The next inductee into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame class of 2012 is the Scottish singer-songwriter Donovan, a staple of the 60s who intersected with a legion of living legends.

Donovan was a friend, fan, and collaborator with members of The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, and Led Zeppelin. He hung out with Bob Dylan and Joan Baez. And he was a staple of both the folk and flower power movements. He stood in plenty of giants’ shadows but cast a decent sized one himself.

Donovan’s biggest hits were ‘Mellow Yellow’ and ‘Sunshine Superman,’ both released in 1966 (on different albums) and epitomizing the psychedelic pop sound of that era.

A year earlier, he was recording earnest folk songs with a delivery a bit too reminiscent of Bob Dylan. The comparisons to Dylan dogged him in those early years and led to a much-debated encounter between the two men in D. A. Pennebaker’s 1967 documentary Don’t Look Back.

In one of the film’s most famous clips, Donovan plays ‘To Sing For You,’ a lovely if simple ditty, then hands his guitar to Dylan, who plays two verses of ‘It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue.’ Some claim Dylan was showing up poor Donovan by following a bauble with a work of poetry.

I don’t see it that way. The scene looks to me like two artists appreciating each other’s work. Donovan doesn’t pretend to be Dylan’s songwriting equal, and Dylan (though quite dickish in much of that film) doesn’t come across as sinister. He also seems to really like ‘To Sing For You.’

Anyway, enough of that tangent. Donovan is a fine songwriter and performer who has lived a long, successful life. He has rubbed elbows with the greats and cemented his own place in the pop music firmament. He was first nominated to the Rock Hall 20 years after becoming eligible, and made it in (quite rightly) a year later.