Sandy Denny

English singer, songwriter and musician. Born on 6 January 1947 at the Nelson Hospital in Wimbledon near London (UK). Died aged 31 on 21 April 1978 in Wimbledon, from a cerebral haemorrhage after falling down from a flight of stairs. Denny started out in the folk rock circuit and made her first recordings in 1967, with Alex Campbell and with Johnny Silvo. Later that year she joined the Strawbs, with which she recorded an album that remained unreleased until 1973. In May 1968 Denny auditioned for Fairport Convention who were looking for a replacement singer after Judy Dyble had left. Together they made some of Fairport's best albums. She left the band in December 1969 to focus on her songwriting, and in 1970 started the Fotheringay band, with which she recorded 2 albums. The project ended in 1971, with Denny citing stress with Joe Boyd as a reason for the band's demise. In September 1971 came her debut solo album, the first of 4 studio albums released in her lifetime. Later that year she also guested on Led Zeppelin's 4th album. (Denny is the only guest vocalist to ever appear on a Led Zeppelin album.) In 1973 she married Trevor Lucas and between 1974 and 1975 the couple were members of Fairport Convention, performing on Rising For The Moon. After a long tour in 1975, the couple left Fairport to find rest and start a family. Her daughter Georgia was born in 1977.