Biography # Sandy Denny

She was an accomplished songwriter and a talented guitarist and pianist, but any discussion of the late Sandy Denny has to begin with her voice. It was quite an instrument - a pure, haunting sound. The ancient folk-songs she sang seemed to come naturally to it, as did the images of nature and seasons passing that filled her songwriting. "Late November" was one of her song titles, and there was something autumnal about her singing beneath the beauty, a bitter chill and a sense of things passing.This sense seems to have been always with her ; her best known song was called "Who Knows Where The Time Goes," and it was written when she was nineteen.

Before joining Fairport, Denny made a reputation in the British folk scene as part of the duo Sandy and Johnny, and, briefly, as the lead singer of the Strawbs. Fairport Convention established her as on of the brightest talents of British folk.

On leaving Fairport, she immediately formed her own band: Fotheringay, which featured guitarists Jerry Donahue and Trevor Lucas (later Denny's husband), bassist Pat Donaldson and drummer Gerry Conway.The group's one self-titled album is excellent, but the group disbanded within a year. As Donahue and Lucas went on to join Fairport Convention,

Denny struck out on a solo career, releasing two classic albums in short order. The North Star Grassmen and the Ravens and Sandy are as good as British folk-rock gets - Denny was at the top of her form as both singer and songwriter, and both albums benefit from some fine Richard Thompson guitar. Like an Old-Fashioned Waltz continues in this vein, and then Denny joined her husband in Fairport for one studio album (Rising For The Moon) and one live album (A Moveable Feast). Her final studio album, Rendezvous, didnt go down too well. In April 1978, Denny fell down a flight of stairs, and died days later of a cerebral hemorrage.

Her last concert on November 27, 1977 at the Royalty Theatre was later released as Gold Dust - Live At The Royalty. Further posthumous releases were the four cassettes and one CD, The Attic Tracks. Heyday is a collection of radio broadcasts. Live studio tracks recorded for the BBC from that time were later released on The BBC Sessions 1971-73.

Sandy Denny was insecure and often lacked belief in her own talent, but she is regarded as one of the UK's finest singer-songwriters and her work has grown in stature over the years. Her effortless, smooth vocal delivery still sets the standard for many of today's female folk-based singers.

Of those who knew her music best, Richard Thompson, with whom she collaborated for many years, was able to describer her best. "Sandy never showed off for the sake of it, it was all to the service of the song. I've not known a singer since with that much of a gift. She could incline to the obscure in her writing, but some of my all time favorite songs are hers, some of the best written since the war."

DISCOGRAPHY

1. Fotheringay (by Fotheringay), 1970
2. The North Star Grassmen and the Ravens, 1971
3. Sandy, 1972
4. Like an Old-Fashioned Waltz, 1974
5. Rendezvous, 1977
6. The Original Sandy Denny (early recordings), 1978
7. Who Knows Where The Time Goes (box set anthology), 1986
8. Sandy Denny and the Strawbs (early recordings), 1991
9. The Best of Sandy Denny, 1991
10. The Attic Tracks, 1972-1984 (Sandy Denny and Trevor Lucas), 1995
11. Gold Dust - Live at the Royalty, 1998
12. No More Sad Refrains - The Anthology, 2000

More info at www.sandydenny.co.uk