The famous Scottish musician Donovan recently sat down with Louder Sound for an interview and revealed that his initial plan for ‘Hurdy Gurdy Man’ was to have Jimi Hendrix instead of Jimmy Page on the guitar.
One of the leading figures of the British folk scene, Donovan, made a name for himself during the mid-1960s with his eclectic style, carrying influences from folk, pop, jazz, psychedelic rock, and world music. Throughout his career of over five decades, the singer had a chance to work with many prominent musicians like John Lennon, Jeff Beck, and the future Led Zeppelin members Jimmy Page, John Bonham, and John Paul Jones.
Donovan produced many hit singles in the ’60s, one of which was ‘Hurdy Gurdy Man,’ released in May 1968, and Jimmy Page was credited as the guitarist of the track. Speaking on Jimi Hendrix in a recent interview, Donovan revealed that he initially wanted Hendrix instead of Page to play on this song. Although the singer only saw Hendrix occasionally, he was very impressed by his musical abilities.
So, when he wrote ‘Hurdy Gurdy Man,’ Jimi was the one who directly came to his mind. He actually wanted to give him the song, but then his producer convinced him to keep it for himself. Yet, he still wished to include Jimi Hendrix to at least handle the guitar duties. Unfortunately, the late guitarist was unavailable due to his busy touring schedule at the time. So, Donovan hired Jimmy Page, who satisfied the singer with his distinctive guitar work that took the song to the next level.
Donovan said the following about Jimi Hendrix:
“I saw him at the Bag O’Nails. Everyone was there: the Stones, the Beatles, the Who, and the Kinks. Chas Chandler had invited everyone. He’d put this thing together. He told me: ‘I’ve got a jazz drummer and a bass player who’s a guitar player.’ And it was quite incredible. Such a superb blend of musicians.
I didn’t see him much after that because we all went on the road and we all got famous, and our paths only crossed occasionally. But when I wrote ‘Hurdy Gurdy Man,’ I thought of Jimi. I said to Mickie Most: ‘This is for Hendrix.’ And he said: ‘No, it isn’t, it’s for you.’ So I said: ‘Let’s get Hendrix to play on it.’
Mickie phoned Chas, who said: ‘Jimi’s playing shows back-to-back.’ So we got Jimmy Page. And aren’t we happy about that. Because what came out of that, thanks to Jimmy, Mickie Most, and John Paul Jones, was something that was pagan Celtic rock’n’roll, not a copy of American rock’n’roll.”
You can listen to ‘Hurdy Gurdy Man’ below.
