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Description
(June 19, 1948-November 25, 1974)

Sometimes, the greatest gems don’t immediately shine but rather reveal themselves over time, and few represent this idea better than Nick Drake. With an acoustic guitar, a hushed tenor, and songs blending stark vulnerability with a poignant beauty, Nick was often overlooked in life but in the years and even decades since his death has proven everlasting.

Born in Rangoon, Burma to engineer Rodney and poet and musician Molly, the Drake family moved to Rodney’s native England when Nick was four. Encouraged by his mother, Nick soon showed a talent for music, beginning with learning the piano at a young age and playing in the school orchestra, where he also learned to play saxophone and clarinet. He also began to write songs of his own on a reel to reel tape given to him by his mother, and briefly had a band with school friends called The Perfumed Gardeners. Though bright and a talented athlete, it became clear that music would be Nick’s calling, and in 1965 at the age of 17, Nick bought his first acoustic guitar where he began experimenting with open tunings and finger picking techniques. Soon after, Nick would travel with friends to Morocco where he’d often support himself by busking.

After the trip to Morocco and a few false starts at different universities, Nick soon enrolled at Cambridge while staying with older sister Gabrielle, who had become a successful screen actress by this point. While at Cambridge, Nick met music student Robert Kirby and began playing various clubs and coffee houses. In the process, he’d be discovered by Fairport Convention bassist Ashley Hutchings, who was taken not only by Nick’s talent but also by his striking looks. Through Hutchings, he would be introduced to producer Joe Byrd, the young owner of Witchseason Productions that was licensed to Island Records. Boyd, a respected figure in the British folk scene, was highly impressed by the demos Nick had made in his college dorm and offered him a management and recording contract, as well as becoming a mentor figure to Nick.

Nick’s career spanned a mere three studio albums which altogether clock in at under two hours. But what a wonderful two hours it is. From Five Leaves Left and Bryter Layter, with Boyd producing, old schoolmate Robert Kirby providing wind and string arrangements, and musicians such as Velvet Underground cofounder John Cale, Rolling Stones sideman Rocky Dijon, and members of Fairport Convention backing him, to Pink Moon with just his acoustic guitar and engineer John Wood taking over producing duties, Nick Drake produced as close to a perfect discography as any artist could ever dream of. He was a masterful acoustic player, with excellent technique matching a warm tone and sensitivity. His voice was husky yet possessed an aching fragility. His songs typically had a strong sense of melancholy, yet in that sorrow, Nick could create something truly beautiful and haunting. Enigmatic as he often was, his songs nonetheless feel quite intimate. Rather it’s just him and his guitar or he’s backed by strings, Nick had an uncanny ability to make the listener feel as though they were there with him.

Sadly, Nick’s shyness and anxiety about performing high profile gigs hampered his ability to further his career, not helped by the fact that many just didn’t get what he was doing. He was good looking, but didn’t project a swaggering bravado like many of the rock stars of the day. His sound was sophisticated, but not flashy. His sound was indebted to folk, but didn’t fully fit the framework of folk or folk rock as people knew it at the time. He didn’t really fit the mold of what a popular artist was “supposed” to be in his time, so Nick wound up overlooked, which would weigh heavily on him for the rest of his short life.

Then something happened. First was the release of the Fruit Tree boxset in 1979, along with a few fans occasionally dropping by the Drakes’ home. Sales were lackluster, yet Island kept them in circulation. The Dream Academy would dedicate their hit “Life In A Northern Town” to Nick, while more musicians kept citing Nick as an influence on them. BBC aired a documentary or two on him, Volkswagen used “Pink Moon” in a commercial, and movies began using his songs. The sound that initially got a cold shoulder back in the early seventies now has become a guiding light for countless alternative and indie artists who saw themselves in Nick in a way they couldn’t with many of his contemporaries. He gave a voice to mental illness and depression when most preferred to keep those things hidden, and he showed and still shows people that sometimes, just being yourself is all you need.

The seed that was Nick Drake was planted and has continued to flourish nearly half a century since he left the world far too soon. It saddens me that Nick never got to see his impact, because I can only imagine how much it would mean to him.

Happy birthday Nick, rest in peace.

Description
(June 19, 1948-November 25, 1974)

Sometimes, the greatest gems don’t immediately shine but rather reveal themselves over time, and few represent this idea better than Nick Drake. With an acoustic guitar, a hushed tenor, and songs blending stark vulnerability with a poignant beauty, Nick was often overlooked in life but in the years and even decades since his death has proven everlasting.

Born in Rangoon, Burma to engineer Rodney and poet and musician Molly, the Drake family moved to Rodney’s native England when Nick was four. Encouraged by his mother, Nick soon showed a talent for music, beginning with learning the piano at a young age and playing in the school orchestra, where he also learned to play saxophone and clarinet. He also began to write songs of his own on a reel to reel tape given to him by his mother, and briefly had a band with school friends called The Perfumed Gardeners. Though bright and a talented athlete, it became clear that music would be Nick’s calling, and in 1965 at the age of 17, Nick bought his first acoustic guitar where he began experimenting with open tunings and finger picking techniques. Soon after, Nick would travel with friends to Morocco where he’d often support himself by busking.

After the trip to Morocco and a few false starts at different universities, Nick soon enrolled at Cambridge while staying with older sister Gabrielle, who had become a successful screen actress by this point. While at Cambridge, Nick met music student Robert Kirby and began playing various clubs and coffee houses. In the process, he’d be discovered by Fairport Convention bassist Ashley Hutchings, who was taken not only by Nick’s talent but also by his striking looks. Through Hutchings, he would be introduced to producer Joe Byrd, the young owner of Witchseason Productions that was licensed to Island Records. Boyd, a respected figure in the British folk scene, was highly impressed by the demos Nick had made in his college dorm and offered him a management and recording contract, as well as becoming a mentor figure to Nick.

Nick’s career spanned a mere three studio albums which altogether clock in at under two hours. But what a wonderful two hours it is. From Five Leaves Left and Bryter Layter, with Boyd producing, old schoolmate Robert Kirby providing wind and string arrangements, and musicians such as Velvet Underground cofounder John Cale, Rolling Stones sideman Rocky Dijon, and members of Fairport Convention backing him, to Pink Moon with just his acoustic guitar and engineer John Wood taking over producing duties, Nick Drake produced as close to a perfect discography as any artist could ever dream of. He was a masterful acoustic player, with excellent technique matching a warm tone and sensitivity. His voice was husky yet possessed an aching fragility. His songs typically had a strong sense of melancholy, yet in that sorrow, Nick could create something truly beautiful and haunting. Enigmatic as he often was, his songs nonetheless feel quite intimate. Rather it’s just him and his guitar or he’s backed by strings, Nick had an uncanny ability to make the listener feel as though they were there with him.

Sadly, Nick’s shyness and anxiety about performing high profile gigs hampered his ability to further his career, not helped by the fact that many just didn’t get what he was doing. He was good looking, but didn’t project a swaggering bravado like many of the rock stars of the day. His sound was sophisticated, but not flashy. His sound was indebted to folk, but didn’t fully fit the framework of folk or folk rock as people knew it at the time. He didn’t really fit the mold of what a popular artist was “supposed” to be in his time, so Nick wound up overlooked, which would weigh heavily on him for the rest of his short life.

Then something happened. First was the release of the Fruit Tree boxset in 1979, along with a few fans occasionally dropping by the Drakes’ home. Sales were lackluster, yet Island kept them in circulation. The Dream Academy would dedicate their hit “Life In A Northern Town” to Nick, while more musicians kept citing Nick as an influence on them. BBC aired a documentary or two on him, Volkswagen used “Pink Moon” in a commercial, and movies began using his songs. The sound that initially got a cold shoulder back in the early seventies now has become a guiding light for countless alternative and indie artists who saw themselves in Nick in a way they couldn’t with many of his contemporaries. He gave a voice to mental illness and depression when most preferred to keep those things hidden, and he showed and still shows people that sometimes, just being yourself is all you need.

The seed that was Nick Drake was planted and has continued to flourish nearly half a century since he left the world far too soon. It saddens me that Nick never got to see his impact, because I can only imagine how much it would mean to him.

Happy birthday Nick, rest in peace.