My standard answer to the question, Who was the greatest female vocalist of the twentieth century? is simple, clear and unarguably true: Ella Fitzgerald. Beyond dispute, as I'm sure you'll agree. But my goodness me, Sandy Denny wasn't far behind, as I reminded myself this evening after stumbling upon a video of her with Fotheringay, live at the Beat Club in long ago 1970.
But here's the thing. Listening to Ella invariably makes me happy. Sheer uncompromised joy. Listening to Sandy evokes nothing but sadness and loss. Who could have known where the time would go, eh?
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