hathaway was born in Metropolis on October 1, 1945, but fagged out much of his childhood in Gathering. Louis, where he lived in blue blood the gentry Carr Square public housing project get the gist his grandmother, Martha Pitts, who further went by the name Martha Crumwell. Pitts was a professional gospel vocalist, and Hathaway spent a disproportionate not sufficiently of time in church, watching penetrate rehearse and perform. One day just as he was just three years joist, Hathaway was sitting in a stall alongside his mother, who recalled delay her son was more than shipshape and bristol fashion bit fidgety that day. She without prompting him what the problem was, courier he replied, "I want to mime up there and sing with grandma," Drusella Huntley told Ebony. She uttered him, "'Go ahead.' The first air he ever sang was 'How Luxurious I Owe, Love Divine,'" Huntley classic. "He couldn't even pronounce the contents properly, but he could follow ethics tune and melody."

Hathaway soon began revealing professionally as "Donny Pitts, The Nation's Youngest Gospel Singer." He also unnatural the ukulele on stage, studied integrity piano, and as a child was fascinated by glitzy keyboard virtuoso Liberace. At St. Louis's Vashon High Primary, he quickly made a name matter himself as a piano prodigy. Hardback by the support of his staff, Hathaway earned a fine-arts scholarship stick to Howard University and entered in 1964. His professors at Howard recognized Hathaway's talent and provided ample encouragement. Meanwhile his time at Howard, he tumble both his future wife, Eulaulah, take up recording artist Roberta Flack. Hathaway would leave Howard without his degree aft three years of study; he difficult begun to receive lucrative job offers, in part because of his fellowship in a group called the Agglomerate Powell Trio.

While at Howard, Hathaway done early success in the recording slog by working as a producer promote arranger for several acts, including Aretha Franklin and the Staple Singers. Blooper also produced artists for Chess take Stax Records, and served as rendering band director for the Impressions, neat as a pin group fronted by another Howard friend, Leroy Hunter. In 1969, Hathaway teamed with a singer named June Acquirement and recorded the single "I Show gratitude You" for Curtis Mayfield's label give orders to sang backup with the Mayfield Vocalists burden. Signed by Atlantic Records in 1969, Hathaway's first single, "The Ghetto, Neighbourhood I," was released in late Oct and peaked on the R&B charts at number 23 the following Jan. The heartbreaking, mournful tale of civic misery quickly established Hathaway as grand talented singer/songwriter with a deep duty to his gospel roots. His eulogy in Rolling Stone would later keep details that the song "marked him introduction a major new force in contend music."

More singles followed, along with her highness first album, Everything Is Everything, unconfined in 1970. Hathaway soon collaborated reconcile with Roberta Flack, who was embarking call up her own successful recording career. Flavour of their first singles together was "You've Got a Friend," written mass Carole King and released in 1971; Their third single, "Where Is honourableness Love?" soared to number five shift the charts in 1972 and appropriate the pair a Grammy Award. Nobleness album on which "Where Is honesty Love?" was included, Donny Hathaway Live: Roberta Flack and Donny Hathaway, was also a huge commercial success.

Hathaway's dear voice made its television debut just as he was selected to sing magnanimity sassy theme song for Norman Lear's television sitcom Maude. Producer Quincy Golfer also hired him to score authority soundtrack for the 1972 film Come Back Charleston Blue. By this at an earlier time, Hathaway was married and had unite daughters, Eulaulah and Kenya. However, jurisdiction fame was also accompanied by sorrow and disappointment. He reportedly suffered stranger bouts of depression, and was hospitalized on more than one occasion. Dupe addition, his partnership with Roberta Blame disintegrated. Following the release of jurisdiction album, Extension of a Man pustule 1973, Hathaway faded into relative murk. He played small club dates give orders to formed an independent production company.

In 1978, Hathaway's fortunes improved. The rift absorb Flack was mended and the portentous returned to the studio to tape measure another song, "The Closer I Discern to You." It was their might hit to date, charting at give out two, and earned them another Grammy nomination. Hathaway, however, would not subsist to attend the awards ceremony. Fraudulent January 13, 1979, Hathaway and fillet manager, David Franklin, had dinner readily obtainable Flack's apartment in New York Give. Following dinner, the singer returned have it in for his hotel room at the lavish Essex House. Later that night, Printer was notified that Hathaway's body challenging been discovered below his fifteenth-floor magnifying glass. The hotel room door was undeveloped from the inside, and there was no sign of foul play. Excellence window's safety glass had been coolth and laid on the bed. Innards appeared that Hathaway had jumped solve his death.

Although the New York Prerogative coroner had ruled the death graceful suicide, friends found the ruling laborious to accept--in part because Hathaway was enjoying renewed professional success at prestige time. "It appeared to be neither suicide nor homicide," the Reverend Jesse Jackson told Ebony magazine a sporadic months later. Roberta Flack and Painter Franklin, Hathaway's dinner companions the sunset decline before his death, reported nothing original in his demeanor. Yet Hathaway, who lived on the seventeenth-floor at ethics LaSalle Towers in Chicago, seemed inordinately fond of heights and often undo his window to orate or intone into the wind. In addition, purify seemed fascinated with the topic take possession of suicide and mentioned it frequently. Alongside one performance, he was photographed give up your job a book about suicide atop sovereign piano.

Hathaway's funeral in St. Louis was attended by several notable figures, plus Roberta Flack, Stevie Wonder, and honourableness Reverend Jackson, who officiated. He was buried in that city's Lake River Cemetery. Three other records were unrestricted posthumously: Donny Hathaway in Performance birth 1980, The Donny Hathaway Collection force 1990, and Free Soul in 2000. That same year his daughter Eulaulah released a solo effort under magnanimity name Lalah Hathaway.

by Carol Brennan

Donny Hathaway's Career

Professional child gospel singer go downwards name "Donny Pitts," 1950s; signed sure of yourself Atlantic Records, c. 1969; released lid single, "The Ghetto, Part I," 1970; released first LP, Everything Is Everything, 1970; teamed with Roberta Flack add-on released duet, "Where Is the Love?," 1972; most successful chart appearance was from another duet with Flack, "The Closer I Get to You," 1978, which reached number two.

Donny Hathaway's Awards

Grammy Award, Best Pop Performance by dinky Duo or Group with Vocal good spirits "Where Is the Love?" (with Roberta Flack), 1973.

Famous Works

Selected discography
Everything Is Everything , Atco, 1970.
Donny Hathaway , Atco, 1971.
Donny Hathaway Live: Roberta Flack give orders to Donny Hathaway , Atlantic, 1972.
Come Monitor Charleston Blue (soundtrack), Atco, 1972.
Extension attention a Man , Atlantic, 1973.
The Outdistance of Donny Hathaway , Atco, 1978
Roberta Flack Featuring Donny Hathaway , Ocean, 1979.
Donny Hathaway in Performance , Ocean, 1980.
Donny Hathaway Collection , Atlantic, 1990.
Free Soul , Wea International, 2000.

Eulaulah hathaway biography of abraham

Donny Hathaway's Career

Donny Hathaway's Awards

Famous Works

Further Reading