Donny Hathawayโsinger, pianist, producer, composer, and one ofย R&Bโs strongest talentsโwas born Donny Edward Pitts on October 1, 1945, in Chicago,ย Illinois. Hathaway was raised in the Carr Square Housing Projects of St. Louis,ย Missouri, by his grandmother, Martha Pitts. At the age of three, Hathaway began singing in church choir alongside his grandmother, a professional gospel singer. By six years old, Hathaway was composing his own music, singing, and playing the piano professionally under the name “Donny Pitts, The Nation’s Youngest Gospel Singer.”
Hathaway was a known piano prodigy before reaching high school, and in 1964, he received a full scholarship to attend Howard University, where he joined Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity. While majoring in Music Theory and performing in the jazzย group Ric Powell Trio, Hathaway worked as a session musician and songwriter for labels like Chess. His arrangements for The Staple Singers,ย Curtis Mayfield, andย Aretha Franklin earned him a job at Curtom Records in 1969. There, he recorded his first single, โI Thank You, Baby,โ a duet with June Conquest.
Later that year, Hathaway signed with Atlantic Records as a solo artist and released his debut single, โThe Ghetto, Pt. 1.โ The song reached No. 23 on the R&B charts and established Hathaway as a burgeoning force in music. His critically acclaimed LPย Everything is Everythingย and hit single โThis Christmasโ followed in 1970. By 1971, Hathaway released his second full-length album,ย Donny Hathaway. Classics like โA Song For Youโ and โHe Ainโt Heavy, Heโs My Brotherโ would come to solidify his musical legacy for generations to come.
By 1972, Hathaway andย Roberta Flack collaborated on a series of duets. Their album,ย Roberta Flack & Donny Hathaway, hit No. 3 on the pop charts and included โWhere Is The Love?โ which earned the pair the Grammy Award for Best Pop Performance by a Duo in 1973. That August, Hathawayโs albumย Liveย edged into the Top 20 and became Hathawayโs first and only gold album. Today,ย Liveย is considered one of the greatest live albums of all time. Aside from his work as a singer, Hathaway scored the feature filmย Come Back Charleston Blueย and recorded the theme song for the television seriesย Maude.
Amidst his growing success, Hathaway was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia and was frequently hospitalized due to intense mood swings and depression. However, periods of mental clarity allowed Hathaway to record and release his final studio album,ย Extensions of a Man, in 1973. Songs like “Someday We’ll All Be Free” and “I Love You More Than You’ll Ever Know” secured spots on both the R&B and pop charts. Soon after the album’s release, Hathaway dropped from the public eye and sought treatment.
In 1978, Hathaway returned to the studio to record with Roberta Flack. โThe Closer I Get To Youโ became the pair’s second No. 1 hit and inspired the recording of the second album of duets. However, on January 13, 1979, Hathaway was found dead outside of the Essex House in New York City, New York, after a fall from the window of his 15th-floor hotel room. Although investigators ruled his death a suicide, family and friends believe his death may have been an accident. Donny Hathaway was only 34 years old.
