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‘Across the evening sky’: the late voices of Sandy Denny, Judy Collins and Nina Simone

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posted on 2023-06-08, 20:53 authored by Richard Elliott
This chapter explores the work of three female musicians – Sandy Denny, Judy Collins and Nina Simone – whose work offers valuable insights into the interplay of history, biography and memory. It focuses specifically on the representation of innocence and experience via the "late voice". "Lateness", a concept exemplified by these artists but which extends to a broad range of modern (post mid-twentieth century) popular musics, refers to five primary issues: chronology (the stage in an artist's career); the vocal act (the ability to convincingly portray experience); afterlife (posthumous careers made possible by phonography); retrospection (how voices "look back" or anticipate looking back); and the writing of age, experience, lateness and loss into song texts. The main case study of the chapter is the song ‘Who Knows Where the Time Goes’, written by Denny and later performed by Collins and Simone. The song is analysed in terms of its representation of time and experience and in relation to the lives and works of its interpreters.

History

Publication status

  • Published

File Version

  • Published version

Publisher

Routledge

Page range

141-153

Pages

238.0

Book title

Gender, Age and Musical Creativity

Place of publication

London

ISBN

9781472430854

Department affiliated with

  • Music Publications

Full text available

  • No

Peer reviewed?

  • Yes

Editors

Lisa Colton, Catherine Haworth

Legacy Posted Date

2015-05-27

First Compliant Deposit (FCD) Date

2016-03-22

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