ADRIAN MA, HOST:
What makes you think of fall? The smell of dry leaves, the sound of a crackling fire, maybe the taste of a pumpkin spice latte? - well, for me, nothing makes me think of fall more than this...
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "ONE OF THESE THINGS FIRST")
NICK DRAKE: (Singing) I could have been a sailor. Could have been a cook.
MA: ...The music of Nick Drake. This song is called "One Of These Things First." And let me tell you that I love this man. Or maybe I should say that I love his music because honestly, the man himself is a bit of a mystery. Nick Drake died 50 years ago this week, and the British singer/songwriter was only 26 years old at the time. As a professional musician, he never saw much success. And I might not even be talking to you about him right now if it weren't for a car commercial.
(SOUNDBITE OF NICK DRAKE SONG, "PINK MOON")
MA: In 2000, Volkswagen featured Drake's song, "Pink Moon," in one of its TV ads. Since then, his songs have been featured in movies and been cited as influences for a lot of contemporary musicians. And to understand more about Drake - the man and the musician - I'm joined now by Richard Morton Jack. He wrote a biography titled simply, "Nick Drake: The Life." Richard, thanks so much for being here.
RICHARD MORTON JACK: Thanks for having me.
MA: Nick Drake released three albums when he was alive, but he didn't see much commercial success. He didn't sell many records. Why didn't he catch on?
MORTON JACK: I think his music requires quite a lot from the listener. It's not immediately arresting and can drift past the listener at a first listen. I think in an era when there was so much material coming out, Nick's music was quite self-effacing and intimate and required immersion from the listener. And he wasn't doing promotion. He wasn't willing to play that game. Not on principle - much more because his personality was so badly suited to the fame game.
MA: Yeah, I understand he was just, like, incredibly shy. What do you think it is about his music that makes it distinctive and draws people to it?
MORTON JACK: I think the most important single factor about Nick's music is that it is simply of very high quality. Nick's songs are very minutely engineered. Every note is exactly where he wanted it to be. He was very strict with himself in terms of quality control. And in fact, quite a lot of songs by him have subsequently surfaced, and they are all of a good standard. So he knew himself pretty well as an artist.
MA: I think Nick Drake - when you first hear him, he doesn't have what I would consider as, like, a classically great singing voice, right? He's like, very understated. What do you think it was about the music itself that just hooked some people?
MORTON JACK: I think Nick's an incredibly fine guitar player. In a generation that threw out a large number of really remarkable players, Nick stands shoulder to shoulder with the greats. There's a song on his first album called "Three Hours" in which he, in a rather understated fashion, plays a completely remarkable series of figures on the guitar that suggest Arabic influences, very exotic, Eastern-derived sounds. But the fingering is absolutely immaculate. Every note is completely, perfectly in place.
(SOUNDBITE OF NICK DRAKE SONG, "THREE HOURS")
MORTON JACK: I think the melodies that he came up with are subtle and original. They may not be immediately things that you'd whistle after one hearing, let's say, but they are full of unexpected turns and distinctively his own. I also think that his three albums each have a very distinct flavor. The first one is more reflective of him as a young man. And the string arrangements by his friend at Cambridge University, Robert Kirby, with whom he collaborated on four songs, create the autumnal atmosphere that you described.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "DAY IS DONE")
DRAKE: (Singing) When the day is done, hope so much your race will be all run.
MORTON JACK: There are obviously classical and folk and blues and jazz influences. There are also influences from bossa nova. There's an awful lot going on beneath the rather placid surface of his work on that first album. When it didn't sell, what they decided to do was to wake up the sound of the record a little by including electric guitars, drums, electric bass, to make it, perhaps, one might say, more radio friendly. So his second album, "Bryter Layter," has more of a pop feel to it.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "HAZEY JANE I")
DRAKE: (Singing) Hey, slow, Jane, let me prove. Slow, slow, Jane, we're on the move.
MORTON JACK: And then for his third record, it's just guitar and voice. So it's a much plainer, simpler instrumental approach.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "PLACE TO BE")
DRAKE: (Singing) When I was young, younger than before, I never saw the truth hanging from the door.
MORTON JACK: So, for me, each of his records is quite a distinctive, artistic musical step from the previous one.
MA: What do you think Nick Drake's musical legacy is? And, like, do you see his influence in other artists?
MORTON JACK: For me, I think the real legacy of Nick's life and music is that it communicates to people who are perhaps struggling themselves in different areas of their own lives. Nick once said to his mother - she shared after his death - that if he had the sense that his music had got through to even one person and made a difference, then that would give him a sense of validation that he didn't have. So I think the sense that it has reached millions of people all over the world who draw strength from it and who regard it as very meaningful in their own personal way, would be of huge comfort and joy to him.
MA: We've been speaking with Richard Morton Jack, writer and Nick Drake's biographer. Thank you so much for joining us, Richard.
MORTON JACK: Thank you so much for having me on.
(SOUNDBITE OF NICK DRAKE SONG, "PINK MOON") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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