Hathaway, the son of Drusella Huntley, was born in Chicago, Illinois, and was reared in the Carr Square housing project in St. Louis, Missouri, by his grandmother, Martha Pitts, also known as Martha Crumwell.
At the age of three, Hathaway began singing in the church choir and studied piano with his grandmother, a professional gospel singer. In 1963, he graduated from Vashon High School.
Hathaway then attended Howard University in Washington, D.C. on a fine arts scholarship, where he met Roberta Flack. He was also a member of the Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity at Howard. While at Howard, Hathaway formed a jazz trio with drummer Ric Powell, but she left before finishing her degree in 1967, after obtaining work offers in the music industry.
Hathaway married Eulaulah Vann in 1967. They met at Howard University, where they were both studying music. Eulaulah Donyll (Lalah) and Kenya Canc’Libra are their two daughters. Kenya is a studio singer and one of the three supporting vocalists on the hit TV show American Idol, while Lalah has had a successful solo career. Both daughters are Berklee College of Music grads.
How many stories did Donny Hathaway fall?
Donny Hathaway, 33, a song-writer and singer who had two gold record albums in 1972 and won a Grammy Award in 1973, fell 13 stories to his death Saturday night from his room in the Essex House Hotel in New York.
