John Martyn - May You Never

From a short biography of John Martyn, written by John Hillarby:

"In a world that lacks compassion, John Martyn and his music is a breath of fresh air. John was an incurable romantic who sang from his heart; no other artist sang with such commitment and emotion. People have fallen in and out of love listening to the most enduring and magical songs of deep sensitivity that have been sung over his forty year plus career. A truly progressive artist, John never stayed with a tried and trusted sound, preferring to explore, experiment and break new ground. His trademark melodies and lyrics are in a class of their own and his voice, which is steeped in pleasure and pain, joy and fear and love and hate, expresses emotion like no other and can reduce even the strongest of men to tears.

"John Martyn was born Iain David McGeachy on 11th September 1948 in New Malden, Surrey, the only son of two light opera singers. John’s parents separated and his early childhood was spent in Glasgow. John recalls, “You went out and kicked a few heads or you where looked on as a pansy.” John learned to play the guitar at fifteen and upon leaving school at 17 he started playing in some of the local folk clubs under the wing of Hamish Imlach, who encouraged and John to play the guitar. John was influenced by many different music genres including Debussy and soon began to explore music on his guitar. Davey Graham was one of John’s first heroes, as was Clive Palmer, who founded the Incredible String Band and became a good friend. John and Clive lived together for a while in a shed near Alston in Cumbria. “Those were wild times, and Clive was a remarkable man, a great musician and down to earth, absolutely no bullshit, taught me lots of things to play.” With a growing reputation on the club circuit in the North John decided it was time to move on and he started playing in the clubs around London such as Les Cousins and the Kingston Folk Barge, and was soon signed by Chris Blackwell’s Island Records.

"John’s debut album, London Conversation, was recorded in mono and released in October 1967. [It was] An album of innocent songs that won praise from the music press and launched a career that spanned five decades."

During that long career, Martyn's life was marked by a number of dark periods, most likely made even darker by his growing addiction to alcohol and drugs by the late 1970's. It's a too-common tale, and years of self-destructive abuse took their toll. He managed to release more than 20 studio albums in his lifetime, along with numerous singles and material that appeared in anthologies and recordings of live performances.

But by his later years, it was too easy to see and hear that the damage was done. In a late-career live performance of the song May You Never, Martyn's weathered voice, while not as clear and tuneful as in his youth, is perhaps more soulful and expressive...youthful exuberance replaced by maturity and experience. Still, the notes didn't come as easily. And he didn't look at all healthy.

Martyn died of double pneumonia on January 29, 2009, in hospital in Ireland. He was 60.

I've loved Martyn's guitar playing for many years, and I so enjoy how he almost effortlessly used to weave his beautiful fingerpicked lines around the lyrics he sang. I shall always aspire to sound as good. In the meantime, I'll choose to remember how he played and sang, not how he succumbed to the damages done by his addictions and left this world.