"Hurdy Gurdy Man" is a single released by the British Rock band The Spectres in 1966. This was the band's second single, and first to be penned by a member of the band. It was written by Alan Lancaster and a writer who sold his rights to the song to Pat Barlow. The B-side, although only credited to Lancaster, was co-written by Rick Parfitt, who at the time was not an official member of the band.
"Hurdy Gurdy Man" is a song by the Scottish singer/songwriter Donovan. It was written during a trip to India, was recorded in early 1968, and was released in May 1968 as a single. It gave its name to the album The Hurdy Gurdy Man, which was released in October of that year in the U.S. The single reached No.5 in the U.S. and No.4 in the UK pop charts.
The song features a harder rock sound than Donovan's usual material, supplying a range of distorted guitars. It also features an Indian influence with the use of a tambura. The song may have been influenced by 'Green Circles', a psychedelic 1967 UK single by Small Faces. The similarity is in the melody of the descending verse, the strange vocal delivery, and most tellingly, the topic of being visited by an enlightened stranger. In 2012, Donovan said that he'd made friends with them in 1965.
According to some sources, the song was written for the band Hurdy Gurdy (which included Donovan's old friend and guitar mentor Mac MacLeod) with Donovan intending to be the producer, but the collaboration was cancelled due to creative disagreements, leading Donovan to record the song himself. However, there is no mention of this story in the chapter of Donovan's autobiography that is devoted to the song – there he says that he originally wanted it to be recorded by Jimi Hendrix.
Man The is a village in Bhamo Township in Bhamo District in the Kachin State of north-eastern Burma.