Donny Edward Hathaway (October 1, 1945 – January 13, 1979) was an American soul singer, keyboardist, songwriter, and arranger whom Rolling Stonedescribed as a “soul legend”. His most popular songs include “The Ghetto“, “This Christmas”, “Someday We’ll All Be Free“, and “Little Ghetto Boy”. Hathaway is also renowned for his renditions of “A Song for You“, “For All We Know”, and “I Love You More Than You’ll Ever Know”, along with “Where Is the Love” and “The Closer I Get to You“, two of many collaborations with Roberta Flack. He has been inducted into the St. Louis Walk of Fame and won one Grammy Award from four nominations. Hathaway was also posthumously honored with a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2019. Dutch director David Kleijwegt made a documentary called Mister Soul – A Story About Donny Hathaway, which premiered at the International Film Festival Rotterdam on January 28, 2020.

Hathaway, the son of Drusella Huntley, was born in Chicago, Illinois, and was raised by his grandmother, Martha Pitts, also known as Martha Crumwell, in the Carr Square housing project of St. Louis, Missouri. Hathaway began singing in the church choir with his grandmother, a professional gospel singer, at the age of three, and studying piano. He graduated from Vashon High School in 1963.