Many folk icons from the 20th century have gone on to enjoy successful careers well into the 21st century. Some, though, died or disappeared young, and they didn’t get the recognition they deserved for their musical talents until years later. Let’s look at a few examples of underrated musicians who fit that bill.
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Judee Sill
Judee Sill only released two albums while she was alive. Her self-titled 1971 debut and the 1973 album Heart Food remain beloved cult classics in the folk world today. And yet, while she was actively pursuing her music career, Sill did not get the love she deserved. She struggled to gain commercial success during her lifetime, and her intensely emotional and spiritual folk songs remain essential listening in the great folk lexicon.
Sill passed away in 1979 at the age of only 35, following a difficult battle with drug addiction. In the 21st century, numerous compilation albums and live recordings from Sill have been released posthumously.
Nick Drake
Nick Drake might be a shoo-in for a list like this. But it’s impossible to ignore the impact his music had on the folk stylings of the 1970s and beyond. Drake released a number of albums during his short career and life, the most retrospectively famous being the 1972 album Pink Moon. His chamber folk works did gain some traction while he was alive. However, he did not gain wider recognition until after his death at the age of 26 in 1974.
Connie Converse
While all of the stories behind the folk musicians on this list are tragic, Connie Converse’s story is both tragic and the subject of one of the greatest mysteries in 20th-century music history. This entry on our list of folk musicians who passed away before they got big is still technically considered missing, 51 years after she disappeared, though many believe Converse has since passed on.
After a bout of depression and being burnt out, this singer-songwriter wrote letters to her family in 1974. She noted that she was going to start a new life in New York City. She packed up her things and drove off, and was never heard from again. Her family would hire a private investigator a decade later to pursue her. However, it’s unclear if she was ever actually found.
“If I find her, and she doesn’t want you to know about it, then I can’t tell you about it,” the private investigator allegedly told Converse’s younger brother.
Today, Converse is known for her work as one of the earliest singer-songwriters of her era, namely How Sad, How Lovely, which was recorded in 1954 and released in 2009.
Photo by Gijsbert Hanekroot/Redferns
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