Folk singer Nick Drake was especially well remembered for his stage performances, but not in a good way. The Atlantic says those who saw him perform remember an awkward, nervous guy who seemed horribly uncomfortable and mumbled his way through his sets like someone who would really rather be anywhere but the stage. If there were ever an example of a person born before his time, Nick Drake was it. Take him off that stage and give him a trip forward in time and a YouTube channel and he'd have been a star.
Nick Drake was made for the internet, but he was born four decades too soon. He was basically a creative mind without an outlet — desperate to share his work with someone but too shy to do it. In his time and just afterward he had a small following, and critics generally acknowledged his talent. In 1972 one wrote, "The more you listen to Drake, the more compelling his music becomes — but all the time it hides from you. ... It could be that Nick Drake does not exist at all."
After he died from an overdose (it is debated whether it was intentional or accidental) in 1974, his work sat mostly stagnant until it was rediscovered, by of all people, Volkswagen marketers. The car company used the song "Pink Moon" in a commercial, and people who saw the commercial liked the song, and pretty soon Nick Drake was on the Billboard charts, 40 years after his death.
If you or anyone you know is having suicidal thoughts, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline by dialing 988 or by calling 1-800-273-TALK (8255).
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