In Memoriam pays tribute to those who have left this world, and the songs they left us to remember them by.

Beverley Kutner, who passed away on April 27, was a supremely talented musician, bandleader and songwriter, who used her classical drama training to present a beguiling figure on stage. In 1966, when Decca Records wanted to showcase new recording technology, combined with the best music available in London in the Swinging Sixties, they chose her to launch the label, from a stable that included Cat Stevens and David Jones/Bowie. They gave her the cream of London’s session musicians to realize her musical vision, confident in the success that would follow. Later, they provided a budget to travel to record in Woodstock, at that time the center of the folk revolution in the US.

Beverley earned the admiration of Paul McCartney and Barbra Streisand for her music, and the enmity of Sandy Denny, who feared being outshone by another folk songstress. She performed at the Monterey Festival of 1967, and was treated as a peer by Simon and Garfunkel, Jimi Hendrix and all. She recorded some of her best music nearly 50 years on from that heyday, when she could once again call on the best musicians due to her reputation.

Despite all of that, she is likely to be remembered for her relationship with a man.
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