Today's Beautiful Music is an introduction to the hurdy-gurdy. The unusual string instrument is played with a hand crank, and its ancestor -- the organistrum -- dates back at least to the 12th century ...

Members of Led Zeppelin helped create Donovan’s “Hurdy Gurdy Man” in the studio. The tune paved the way for a lot of the band’s later work. Donovan himself argued that Jimmy Page’s contributions to ...

Donovan’s 1968 song, “Hurdy Gurdy Man” noted “the crying of humanity” over the war in Vietnam and widespread civil unrest. Counter culture balladeers — Joan Baez, Phil Ochs, Bob Dylan, Pete Seeger, ...

He first entered the public consciousness on 22 January 1965. On that date, Donovan Leitch wasn’t yet signed to a record label but the producers of the weekly pop show Ready, Steady, Go! put him in ...

George Harrison wrote a verse for Donovan’s “Hurdy Gurdy Man.” Donovan revealed why George’s lyrics weren’t used in the final song. In addition, he said the tune might’ve been inspired by The Beatles’ ...

An error has occurred. Please try again. With a The Portland Press Herald subscription, you can gift 5 articles each month. It looks like you do not have any active ...

The hurdy-gurdy is one of Europe's oldest musical instruments. A kind of mechanical violin, it uses keys and a crank, along with melody and drone strings. Some call it the medieval synthesizer, and a ...

If Slipknot were to ever add a tenth member, we hope it's a hurdy-gurdy player. YouTuber Michalina Malisz has repurposed five of the band's riffs on the hand crank folk instrument and it actually ...

The hurdy-gurdy is a fascinating string instrument dating from sometime around the 10th century. There is an active community of modern enthusiasts, but one can’t simply walk into a music shop and buy ...

Ever heard of the hurdy-gurdy? “When I saw the hurdy-gurdy, it blew my mind,” says Peter Micholic. “It looked so alien compared to the other instruments I was familiar with, and I couldn't believe ...