History Music / NickDrake

** The never completed fourth album (of which "Rider On The Wheel", "Hanging On A Star" "Voices/Voice From The Mountain", "Black Eyed Dog" and "Tow The Line" were to have formed the first side), shows Nick taking influence from the tunings of North African music, most evident in "Black Eyed Dog".

* RearrangeTheSong: ''Five Leaves Left'' outtakes "I Was Made To Love Magic" and "Time Of No Reply" had appeared with relatively simple orchestration on the "Time Of No Reply" compilation in the 80s. However, when putting together its official replacement "Made To Love Magic" in the early 2000s, Robert Kirby rediscovered his original lusher orchestration that would have been added to the tracks had they been mixed for ''Five Leaves Left'', and newly recorded it. As a result there are distinctly different versions of these tracks, with the version of "Magic" having a sparseness close to "Way To Blue".

** The version of "Hanging On A Star" on Made To Love Magic has the guitar playing and vocals in two different time signatures. It would be very hard to play both at the same time, so it's possible he overdubbed it.

He never achieved popular success in his lifetime, and died tragically young at 26 from an overdose of antidepressants in an apparent suicide, but [[VindicatedByHistory recognition for both him and his work grew considerably]] [[PosthumousPopularityPotential after his death]], even with [[ShortLivedBigImpact the small handful of works]] he was able to release before his death (some of which didn't sell more than 5000 copies upon release). Some of his best-known songs include "Things Behind the Sun", "Northern Sky" and "Pink Moon" (which exploded in popularity after [[RevivalByCommercialization being used for a Volkswagen Cabriolet commercial in 1999]]).

* TheMuse: Drake is cited as an influence by a truly staggering number of musicians, when you consider how small his fanbase was when he was alive. Robert Smith of Music/{{The Cure|Band}}, Damon Gough (AKA Badly Drawn Boy), Music/BethOrton, and Peter Buck of Music/{{REM}} are probably the most famous. Creator/BradPitt is a fan, and narrated the documentary ''Lost Boy: In Search of Nick Drake'' for Creator/{{BBC}} Radio 2. "Solid Air" by Music/JohnMartyn and "Life in a Northern Town" by The Dream Academy were written as tributes to him. Music/{{Beck}}'s albums ''Sea Change'' and ''Morning Phase'' are in large part modeled on Drake's work.

* DoesNotLikeShoes: The cover of ''Bryter Layter'' shows him with his shoes off.

His big sister, Gabrielle Drake, is an actress, probably best known for TV's ''Series/UFO1970''. (Indeed, when Nick was alive, what little attention he did get from the press often referred to him as Gabrielle's brother.) In recent years, as Nick's reputation has grown, she has devoted a considerable amount of time to managing his music and seeing to the release of recordings that never made it onto his albums. She can be heard singing on his posthumous ''Family Tree'', as can their mother, Molly. Molly Drake was a singer and songwriter as well; though she apparently never intended to release any of the recordings she made in the 1950's, in 2013 an album of her music, ''Molly Drake'', was released. Joe Boyd, Nick's producer, called Molly's music "the missing link in the Nick Drake story."

* TheMuse: Drake is cited as an influence by a truly staggering number of musicians, when you consider how small his fanbase was when he was alive. Robert Smith of Music/{{The Cure|Band}}, Damon Gough (AKA Badly Drawn Boy), Music/BethOrton, and Peter Buck of Music/{{REM}} are probably the most famous. Creator/BradPitt is a fan, and narrated the documentary ''Lost Boy: In Search of Nick Drake'' for Creator/{{BBC}} Radio 2. "Solid Air" by Music/JohnMartyn and "Life in a Northern Town" by The Dream Academy were written as tributes to him.

His big sister, Gabrielle Drake, is an actress, probably best known for TV's ''Series/{{UFO}}''. (Indeed, when Nick was alive, what little attention he did get from the press often referred to him as Gabrielle's brother.) In recent years, as Nick's reputation has grown, she has devoted a considerable amount of time to managing his music and seeing to the release of recordings that never made it onto his albums. She can be heard singing on his posthumous ''Family Tree'', as can their mother, Molly. Molly Drake was a singer and songwriter as well; though she apparently never intended to release any of the recordings she made in the 1950's, in 2013 an album of her music, ''Molly Drake'', was released. Joe Boyd, Nick's producer, called Molly's music "the missing link in the Nick Drake story."

* DarkerAndEdgier: Nick's then ongoing battle with depression led to ''Pink Moon'' having much heavier lyrical content and a bleak, sorrowful tone.

* TheMuse: Drake is cited as an influence by a truly staggering number of musicians, when you consider how small his fanbase was when he was alive. Robert Smith of Music/TheCure, Damon Gough (AKA Badly Drawn Boy), Music/BethOrton, and Peter Buck of Music/{{REM}} are probably the most famous. Creator/BradPitt is a fan, and narrated the documentary ''Lost Boy: In Search of Nick Drake'' for Creator/{{BBC}} Radio 2. "Solid Air" by Music/JohnMartyn and "Life in a Northern Town" by The Dream Academy were written as tributes to him.