It's no exaggeration to say that Sandy Denny was one of the founders of the British folk rock scene, a movement that expanded the horizons of traditional folk music far past its traditional boundaries, much as the country rock movement broadened the landscape for traditional country music in the United States at around the same time.
Denny began studying piano at a young age, and soon after developed an interest in singing. After graduation from public school, she began training as a nurse, but the attraction to music apparently was too strong to ignore, and she left her medical studies to enroll at London's Kingston College of Art in September 1965. While there, she got involved with the campus folk organization.
It wasn't long before she began performing on the local folk club circuit, and in 1967, she left art college to devote all of her attention to music. Around this time, a member of The Strawbs heard her perform at a London folk club and invited her to join the band. She went on to record only one album with them, called "Sandy Denny and the Strawbs - All Our Own Work." Although recorded in 1967, it remained unreleased until 1973.
But that unreleased album included an early solo version of what would become her best-known song, "Who Knows Where the Time Goes." American singer Judy Collins acquired a tape of that version and decided not only to cover it, but to make it the title track of her next album, released in 1968. That song went on to be covered by a diverse group of artists, including Nina Simone and, more recently, Cat Power.
By 1968, Denny had decided that she needed more opportunities as a vocalist as well as a broader audience for her songwriting, and she joined the groundbreaking band Fairport Convention (which included Richard Thompson, a brilliant guitarist, songwriter and singer, but more on him another day). She recorded three albums with Fairport: the 1968 release "What We Did On Our Holidays"; "Unhalfbricking," in the summer of 1969 (which included another version of Denny's "Who Knows Where the Time Goes"); and "Liege & Lief" at the end of that same year. She left Fairport before their third album together was released and formed a new band called Fotheringay, once again to expand her songwriting more fully.
That band would only last for about a year and saw the release of one self-titled album. A second unfinished recording, "Fotheringay 2," would remain on the shelf until 2008. Denny exited Fotheringay to begin her solo career in 1971 and she released her first album, "The North Star Grassman and the Ravens," later that same year. Also in 1971, Denny joined Led Zeppelin in the studio as a guest singer, recording a duet with Robert Plant on the song "The Battle of Evermore" for the band's fourth album. She was the only guest vocalist ever to appear on a Led Zeppelin recording.
Denny's second album, "Sandy," was issued in 1972. She continued to broaden her musical boundaries further beyond traditional folk songs, recording her final traditional piece, a beautiful song called "The Quiet Joys of Brotherhood," for that album. In 1973, she married her long-time boyfriend and producer Trevor Lucas and recorded her third solo album, "Like an Old Fashioned Waltz." The title track is especially pretty, with a lush string arrangement that takes wonderful advantage of a traditional 3/4 time signature.
In 1972, Lucas and guitarist Jerry Donahue, who also had been a member of Fotheringay, joined Fairport Convention. Denny would rejoin Fairport in 1974, and after a world tour, the band recorded the album "Rising For the Moon," which took its title from the Denny-penned tune that also would be the collection's opening track.
Denny and Lucas left Fairport Convention at the end of 1975 and she began work on what would be her final album, "Rendezvous." A UK tour to promote "Rendezvous" in late 1977 would prove to be her last series of public appearances. Denny had a history of substance abuse problems, problems that had gradually become painfully obvious and noticeably worse by 1977.
In March 1978, while she and her infant daughter Georgia were on vacation with her parents in Cornwall, UK, Denny was injured when she fell down a flight of stairs and hit her head on concrete. After that accident she began suffering from intense headaches, and her physician prescribed a painkiller known to have severe side effects when combined with alcohol. As Denny's behavior grew more and more erratic, likely due to the combination of prescription and non-prescription drugs and alcohol, Lucas began fearing for their child's well-being. On April 13 he left London with Georgia to return to his native Australia. He didn't tell Denny he was going away
Denny collapsed on April 17 while visiting her friend Miranda Ward at Ward's home and fell into a coma. Four days later, Denny died. She was 31. Her death was ruled to be the result of a "traumatic mid-brain hemorrhage" and blunt force trauma to the head.
Sandy Denny's talent was considerable, but she never found much fame beyond a small legion of devoted fans. But she left behind a legacy that helped change the face of British folk music and a collection of music that will live on.
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