Steven Donaghey
Steven Donaghey was born in Detroit, Michigan. He began playing guitar during the Great Folk Scare of the late 1950's. (The first thing he & Jim Dawson discovered they had in common was a love of the Kingston Trio.) He switched to electric guitar once the Beatles arrived on the scene and played the usual parties & dances in bands throughout high school and college. In 1973 he switched to playing bass guitar to fill an opening in a popular Detroit band. 18 months later he got a call from New York requesting him to audition for a then-unknown singer, Barry Manilow.
The four-week Manilow tour began in October, 1974. During the first week the single "Mandy" was released and Manilow became a sudden celebrity. After a year of commuting between Ann Arbor and Manhattan, Steven made the move to New York. His association with Barry Manilow continued through the New Year of 1979, and you can hear his bass playing on songs like "I Write the Songs," "Looks Like We Made It," "A Weekend in New England," and several others.
After five years working in New York clubs & theaters with singers like Jim Dawson--who was introduced to Steven in 1975 by the late Manilow pianist Alan Axelrod. Steven produced Jim's album "New Product" which included Lucy Kaplansky, a friend of Steven's, singing backup vocals.
Later in 1975, he accepted a two-night engagement at the old Playboy Club in Atlantic City playing for Jay Black & the Americans. That association continues to this day, and they have played extensively throughout North America and the Caribbean.
The story came full-circle on April 7, 1999 when Steven (and Jim) attended a show at the Turning Point in Piermont, NY to see the late singer/songwriter John Stewart, formerly of the Kingston Trio. A year later, Steven made his debut appearance with Stewart, John's wife Buffy, and Kingston cohort Nick Reynolds, on some concerts in Ireland. He worked with Stewart periodically through John's untimely death in January, 2008, particularly in the annual "Trio Fantasy Camps" held in Scottsdale, AZ every summer.
Steven continues his outstanding bass playing today for both Jim and Jay Black