Georgia Rose Lucas, Sandy’s daughter with Trevor Lucas, is to be congratulated on putting together so many fans’ memories of witnessing the extraordinary talent Sandy possessed. Dave Pegg should have the last word: ‘Sandy Denny made so many people happy with her music, and I hope this book helps to keep alive the memory of one of England’s greatest ever singer-songwriters’
Sandy Denny died on 21 April 1978 from what was described as ‘blunt force trauma to the head’. A few weeks prior to this, she’d fallen down a flight of stairs, her head hitting the concrete floor as she landed. This brought on severe head pains and, soon after moving in with a friend (husband Trevor Lucas had left to go to Australia, taking her daughter, then aged nine months with him), she was found unresponsive at the foot of the stairs, rushed to hospital but never recovered consciousness and died. She was aged only 31, prompting Greil Marcus to comment that, in her strongest moments, no female singer in the past ten years could touch her.
But, as the 50th anniversary of her tragic passing draws ever nearer, it’s heartening to be reminded of just how much pleasure her songs and music gave to so many people when she performed, and she’s certainly left behind a rich legacy of recorded songs to enjoy in perpetuity, being the first UK female singer/songwriter to produce both a substantial and enduring body of original compositions, releasing four solo albums, alongside three albums with Fairport Convention and one with Fotheringay. There’s so much more to her life and career than just being the only woman ever to sing on a Led Zeppelin album!
A People’s History is the sum total of the personal memories of many people who either saw her perform or who recorded with or worked with her in the studio, with over 200 comments about seeing her onstage (interest declared: I saw Sandy Denny performing with Fotheringay in December 1970). And while not everyone has a happy story to tell about her – Ashley Hutchings stated he ignored her one time when she was drunk and walked away; it was to be the last time he saw her – everyone talks with admiration for her rich talent.
Sandy, born Alexandra Elene Maclean Denny in 1947, had gone on to shelve a possible career in nursing to focus on her music, performing in legendary venues like the Troubadour and Les Cousins, and going on to achieve renown as possessing one of the greatest voices ever to come out of this country, in any genre. What comes across from many fans who saw her perform, and particularly from musicians who were close to her during these times, like Ashley Hutchings and especially Richard Digance, was the quality of her vocal range; her ability to interpret traditional folk tunes in the original way – particularly important for the more conservative folk fan – but also her own range of songs, delivered in her own style, an almost perfect mix of authentic story telling with a folk rock edge. Pete Townsend said, ‘she was the perfect folk voice, pure and easy’, while Robert Plant claimed she had ‘the most beautiful voice I’d ever heard’.
After a period of time in the late ’60s as a solo singer, during which time she declined Dave Cousins’ offer to join The Strawbs, she auditioned for Fairport Convention, replacing Judy Dyble where, says Simon Nicol, ‘she stood out like a clean glass in a sink full of dirty dishes’. She joined the Fairports, staying with them for18 months, with the three albums she recorded with them becoming touchstones for British folk rock. After this she formed Fotheringay, releasing one album with them before leaving. The seventies were largely spent as a solo act, though she rejoined Fairport briefly, as husband Trevor Lucas was already a member.
What the fans heard was the richness of her voice and some wonderful songs, but what fans weren’t to know was, despite the talent, she was beset by insecurities and doubts, plus plagued by her demons, such as episodic manic depression and mood swings, which saw her abusing drugs and alcohol. Al Stewart claims Sandy’s lifestyle made Janis Joplin look like Mother Teresa. Dave Pegg states that she was never happy with her performances onstage which, on most nights, were truly amazing. Which goes some way to explain why, despite being considered Britain’s finest ever female singer, she remains unknown to many.
Georgia Rose Lucas, Sandy’s daughter with Trevor Lucas, is to be congratulated on putting together so many fans’ memories of witnessing the extraordinary talent Sandy possessed. Dave Pegg should have the last word: ‘Sandy Denny made so many people happy with her music, and I hope this book helps to keep alive the memory of one of England’s greatest ever singer-songwriters’.
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