Donny Hathaway

Donny Edward Hathaway (October 1, 1945 – January 13, 1979) was an American Jazz, Blues, Soul & Gospel singer-songwriter and musician. Hathaway contracted with Atlantic Records in 1969 and with his first single for the Atco label, "The Ghetto, Part I" in early 1970, Rolling Stone magazine "marked him as a major new force in soul music."

source: Wikipedia