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David Michael Gordon "Davey" Graham (originally spelled Davy Graham) (26 November 1940 – 15 December 2008) was a Britishguitarist and
one of the most influential figures in the 1960s British folk revival. He inspired many famous practitioners of thefingerstyle acoustic guitar such
as Bert Jansch, Wizz Jones, John Renbourn, Martin Carthy, John Martyn, Paul Simon andJimmy Page. Graham is probably best known for his
acoustic instrumental, "Anji" and for pioneering DADGAD tuning, laterwidely adopted by acoustic guitarists.
Graham was born in Hinckley, Leicestershire, England, to a Guyan ...read more
David Michael Gordon "Davey" Graham (originally spelled Davy Graham) (26 November 1940 – 15 December 2008) was a Britishguitarist and
one of the most influential figures in the 1960s British folk revival. He inspired many famous practitioners of thefingerstyle acoustic guitar such
as Bert Jansch, Wizz Jones, John Renbourn, Martin Carthy, John Martyn, Paul Simon andJimmy Page. Graham is probably best known for his
acoustic instrumental, "Anji" and for pioneering DADGAD tuning, laterwidely adopted by acoustic guitarists.
Graham was born in Hinckley, Leicestershire, England, to a Guyanese mother and a Scottish father. Although he never hadany music theory
lessons, he learnt to play the piano and harmonica as a child and then took up the classical guitar at theage of 12. As a teenager he was strongly
influenced by the folk guitar player Steve Benbow, who had travelled widely withthe army and played a guitar style influenced by Moroccan
music.
At the age of 19, Graham wrote what is probably his most famous composition, the acoustic guitar solo "Angi" (sometimesspelled "Anji": see
below). Colin Harper credits Graham with single-handedly inventing the concept of the folk guitarinstrumental. "Angi", named after his then
girlfriend, appeared on his debut EP 3/4 AD in April 1962. The tune spread througha generation of aspiring guitarists, changing its spelling as it
went. Before the record was released, Bert Jansch had learnt itfrom a 1961 tape borrowed from Len Partridge. Jansch included it on his 1965
debut album as "Angie". The spelling Anjibecame the more widely used after it appeared in this way on Simon & Garfunkel's 1966 album Sounds
of Silence and it wasas "Anji" that Chicken Shack recorded it for their 1969 100 Ton Chicken album.
Anji soon became a rite of passage for many acoustic finger-style guitarists.
Some other musicians of note who have covered Anji include: John Renbourn, Gordon Giltrap, Clive Carroll and the anarchistgroup
Chumbawamba, who used the guitar piece as a basis for their anti-war song "Jacob's Ladder (Not in My Name)".
Davy Graham came to the attention of guitarists through his appearance in a 1959 broadcast of the BBC TV arts seriesMonitor, produced by Ken
Russell and entitled Hound Dogs and Bach Addicts: The Guitar Craze, in which he played anacoustic instrumental version of "Cry Me a River".
During the 1960s, Graham released a string of albums of music from allaround the world in all kinds of genres. 1964's Folk, Blues and Beyond
and the following year's collaboration with the folksinger Shirley Collins, Folk Roots, New Routes, are frequently cited among his most influential
album releases. "Large as Lifeand Twice as Natural" includes his cover of Joni Mitchell's "Both Sides, Now" alongside unprecedented explorations
of EasternModes and scales played in Faustian takes on a Gibson J45 steel string guitar.
Graham married the American singer Holly Gwinn in the late 1960s and recorded the albums The Holly Kaleidosope andGodington Boundary with
her in 1970, shortly before Gwinn had to return to the USA and he was unable to follow her due tohis visa problem due to a marijuana
conviction. He later described himself as having been "a casualty of too much self-indulgence", becoming a heroin addict in imitation of his jazz
heroes. During this period, he taught acoustic guitar and alsoundertook charity work, particularly for various mental health charities. For several
years he was on the executive council ofMind[4] and he was involved for some time with the mystic Osho (Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh).
In 1976 he recorded All That Moody, to all intents and purposes a private pressing which remains his most collectible vinylrecord due to its
"moody" nature and rarity.[citation needed] He recorded two further groundbreaking albums for Kicking Mule,1978's The Complete Guitarist and
1980's Dance For Two People. He continued to play concerts, but dedicated the mainthrust of his life to studying languages; he was fluent in
Gaelic, French, and Greek and could hold his own in Turkish. Hecollected poems and folk songs and would regale his neighbours after some time
he became increasingly disinhibited. Hispenultimate album Playing in Traffic was so titled as he was frustrated by trying to learn Bach in the noise
of 11 Lyme St,Camden where a boatyard used to operate on the canal just outside his bedroom.
He was the subject of a 2005 BBC Radio documentary, Whatever Happened to Davy Graham ? and in 2006 featured in theBBC Four documentary
Folk Britannia.
Many people sought out Graham over the years and tried to encourage him to return to the stage to play live; the last of thislong line of seekers
was Mark Pavey,[citation needed] who arranged some outings with guitarists and old friends includingBert Jansch, Duck Baker and Martin Carthy.
These concerts were typically eclectic, with Graham playing a mix of acousticblues, Romanian dance tunes, Irish pipe tunes, songs from South
Africa and pieces by Bach. His final album, Broken Biscuits,consisted of originals and new arrangements of traditional songs from around the
world.
Graham was diagnosed with lung cancer in 2008 and died on 15 December of that year. He is survived by his two daughters,Mercy and Kim.
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