Loading details…
Artist
Beverley Martyn
12+ albums
folkfolk rockNeed to Rate70ssinger-songwriter
about
Beverley Martyn (born Beverley Kutner, 1947, near Coventry) is a singer, songwriter, and guitarist. While still a student, she was picked to front The Levee Breakers, a jug band who played the folk circuit in South East England. At the age of 16 recorded her first single "Babe I'm Leaving You" which was released on the Parlophone label in 1965. Martyn was then signed as a solo artist to the Deram Records label. In 1966 she released a single, "Happy New Year" (b-side "Where The Good Times Are"), written by Randy Newman, on which she was accompanied by Jimmy Page, John Paul Jones and Nicky Hopkins. "Happy New Year" was chosen, together with "I Love My Dog" by Cat Stevens, to launch Deram as the progressive branch of Decca Records (see references). She also recorded an unreleased single in the same year, "Picking Up The Sunshine" / "Gin House Blues". During this period she was taught the guitar by the folk guitarist Bert Jansch who also encouraged her songwriting. Her follow-up single "Museum", written by Donovan was released in 1967, produced by Denny Cordell. Closely involved with the folk scene at the time, she met Paul Simon who invited her to New York where she contributed to the track "Faking It" on the Simon & Garfunkel album, Bookends--she's the one who says in the middle of the song: "Good morning, Mr Leitch, have you had a busy day." She later appeared at the Monterey Pop Festival on June 16, 1967, as did Simon & Garfunkel.[1] In 1969 she met, and later married, John M
