British folk singer Beverley Martyn died on April 27 at 79, ending a life that swung from 1960s stardom to decades of silence. At 18 she fronted the Levee Breakers and performed at the 1967 Monterey Pop Festival alongside Otis Redding and Jimi Hendrix. A brief romance with Paul Simon led to a vocal cameo on “Fakin’ It” in 1968.

She married guitarist John Martyn in 1969 and moved to a Woodstock farmhouse where the couple recorded the influential folk‑jazz album Stormbringer! (1970). John’s increasingly violent behavior forced Beverley to abandon her own material, even as Warner Bros. offered to release her song “Can’t Get the One I Want” as a single. The marriage produced three children but stalled her career for decades.

After divorcing John in the early 1980s, Martyn resurfaced with the 2014 solo record The Phoenix and the Turtle, earning a Guardian commendation as a long‑overdue comeback. Limited touring and occasional support from artists like Art Garfunkel kept her name alive, while the posthumous release of “Five Leaves Left” material generated modest streaming revenue. Her memoir and final album cement her legacy in folk history.