Pied Piper (Donovan Album) - History

History

After it became apparent that Sutras was going to be the only Donovan album released on Rick Rubin's American Recordings label, Donovan withdrew from releasing new music. His focus shifted to restructuring his business by organizing a website and creating his own record label, Donovan Discs. He also began to write an autobiography and search for studio tapes that were deep in record company archives.

In the meantime, Beat Goes On Records reissued many of Donovan's albums in the UK. Many of these albums had been out of print since their original vinyl release. With the combination of selecting rare albums and offering them on-line, Beat Goes On Records were able to capitalize on these releases by selling them in the US as imports. These releases included two of his children's albums, For Little Ones (from A Gift from a Flower to a Garden) and H.M.S. Donovan.

In light of these releases, Rhino Records subsidiary Music for Little People contacted Donovan to release another children's album. He recorded new songs and new versions of many of his children's songs for the subsequent album, Pied Piper. The album name and title track both come from the 1972 Jacques Demy film The Pied Piper which starred Donovan as the Pied Piper. The album was released in conjunction with his new label and became the first release by Donovan Discs.