Richard Thompson is an English singer, guitarist, and songwriter who formed the folk rock band Fairport Convention, which he co-headed on the 1968–70 albums Fairport Convention, What We Did on Our Holidays, Unhalfbricking, Liege & Lief, and Full House. Post-Fairport, he played on albums by Nick Drake, Gary Farr, Mick Softley, John Martyn, and former […]
Donovan (born May 10, 1946) is a Scottish folk-rock singer, guitarist, and songwriter who released his first two albums in 1965 on Pye, followed by a prolific run of titles on Epic between 1966 and 1976. After a self-titled one-off on RAK in 1977, he released a further round of albums on RCA during the […]
Roy Harper (born June 12, 1941) is an English folk-rock singer/songwriter and guitarist from Rusholme, Greater Manchester, who released an album apiece on Strike, CBS, and Liberty, followed by a run of nine studio albums between 1970 and 1980 on Harvest. The subsequent decades yielded further albums on EMI, Science Fiction, and Awareness Records. His […]
Nick Drake (June 19, 1948 — Nov. 25, 1974) was an English singer–songwriter and guitarist who released three albums on Island between 1969 and 1972: Five Leaves Left, Bryter Layter, and Pink Moon. In 1974, he completed four songs for a proposed album before his death that year from a prescription-med overdose. The songs appeared […]
John Martyn (September 11, 1948 — January 29, 2009) was an English singer/songwriter and guitarist who released eight studio albums and a live disc on Island between 1967 and 1980, followed by a pair of 1981/82 titles on WEA and a further round of Island albums during the late 1980s. His early acoustic work culminated […]
Rodriguez (July 10, 1942 – August 8, 2023) was an American singer/songwriter from Detroit who released the 1970 album Cold Fact, followed in 1971 by Coming From Reality. After losing touch with the industry, his work gained a mass following in South Africa, where his song “Sugar Man” became a national anthem. He remained unaware […]
Judee Sill (October 7, 1944 — November 23, 1979) was an American singer/songwriter from Oakland who released a 1971 self-titled album on Asylum, followed by the 1973 release Heart Food, both revered as masterworks in the 21st century. Background Judee Sill was born on October 7, 1944, in Studio City, Los Angeles. She spent her […]
Terry Callier (May 24, 1945 — Oct. 27, 2012) was an American singer/songwriter from Chicago whose songs appear on 1970s albums by Jerry Butler, Dee Dee Sharp, and The Dells. As a solo artist on Cadet Records, he made the 1971–73 albums Occasional Rain, What Color Is Love, and I Just Can’t Help Myself. He […]
Shelagh McDonald is a Scottish singer/songwriter who released two albums in 1970 and 1971 on B & C Records. Background Shelagh McDonald was born in Edinburgh in 1948 and grew up immersed in classical music and traditional Scottish ballads. She studied piano as a child and gravitated to guitar in her teens, drawn to the […]
