Donny Hathaway was born Donald Edward Hathaway in Chicago, Illinois on October 1, 1945. He is the son of a woman named Drusella Huntley but he was raised by his grandmother, Martha Crumwell (Pitts), in St. Louis, Missouri. Crumwell was a professional Gospel singer and Donny began singing in church by the time he was 3 years old. He also became fascinated with the piano at a very early age. Hathaway began singing professionally as "Donny Pitts, The Nation's Youngest Gospel Singer".
By the time he entered high school, he was considered a piano prodigy, which earned him a fine-arts scholarship to Howard University in 1964. While there, he was initiated into Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity. He attended Howard for three years and performed as pianist and vocalist with the Ric Powell Trio. While at college, he met his wife Eulaulah, a voice major at Howard and they married in 1967. They would go on to have two daughters - Eulaulah (Lalah) & Kenya Hathaway. Donny received so many job offers that he left college just short of his degree in 1967.
Hathaway first worked as a musician/arranger/producer. He spent time working with the Unifics - a DC-area vocal group - writing arrangements for "Court Of Love" & "The Beginning Of My End". He later became a house producer for Curtis Mayfield's label, Curtom Records. While there, he recorded what would become his first single entitled "I Thank You Baby" - a duet with June Conquest. He also spent time working for the Chess & Stax labels.
While at a music fair in 1969, he was spotted by King Curtis, who in turn brought him to the attention of Jerry Wexler at Atlantic Records. He was promptly signed to the Atco division and work commenced on his debut album with Hathaway in the producer's chair. The resulting album, "Everything Is Everything" was released in July 1970. The album sold modestly and contained his first R&B hit, "The Ghetto - Part 1". [Click Here To Read More]
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