Singer Songwriters – Listen to the Words. – Read and Listen with Keith

“Singer-songwriter” is used to define popular music artists who write and perform their own material, which is often self-accompanied generally on acoustic guitar or piano. Such an artist performs the roles of composer, lyricist, vocalist, sometimes instrumentalist, and often self-manager. According to AllMusic, singer-songwriters’ lyrics are often personal but veiled by elaborate metaphors and vague imagery, and their creative concern is to place emphasis on the song rather than their performance of it. Most records by such artists have a similarly straightforward and spare sound that placed emphasis on the song itself.

The term has also been used to describe songwriters in the rock, folk, country, and pop music genres including Joni Mitchell, Nick Drake, Carole King and Buddy Holly. It came into popular usage in the 1960s onwards to describe songwriters who followed particular stylistic and thematic conventions, particularly lyrical introspection, confessional songwriting, mild musical arrangements, and an understated performing style. According to writer Larry David Smith, because it merged the roles of composer, writer, and singer, the popularity of the singer-songwriter reintroduced the Medieval troubadour tradition of “songs with public personalities” after the Tin Pan Alley era in American popular music- which, incidentally, Carole King was a huge part of. Song topics include political protest, as in the case of Pete Seeger and Woody Guthrie.

So, who have I chosen for the list? The first artist is the ever beautiful and multi talented Joni Mitchell. I know she is a favourite of my dear friend Trish and so I am dedicating this one to her.

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Joni Mitchell is a Canadian singer-songwriter whose work draws from folk, pop, rock, and jazz, Mitchell’s songs often reflect social and environmental ideals as well as her feelings about romance, confusion, disillusionment, and joy. She has received many accolades, including nine Grammy Awards and induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1997. Rolling Stone called her “one of the greatest songwriters ever”, and AllMusic has stated, “When the dust settles, Joni Mitchell may stand as the most important and influential female recording artist of the late 20th century”. Mitchell wrote “A Case of You” in or before 1970. As with many of the songs on her album Blue, her breakup with Graham Nash is often cited as the inspiration for it.

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Nick Drake (19 June 1948 – 25 November 1974) was an English singer-songwriter. Although his music did not find a wide audience during his lifetime, he gradually achieved wider recognition and is now considered among the most influential English singer-songwriters ever. Drake signed to Island Records when he was 20 years old and released his debut album, Five Leaves Left, in 1969. By 1972, he had recorded two more albums: Bryter Layter and Pink Moon. Neither sold more than 5,000 copies on initial release but Nick’s reluctance to perform live or be interviewed certainly contributed to his lack of commercial success. He suffered from depression and insomnia, topics often reflected in his lyrics. After completing Pink Moon in 1972, he withdrew from live performance and recording altogether, retreating to his parents’ home in rural Warwickshire. On 25 November 1974, at the age of 26, Nick died from an accidental overdose of amitriptyline, a prescribed antidepressant. His ashes are buried under a beautiful oak tree in the churchyard in Tamworth-in-Arden and a few years ago Pam and I went there to pay our respects. There were a few other people there and I will never forget the moment that a couple of us sat down by the oak tree and sang Nick’s beautiful song Northern Sky.

Many artists have cited Nick as a major influence including The Cure’s Robert Smith, Kate Bush and Paul Weller. I still miss him and think about him often.

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Judee Sill (7 October 1944 – 23 November 1979) was an American singer and songwriter. The first artist signed to David Geffen’s Asylum label, she released two albums on Asylum and partially completed a third album before dying of a drug overdose in 1979. This clip is her performing on The Old Grey Whistle Test which was my first introduction to this rather amazing but ultimately tragic musician. Her biography makes for some very sad reading.

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“Fire and Rain” is a folk rock song written and performed by James Taylor. Released on Warner Bros. Records as a single from his second album, Sweet Baby James, in February 1970, the song follows Taylor’s reaction to the suicide of Suzanne Schnerr, a childhood friend, and his experiences with drug addiction and fame. After its release, “Fire and Rain” peaked at number two on RPM’s Canada Top Singles chart and at number three on the Billboard Hot 100.

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“Be” is a song taken from Jonathan Livingston Seagull, the Grammy Award winning soundtrack album to the 1973 American film. It was written and recorded by singer-songwriter Neil Diamond and produced by Tom Catalano. The album was released on Columbia Records, Diamond’s debut for that label after his contract with MCA Records’ Uni subsidiary had expired, and grossed more than the film itself. It was Diamond’s ninth studio album, and his first album after his successful 1972 live album Hot August Night. It won the 1974 Grammy as Best Original Score Written for a Motion Picture or a Television Special.

It is a very spiritual song and the lyrics are, to my ears, pure poetry. I am not at all a religious person but I find this song to be really moving.

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“Streets of London” is a song by Ralph McTell, who first recorded it for his 1969 album Spiral Staircase. It was not released in the United Kingdom as a single until 1974. The song has been covered by over 200 artists. The song was re-released, on 4 December 2017, featuring McTell with Annie Lennox as a charity single for CRISIS, the Homelessness Charity. It is often cited as one of the greatest songs ever written about the UK Capital. You can see why.

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“If You Could Read My Mind” is a song by Canadian singer-songwriter Gordon Lightfoot. It reached #1 in the Canadian Singles Chart on commercial release in 1970, and also charted in several other countries on international release in 1971. Lightfoot has cited his divorce for inspiring the lyrics.

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David McWilliams (4 July 1945 – 8 January 2002) was a singer, songwriter, and guitarist from Northern Ireland, best known for his 1967 song “Days of Pearly Spencer” which was also covered by Soft Cell’s Marc Almond in 1992.

The song featured here is the title track from a 1974 album. This album was heavily featured on pirate station Radio Caroline on its release and that is where I fell in love with it.

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“You’ve Got a Friend” is a 1971 song written by Carole King. It was first recorded by King, and included in her album Tapestry. Another well-known version is by James Taylor from his album Mud Slide Slim and the Blue Horizon. His was released as a single in 1971 reaching number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number 4 on the UK Singles Chart. The two versions were recorded simultaneously in 1971 with shared musicians.

“You’ve Got a Friend” won Grammy Awards both for Taylor and King. Dozens of other artists have recorded the song over the years, including Dusty Springfield and Michael Jackson.

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“Solid Air” is the title track of the fourth studio album by British singer-songwriter John Martyn, released in February 1973 by Island Records. This album was dedicated to a great friend of Martyn’s, Nick Drake, who we featured earlier in the playlist. Martyn said of the track “It was done for a friend of mine, and it was done right with very clear motives, and I’m very pleased with it, for varying reasons. It has got a very simple message, but you’ll have to work that one out for yourself.” It’s a great performance.

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Kevin Johnson (born 3 July 1942) is an Australian singer-songwriter. Popular in the 1970s, his biggest hit is “Rock ‘N’ Roll (I Gave You the Best Years of My Life)” which reached number four in Australia. It tells a great story of a musician and his search for fame.

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Last but by no means least we have a track by the beautiful Judie Tzuke. She is most famous for her song “Stay with me till Dawn” but has released LOADS of great albums and has written songs for many other famous artists. She has recently been on tour with fellow singers Julia Fordham and Beverley Craven. This song “I Can Read Books” is the second track on Wonderland, her ninth studio album. It was released in 1992.

The lyric is one of Judie’s most poignant pieces of writing and always chokes me up. I find it a very hard song to sing because of that. It is also interesting in that Brian May of Queen plays guitar on this track. It’s a beauty.

I hope you have enjoyed this foray into the world of the singer songwriter.

Keith.

Joni Mitchell – A Case Of You