"Season of the Witch" is a song by Scottish singer-songwriter

Donovan Donovan Phillips Leitch (born 10 May 1946), known mononymously as Donovan, is a Scottish musician, songwriter, and record producer. He developed an eclectic and distinctive style that blended folk, jazz, pop, psychedelic rock and world mus ...

released in August 1966 on his third studio album, '' Sunshine Superman''. The song is credited to Donovan, although sometime collaborator

Shawn Phillips Shawn Phillips (born February 3, 1943) is an American singer-songwriter and musician, primarily influential in the 1960s and 1970s. His work is rooted in folk rock but straddles other genres, including jazz fusion and funk. Phillips has rec ...

has also claimed authorship. Because of a dispute with Donovan's record company, a UK edition with the song was not released until June 1967.

Composition and recording

"Season of the Witch" was recorded at the CBS studios in Hollywood, California, where most of ''Sunshine Superman'' was recorded. According to Donovan, he and Phillips wanted a "rock-combo sound" for the song and chose some local musicians from the local clubs. They included Lenny Matlin on keyboards, Don Brown on lead electric guitar, Bobby Ray on bass and "Fast" Eddie Hoh on drums. Donovan played the second guitar part, as he explained in his autobiography: Donovan does not mention the involvement of

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and

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. At the time, the two future

Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin were an English rock band formed in London in 1968. The group comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham. With a heavy, guitar-driven sound, they are ...

members were popular London session musicians and played on other Donovan sessions, including in 1968 for " Hurdy Gurdy Man". However, their exact contributions, if any, to "Season of the Witch" are unknown.

Critical reception

In a retrospective song review for

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Music ...

, Lindsay Planer commented: "Few songs so perfectly reflect the dawn of the psychedelic pop era as aptly as Donovan's 'Season of the Witch'... Both lyrically as well as musically, the languid and trippy contents project a dark foreboding atmosphere nda sort of sinister tale of paranoia and the paranormal". John Bush called the song "easily ne of the twothe highlights of the album... a chugging eve-of-destruction tale". "Season of the Witch" is the opening theme for the TV series ''

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''.

Cover versions

Several artists have recorded their own renditions, including

Julie Driscoll Julie Driscoll Tippetts (born 8 June 1947) is an English singer and actress. Career Driscoll is known for her 1960s versions of Bob Dylan and Rick Danko's "This Wheel's on Fire", and Donovan's " Season of the Witch", both with Brian Auger and ...

with

Brian Auger and the Trinity Brian Auger and the Trinity was a British band led by keyboardist Brian Auger. His duet with Julie Driscoll, the Bob Dylan– penned "This Wheel's on Fire", was a number 5 hit on the 1968 UK Singles Chart. The song also reached number 13 in C ...

(1967, Open); Mike Bloomfield ,

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and

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(1968, ''

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''); Terry Reid (1968, ''Bang Bang You're Terry Reid'');

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(1968, ''

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'')(#52 Canada);

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(1969, ''Your Good Thing''); Luna (1996, I Shot Andy Warhol Soundtrack); Hole (1997, ''

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'');

Dr. John Malcolm John Rebennack Jr. (November 20, 1941 – June 6, 2019), better known by his stage name Dr. John, was an American singer and songwriter. His music encompassed New Orleans blues, jazz, funk, and R&B. Active as a session musician from ...

with the Blues Brothers Band (1998, ''

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'' soundtrack); Joan Jett and the Blackhearts (2004; ''

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'') and

Lana Del Rey Elizabeth Woolridge Grant (born June 21, 1985), known professionally as Lana Del Rey, is an American singer-songwriter. Her music is noted for its cinematic quality and exploration of tragic romance, glamour, and melancholia, with frequent r ...

(2019, '' Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark'' soundtrack).

References

{{Authority control 1966 songs Donovan songs Song recordings produced by Mickie Most Songs written by Donovan