Davey Graham

David Michael Gordon "Davey" Graham (originally spelled Davy Graham) (26 November 1940 – 15 December 2008) was a British guitarist and one of the most influential figures in the 1960s British folk revival. He inspired many famous practitioners of the fingerstyle acoustic guitar such as Bert Jansch, Wizz Jones, John Renbourn, Martin Carthy, John Martyn, Paul Simon and Jimmy Page, who based his solo "White Summer" on Graham's "She Moved Through the Fair". Graham is probably best known for his acoustic instrumental "Anji" and for popularizing DADGAD tuning, later widely adopted by acoustic guitarists.
Graham came to the attention of guitarists through his appearance in a 1959 broadcast of the BBC TV arts series Monitor, produced by Ken Russell and titled Hound Dogs and Bach Addicts: The Guitar Craze, in which he played an acoustic instrumental version of "Cry Me a River". During the 1960s, Graham released a string of albums of music from all around the world in many genres. 1964's Folk, Blues and Beyond and the following year's collaboration with the folk singer Shirley Collins, Folk Roots, New Routes, are frequently cited among his most influential album releases....His continuous touring of the world as a beat mystic traveller, picking up and then recording different styles of music for the guitar, has resulted in many musicians crediting him with founding world music. 
(Read more at Wikipedia).
== Links to Peel ==
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Given Davey Graham's influence on his contemporaries, including many who were featured on Peel's programmes, it may be surprising that Graham himself only made a single session appearance, on the Night Ride of 01 May 1968 - and this, according to Peel's comments on the show, as a consequence of a listener's suggestion. Graham was in the studio when the show was broadcast and was interviewed by Peel between the session tracks. Peel seemed appreciative, but most of them were conventional blues sung and played by Graham in a smooth style derived from singers like Josh White rather than the country bluesmen popular in the late 1960s. Only one track ("Tristano") was an instrumental of the type Graham was famous for.
On the show, Peel also mentioned being impressed by an extended raga-style piece by Graham he'd heard on a tape, and said he hoped it would appear on the guitarist's next album. It was "Blue Raga", included on Graham's Large As Life and Twice As Natural, released later in 1968, although a longer version lasting around 12 minutes, according to JP. Peel's not known to have played anything from the LP on his shows, and he didn't manage to have Graham back on the show to play it live, as he'd hoped. He did however host a gig at which Graham was on the bill, a few nights later, in Loughborough.
As mentioned above, Graham's version of "She Moved Through The Fair" inspired Jimmy Page's "White Summer", included on the Yardbirds' only Top Gear session and also in Led Zeppelin's first concert set for Radio 1, broadcast on the Top Gear of 10 August 1969.
Davey Graham made his name during the years when Peel was living in the USA, as the DJ mentioned when asking Graham about his recordings on the 01 May 1968 Night Ride. Although a major figure in the British folk scene, the guitarist was unknown in America, even if Simon and Garfunkel had recorded his instrumental "Anji" for their Sounds of Silence album. When Peel returned to Britain in 1967, folk audiences were paying more attention to guitarists inspired by Graham, notably Bert Jansch and John Renbourn, who did Peel sessions under their own names and as members of Pentangle. Graham's late 1960s albums for Decca received a mixed reception and his later releases were on small folk labels. He was rediscovered and celebrated as an important musician of his era in the late 1990s, but despite media attention and reissues of his recordings remained, as far as Peel show appearances were concerned, a "one-session wonder". 
== Festive Fifty Entries ==
== Sessions ==
*One sessions only. No known commercial release.
1. Live in Night Ride studio, 01 May 1968. No repeat.
*Bruton Town / Tristano / I'm Ready / Rock Me / Good Morning Blues
== Other Shows Played ==
* None, according to show tracklistings available on the site.
== See Also ==
*Topic
*Gigography 1968
*Gigography 1969
== External Links ==
*Wikipedia
*Discogs
*daveygraham.com
Category:Artists