DAVY GRAHAMwas a British guitar virtuoso whose bluesy folk broke down the barriers of the genre and influenced some of the biggest names in music.He died on 15 December, 2008, aged 68, having spent his life as an undercurrent, largely unseen but still stirring the music of the world.David Michael Gordon Graham was born in Hinckley, Leicestershire, on 22 November, 1940. He learnt the guitar at the age of 12 and was a devotee of the eclectic playing of Steve Benbow.At 19 he wrote Angi, an instrumental that, after its inclusion on his debut EP 3/4 AD (1962) would be covered numerous times by the likes of Bert Jansch and Simon and Garfunkel. He was also credited at this time with popularising the DADGAD guitar tuning, previously popular with calypso guitarists, which allowed greater harmonic flexibility.During the 1960s he continued to cause mini revolutions in folk music with compositions in a wide range of styles, from raw blues to psychedelica freak-outs.His playing style influenced a great many famed guitarists, including John Renbourn, Martin Carthy, Paul Simon and even Jimmy Page - one of the most famous pieces of music that originated from Davy Graham was the intro to Stairway to Heaven which is almost identical to a gentle refrain in Graham’s Cry Me A River (1959).His life was devoted to touring the world, picking up music from across the continents, from New Orleans to the Middle East and he can therefore be described as a pioneer of ‘world music’, though his devotion to a heartfelt tune would probably have seen him resist such a nondescript tag.
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