Go Margo Go Go Go...

If you're enchanted by lost singer/songwriters that time once forgot, then fear not, as Arm's Reach is here to draw your attention to such folk of that variety. A recent jazz/folk revival has seen a host of female artists such as Vashti Bunyan, Anne Briggs and Judee Sill being given the reissue treatment, and in turn, a new set of keys to the pantheon of popular music. These artists all share strangely fascinating stories, which halted their careers during their very peek.

One artist who rarely gets mentioned is Margo Guryan, a songstress from New York who made the seminal 'Take A Picture' album in 1968, and then quit shortly after to focus on a career in teaching. Guryan, unlike her peers, was more Astrud Gilberto than Joni Mitchell. She specialised in light, jazz-tinged melodies that produced the kind of breezy pop we would associate with The Lovin Spoonful or The Fifth Dimension.

'Take A Picture', now considered a classic, sold disappointingly and thus failed to turn Guryan's talents from songwriter to performer. However, a whole host of stars, including Glen Campbell, Julie London and Mama Cass would later take her songs to the wider audience they deserved. Guryan's eponymous and only album 'Take A Picture' can be bought for $12 (six quid) by clicking here. Go on, add some music to your day!