November 25

 

Folk music lost one of its most fragile voices today in 1974 when Nick Drake died in his sleep at 26 from an overdose of the antidepressant Tryptizol, ending the brief career of the British singer-songwriter whose melancholic albums went unappreciated in his lifetime but would influence generations after his death…

 

Rock history witnessed its most celebrated farewell on this day in 1976 when The Band performed their final concert, 'The Last Waltz,' on Thanksgiving Day at San Francisco's Winterland Ballroom, featuring Bob Dylan, Neil Young, and others in what Martin Scorsese would immortalize as cinema's greatest concert film…

 

Electric Light Orchestra's steady timekeeper Bev Bevan celebrates his 81st birthday today, the British drummer whose solid foundation supported Jeff Lynne's orchestral pop visions while keeping ELO grounded in rock and roll through their massive success…

 

We remember soul's most passionate voice Percy Sledge on his birthday today in 1941, the Alabama singer whose "When a Man Loves a Woman" became one of the greatest soul ballads ever recorded, his emotional intensity influencing countless R&B singers before his death in 2015…

 

Contemporary Christian music's crossover queen Amy Grant was born on this date in 1960, the singer whose ability to bridge sacred and secular music brought gospel pop to mainstream radio while maintaining her faith-based foundation across four decades.