Sandy Denny

She failed to achieve serious solo success in her lifetime, but the cult of Sandy Denny as not only a great singer but an unusually vulnerable songwriter has continued to grow since her death following a fall in 1978. After studying classical piano as a child, she gave up her career as a nurse to become a singer on the London folk scene, noted for her evocative performances of traditional song. Briefly a member of the Strawbs, she became a star in 1968 after being invited to replace Judy Dyble as singer with UK folk-rock pioneers Fairport Convention, where her persuasive voice, knowledge of traditional music, melancholic songwriting and powerful personality played a major role in their elevation to concert headliners, particularly on the groundbreaking album Liege & Lief album. She'd already written her most famous song Who Knows Where The Time Goes (a hit for Judy Collins) when Denny quit to form Fotheringay with husband Trevor Lucas and when they split, she launched her solo career. Several albums followed, mostly of self-written material, but her insecurity, stage fright and self-destructiveness surfaced to the detriment of her career and her career was in decline at the time of her death. However, successive generations have re-discovered her haunting voice and heartfelt songs with tribute shows, compilations and reissues maintaining her popularity, culminating in a 19-CD boxed set - Sandy Denny - in 2010, encapsulating virtually everything she ever recorded.

Please enable Javascript to view this page competely.