Donny Hathaway's Daughter, Lalah Hathaway, wins new fans with CD, 'outrun the sky'

Jet, Jan 10, 2005

Lalah Hathaway says she doesn't mind when people refer to her as "Donny Hathaway's daughter." "That's who I am. I am Donny Hathaway's daughter. It's OK, it's all right to call me that. Just in the same way I am known as Eulaulah Hathaway's daughter. I am Kenya Hathaway's sister. That's who I am."

Her late father would certainly be proud of Lalah, who is following in his famous footsteps. She is winning rave reviews for her latest CD, Outrun The Sky. And the tribute CD to Luther Vandross, Forever, For Always For Luther, for which she recorded Vandross' hit Forever, For Always, For Love, has been nominated for a Grammy.

"I've never met Luther, but I love his music," she says. The Vandross tune is included on her CD--her first in 10 years. "People have been asking me for years, 'When's your new album coming out?' The time it takes is never something you plan. Nobody waits for 10 years to put a record out. It's just 'the bizness' and timing, particularly if you're not the kind of artist who can be plugged into a niche. I do a lot of things and always have. It was a matter of finding the right place and people willing to make it happen."

Donny Hathaway, who died in 1979, remains a musical icon. His hit, This Christmas, remains an all-time favorite among soul music lovers. It was in heavy rotation in the holiday season on radio stations across the country. His recordings with Roberta Flack, including Where Is the Love, The Closer I Get To You and Back Together Again have become pop-soul classics.

Lalah explains why her father's music is here to stay. "There's a certain honesty in it that can't be denied. There's so much of his actual self in the music, there's so much joy and so much pain in it. In addition to the real obvious thing, his sound is unmatched. It could never be duplicated. He's singular. You can't deny the sound."

Hathaway's widow, classically trained singer-pianist Eulaulah Hathaway, says the music icon would be proud to know his music has stood the test of time. "Obviously, it was just something written in the heavens. A lot of the younger kids have started to migrate toward his music. People used to always tell him, 'You are before your time.' And it looks like at last, time is starting to catch up and favor him."