Donny hathaway death professional#

Hathaway received so many job offers that he left Howard without a degree in 1967.Īt first, Hathaway worked as songwriter, session musician and producer. He attended Howard for three years and performed with The Ric Powell Trio, a jazz trio. By the time he was a student at Vashon High School, he was known as a piano prodigy, which earned him a fine-arts scholarship to Howard University in 1964 where he was initiated into Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity. Hathaway began singing professionally as 'Donny Pitts, The Nation's Youngest Gospel Singer'.

He also played the ukulele and, fascinated by Liberace, began studying piano as a child.

Donny hathaway death professional#

Hathaway began singing in a church choir with his grandmother, a professional gospel singer, at the age of 3. He lived with his grandmother, Martha Pitts, also known as Martha Crumwell, in the Carr Square housing project. Hathaway, the son of Drusella Huntley, was born in Chicago, but spent most of his youth in St. On January 13, 1979, his body was found outside the luxury hotel Essex House in New York City his death was ruled a suicide. He signed with Atlantic Records in 1969, and with his first single ' The Ghetto' (1970), Rolling Stone magazine marked him as 'a major new force in soul music.' His collaborations with Roberta Flack took him to the top of the charts and won him the Grammy Award for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal for the duet ' Where Is the Love' in 1973. Donny Edward Hathaway (Octo– January 13, 1979) was a Grammy Award-winning American soul musician.