Donny Hathaway

Donny Hathaway (born October 1, 1945, Chicago, Illinois, U.S.—died January 13, 1979, Manhattan, New York) was a soul music singer, composer, and keyboardist whose influential work blends elements of rhythm and blues (R&B), jazz, and gospel music and helped lay the groundwork for American soul music in the 1970s. A talented keyboardist with a smooth and expressive vocal style, Hathaway is known for the songs “The Ghetto” (1969), “This Christmas” (1970), and “Someday We’ll All Be Free” (1973) and for popular collaborations with singer Roberta Flack, including “Where Is the Love” (1972) and “The Closer I Get to You” (1977).

Early life and education

Hathaway was born in Chicago to parents Drusella Huntley and Hosea Brown, who separated shortly after his birth. He was raised in the Carr Square neighborhood in St. Louis, Missouri, by Huntley and his maternal grandmother, Martha Pitts (also known as Martha Crumwell), a professional gospel music singer. At a very young age, he began singing in the Choir of Trinity Baptist Church and studying piano. Huntley recalled the first song Hathaway sang in public in a 1979 interview with Ebony magazine:

Donny was sitting in church one Sunday…just squirming in his seat; he just wouldn’t sit still. I asked him what was wrong, and he said, “I want to go up there and sing with grandma.”…The first song he ever sang was “How Much I Owe, Love Divine.” He couldn’t even pronounce the words properly, but he could follow the tune and melody. That was his beginning.

Hathaway received classical piano instruction at Vashon High School in St. Louis, graduating in 1963. He earned a fine-arts scholarship to study music theory and music education at Howard University, where he formed creative relationships with Flack and percussionist Ric Powell. He also met vocal performance major Eulaulah Vann, whom he married in 1967. Hathaway left Howard University shortly before completing a degree to pursue a job offer from singer-songwriter Curtis Mayfield at his Curtom Records label in Chicago.

Career and personal life

Hathaway worked as a session musician, arranger, and producer at Curtom Records, and he contributed to projects for Aretha Franklin, the Staple Singers, and Mayfield’s band, the Impressions. In 1969 Hathaway recorded his first single, a duet with soul music singer June Conquest titled “I Thank You Baby.” Later that year he signed with Atco Records as a solo artist and released his breakthrough single “The Ghetto,” a mostly instrumental track that features Hathaway’s chops on electric piano. In 1970 he released his debut album Everything Is Everything, which he produced with Powell. That same year, he cowrote and recorded the festive holiday standard “This Christmas,” which has become immensely popular in the years since its release. Although the song did not chart in 1970, “This Christmas” peaked at number 34 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 2024 and has been covered by artists such as Diana Ross, Mary J. Blige, John Legend, the Temptations, and the Four Tops. In 1971 Hathaway released his eponymous second solo album, which includes “This Christmas” and his rendition of singer-songwriter Van McCoy’s “Giving Up.”

In 1972 Hathaway collaborated with Flack on the duet album Roberta Flack & Donny Hathaway, featuring the smash hit “Where Is the Love,” which earned Hathaway and Flack a Grammy Award for best pop vocal performance by a duo or group. Later that year he released Live, a critically acclaimed live album featuring energetic sets recorded at the Troubadour nightclub in Los Angeles and the Bitter End club in New York City. He went on to record the theme song for the sitcom Maude (1972–78) and compose the score for the comedy film Come Back Charleston Blue (1972). In 1973 he released what would be his final solo album, Extension of a Man, anchored by the standout track “Someday We’ll All Be Free.”

Hathaway’s prolific output and success in the early 1970s was tempered by bouts of depression and severe mood swings. He was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia and was frequently hospitalized for his condition. His erratic behavior caused a split in his partnership with Flack and put his career on hold. In 1977 he reconciled with Flack, and they recorded the romantic ballad “The Closer I Get to You,” which peaked at number two on the Hot 100 chart in 1978. They also began working on their second duet album, Roberta Flack Featuring Donny Hathaway (1979).

Hathaway was recording the duet album on January 13, 1979, with producers and musicians Eric Mercury and James Mtume. Mtume recalled that during one of the sessions, Hathaway began acting irrationally and displaying delusional behavior. Mtume and Mercury ended the recording session, and Hathaway left the studio. Hours later Hathaway fell to his death from the window of his 15th-floor room at the Essex House hotel in New York City. Police investigators determined that he had jumped from the window and ruled his death a suicide. He was 33 years old.

Flack was devastated by her friend’s death. In a 2022 Vibe magazine article celebrating the 50th anniversary of the release of Roberta Flack & Donny Hathaway, she reflected on her creative partnership with Hathaway: “The love and connection that Donny and I had, musically—it was like flying. Donny was a musical genius.” Flack included the two songs they had completed, “Back Together Again” and “You Are My Heaven,” on Roberta Flack Featuring Donny Hathaway.

Donny and Eulaulah Hathaway had two daughters, Eulaulah Donyll (“Lalah”) and Kenya Canc’Libra Hathaway, who are both professional singers. He also had another daughter, Donnita Hathaway.