Many Beatles fans are unaware of the impact Anglo-folk singer and guitarist Donovan (Donovan Philips Leitch) had on the Beatles and their music in 1968.
Donovan was a friend of the Beatles, and when the group traveled to Rishikesh in India to study transcendental meditation in February 1968, Donovan has arrived. There were several other westerners present at the Rishikesh camp too, including Mike Love of the Beach Boys.
Several of the songs that appear later in 1968 the Beatles album entitled The Beatles – also known as The White Album because of its white cover – emerged during the group's stay in India.
One reason is the fact that Donovan was there. Between classes mediation, he taught John, Paul George and the special finger-picking guitar style can be traced on many of the songs on the White Album.
Take Paul McCartney's Blackbird, for example. It was written in India, and is an excellent example of how Donovan guitar technique has been applied by the Beatles. Listen how elegantly Paul chooses the strings and how the guitar model supports voice brilliantly.
Acoustic guitars were probably not hear quite as sophisticated as that on previous recordings of the Beatles, perhaps a few exceptions, like Paul's I've Just Seen A Face of 1965 and a daughter of John Lennon from 1966. The Beatles had often used the acoustic to play rhythm guitar – which of course worked perfectly – but Donovan's finger-picking style added another dimension to their music.
Another song of Paul, Mother Nature's Son, also took the form of India. Here also the influence of Donovan is obvious. The lyrics, meanwhile, is said to have been influenced by a lecture given by the meditation guru Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, a central figure in the camp.
Paul was obviously not the only Beatle who was inspired by the technique of guitar Donovan. Just listen to the songs Julia and Dear Prudence, both written by John Lennon. Dear Prudence is actually a specific incident which occurred in Camp Rishikesh meditation. The song is really Prudence Farrow, the sister of actress Mia Farrow, who also stayed at Rishikesh. Prudence, however, preferred to meditate in solitude in her chalet. In the end Lennon and George Harrison had to convince her to leave and join the others: Dear Prudence, will not you come out and play?
Other songs written or inspired by his stay in India were Lennon, The Continuing Story of Bungalow Bill and Sexy Sadie, more McCartney's Why Do not We Do It In The Road and Wild Honey Pie.
Sexy Sadie was originally called after Maharishi Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, the guru meditation. After having stayed in India for some time, Lennon lost trust in Maharishi, apparently because of a rumor that the guru had made sexual advances to a female member of the course. The continuing story of Bungalow Bill was about college graduate named Richard Cooke III who visited the Rishikesh community because her mother Nancy was staying there. They are in fact the tiger hunt, as the song suggests.
Paul McCartney later said he had the idea of Why Do not We Do It In The Road? India, where he had seen two monkeys copulating in the street. Wild Honey Pie was a sing along that also emerged in Rishikesh.
The first Beatle to leave India was Ringo, who returned to London in early March. McCartney soon followed, while Lennon and Harrison left in April.
You can read all the Beatles songs posted on my website: http://www. thebeatlesonline. com
The Beatles, Donovan and India
Andreas Walstad is a journalist and author of http://www. thebeatlesonline. com
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