She failed to achieve serious solo success in her lifetime, but the cult of
Sandy Denny as not only a great singer but an unusually vulnerable songwriter
has continued to grow since her death following a fall in 1978. After studying
classical piano as a child, she gave up her career as a nurse to become a singer
on the London folk scene, noted for her evocative performances of traditional
song. Briefly a member of the Strawbs, she became a star in 1968 after being
invited to replace Judy Dyble as singer with UK folk-rock pioneers Fairport
Convention, where her persuasive voice, k...