Govinda Gallery

Bruce Springsteen, Tom Morello, and Donovan © Rolling Stone

Visitors to The Back Room have enjoyed our occasional updates on musician and poet Donovan’s various activities. He is a big part of Appleseed Recordings‘ recent release, Roots and Branches, which also features Bruce Springsteen, Jackson Browne, Tom Morello, Joan Baez, Ramblin, Jack Elliot, Judy Collins, Levon Helm, and more.

Rolling Stone calls the three CD set a “massive compilation”. The set includes unreleased cover songs by Donovan and Springsteen. In his best-selling autobiography, Bruce Springsteen writes that he studied the songwriting of people like Bob Dylan, Donovan, and Tim Buckley.

Roots and Branches Album Cover © Appleseed Recordings

Just last week, Donovan performed in a concert at the home of the great poet and writer Robert Graves in Deiá, Mallorca. In an interview before the concert at La Casa de Robert Graves, Donovan stated, “The poet Donovan of the pop world is paying tribute to Robert Graves, who stirred up the dark regions of the inner psyche by presenting his book The White Goddess and the power of poetry.”

Invite to Concert at La Casa de Robert Grabes in Deiá, Mallorca, Spain

Donovan, a visual artist as well as a musical artist, used his image of Sappho from his Sapphograph series of works on paper for the concert invitation. Donovan’s Sapphographs are available through Govinda Gallery.

Donovan in new Sky TV documentary © Sky Arts

Sky TV recently made a documentary film about Donovan’s historic visit to India in 1968 with The Beatles. After interviewing Donovan at his home for a few days, Sky flew him and his wife and muse Linda to Rishikesh, India and filmed him at the Ashram where he and The Beatles studied meditation with Maharishi Mahesh Yogi.

Donovan holding his guitar with The Beatles and Maharishi Mahesh Yogi

Sky Arts will broadcast the documentary film on December 29^th in England and Europe. Thanks Donovan for all that you do!