The Donny Hathaway Legacy Project Sponsors Tribute to Donny Hathaway Produced by Brother Let’s Talk in Partnership with Birmingham Cares

Event Celebrates the Music Icon’s Legacy and Highlights Mental Health Awareness Month

Nationwide — Donnita Hathaway, daughter of music legend Donny Hathaway, and founder of the not-for-profit organization, The Donny Hathaway Legacy Project, announced today that the NFP will be a sponsor of Songs of Strength: A Tribute Concert for the late music icon featuring renowned and accomplished recording artist Frank McComb on Friday, May 24, 2024 from 6pm to 9pm and encore from 9:30pm to 12:30am at Uptown Jazz Lounge, located at 2250-B 9th Avenue North, Birmingham, AL 35203.

The event, which is free with registration via Eventbrite, is produced by The Brother Let’s Talk Initiative in partnership with Birmingham Cares, a program under Alabama Cares and United Way Area Agency on Aging. Donnita Hathaway, who will also be a special guest said, “I am very excited to partner with “Brother Let’s Talk” for the “Song of Strength” concert featuring one of my favorite artists, Frank McComb. My father’s story is one that music fans have sympathized with, and I will speak on my father’s legacy and the importance of one’s mental health and how music is a wonderful holistic healing tool.”

The holistic healing power of music is not given enough credence as it relates to mental and emotional health. Research studies have shown that music can help with serious mental health and substance use disorders. A 2017 Cochrane systematic review found that adding music-based interventions to usual treatment saw improvement, based on clinician-rated and patient-reported measures of depression when compared with usual treatment alone.

Sadly, Donny Edward Hathaway suffered tremendously with a mental illness, attributed to his sudden death at the age of thirty-three, at the pinnacle of his career. Hathaway, a Grammy award-winning singer, songwriter, composer, arranger, and keyboardist who Rolling Stone described as a “soul legend” had hits that included “The Ghetto”, “Someday We’ll All Be Free”, and the timeless classic “This Christmas”, as well as collaborations with Roberta Flack that included “Where is the Love”, and “The Closer I Get to You.” Hathaway continues to receive accolades and awards posthumously forty-five years after his passing. His songs have been covered by some of the entertainment world’s finest, including Diana Ross, Stevie Wonder, Gloria Estefan, Christina Aguilera, Patti LaBelle Seal, Mary J. Blige, Chicago, among other notable artists. His influence has crossed generations, with Justin Timberlake calling him “the best singer of all time,” and Amy Winehouse noted has calling Hathaway her favorite artist of all time.

The Brother Let’s Talk Initiative is a group of area Psychiatrists, Psychologists, Licensed Therapists, Social Workers, and Mental Health Professionals coming together to address the stigma of mental health by increasing the emotional wellness of men of color.

The Donny Hathaway Legacy Project is dedicated to celebrating the life and legacy of the musical pioneer and legend Donny Hathaway. Their mission is to provide holistic mental and emotional health-related education, advocacy, and essential resources that are culturally relevant and accessible to support creative artists, Black communities, and young people.

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