Donovan says he became George Harrison’s “mentor”
Singer-songwriter Donovan has opened up about his friendship with George Harrison, explaining how he became a “mentor” to The Beatles guitarist.
During the early days of The Beatles, Harrison was uncomfortable with songwriting, allowing those duties to be left to Paul McCartney and John Lennon. However, as time passed, Harrison came into his own as a wordsmith, crafting beloved classics such as ‘Something’, ‘When My Guitar Gently Weeps’, and ‘Here Comes The Sun’.
Coming from the folk world, Donovan inspired The Beatles during the 1960s and formed a close relationship with the group, especially Harrison.
In a new interview with Record Collector Magazine, Donovan recalled: “I became George’s mentor for songwriting. He was in the shadow of John and Paul for so many years and I said, ‘Look, I’ll show you a few tricks, how to encourage the songs.’ There’s a way to encourage the song to come.”
“You can tease it, like fishing. I told him how to play a chord, then put your ear on the guitar, listen to the open chord and try a tempo,” the Scottish musician said.
He added: “You can hear melodies, believe it or not. Melodies appear, but you’ve got to be quick to catch them.”
When Donovan appeared on an episode of The South Bank Show in 2004, he explained how his playing style inspired Lennon to write ‘Dear Prudence’. He revealed: “When we were in India, John said: ‘How do you do that?’ I said, ‘What?’ He said: ‘That stuff with your fingers’. I said, ‘It’s a pattern’. Three days later he had learnt it and a whole new world opened up for his songwriting. ‘Dear Prudence, won’t you come out to play’.”
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