Nick Drake
Nicholas Rodney Drake (19 June 1948 – 25 November 1974) was an English singer-songwriter. An accomplished acoustic guitarist, Drake signed to Island Records at the age of twenty while still a student at Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge. His debut album, Five Leaves Left, was released in 1969, and was followed by two more albums, Bryter Layter (1971) and Pink Moon (1972).
Drake suffered from depression and was reluctant to perform in front of live audiences. Upon completion of Pink Moon, he withdrew from both performance and recording, retreating to his parents' home in rural Warwickshire. In 1974, at the age of 26, Drake died from an overdose of antidepressants, which was ruled a suicide by the coroner.
Drake did not reach a wide audience during his lifetime, but found posthumous acclaim following the release of Fruit Tree, a box set released by his label. He has influenced numerous artists in the folk genre. The first Drake biography in English appeared in 1997; it was followed by the documentary films A Stranger Among Us in 1999 and A Skin Too Few: The Days of Nick Drake in 2000.
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