Sandy Denny Biography
The late Sandy Denny still remains the pre-eminent British folk-rock singer. She emerged in the mid sixties whilst still a teenager, performing on the folk revival scene where she displayed her mastery of traditional singing and interpretation. In the late sixties she joined Fairport Convention, and her career took off. The band that had hitherto been recording west coast cover versions; now at Sandys instigation they started recording a mix of original and traditional material in a modern folk style, creating a new sub-category of music in the process. They set the benchmark for the emerging folk rock sound and the albums they did together, are not only seen as the bands best work, but as classics of the genre. Her song Who knows where the time goes? became her most well known composition and her signature tune.
By 1970 the time had come for her to pursue her own songwriting more fully, first by forming her own band Fotheringay, and then on the three impeccable and diverse solo albums that followed. In order not to be parted from her husband, Sandy rejoined Fairport Convention in 1974 for a world tour and an album, but it was in her solo recordings that her voice both metaphorically and vocally could really be heard in all its resonating purity. Her songwriting shows a unique and personal vision, and remains a timeless expression of her importance and innovation as an artist.
Outwardly Sandy appeared as a jovial and entertaining personality but privately she was a deeply unhappy person for whom the songs gradually became her only release. By the late 70s she slipped into a personal decline, taking refuge in drink and drugs: She had always suffered from low self esteem, and when her marriage began to unravel she entered a cycle of depression that made her early death seem a sad inevitability. She released a final solo album in 1977 which contained several of her finest compositions, and so was a fitting end to an illustrious career. Less than a year later, aged just 31, she was dead. A fall down some stairs led to slow internal bleeding that gave her increasingly worse and more frequent headaches until she collapsed with a brain haemorrage whilst staying with a close friend. Unfortunately Sandy fell into a coma from which she never regainded consciousness.
Over a ten year career Sandy Denny left an impressive legacy as one of the most accomplished singer-songwriters England has ever produced and she remains a source of inspiration to many. Though she was always admired in her day by the rock cognoscenti, in the years since her death her music has been slowly rediscovered by the wider audience it so richly deserves. Today all of Sandy’s solo albums and group work has been remastered and re-issued on CD.
Sandy Denny’s Discography
Sandy Denny Live on the BBC
Watch Sandy Denny perform Northstar Grassman And The Ravens, Crazy Lady Blues and Late November
the late great sandy. forever engraved in the battle of evermore. so all of those who thought it was robert laying a double vocal track down... wrong!!
Sandy is the finest female folk singer ever from England (as well as the world in general). Her version of Banks Of The Nile with Fotheringay sends shivers down my spine every time without fail. RIP The Lady.
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