Nicholas Rodney "Nick" Drake (June 19, 1948–November, 25 1974) was an English singer-songwriter and musician best known for his haunting, acoustic, autumn tinged songs. His primary instrument was the guitar, although he was also proficient at piano, clarinet and saxophone. Although he failed to find a wide audience during his lifetime, Drake's work has become more and more listened to and respected, to the point that he now ranks among the most influential English singer-songwriters of the last 50 years.
At some time during the night of November 24th/25th 1974, Nick Drake died at home in Far Leys from an overdose of amitriptyline, a type of antidepressant. He had gone to bed early the night before, after spending the afternoon visiting a friend. His mother claimed that, around dawn, he left his room for the kitchen. His family was used to hearing him do this many times before but, during this instance, he did not make a sound. They presumed that he was eating a bowl of cereal. He returned to his room a short while later, and took some pills "to help him sleep". Drake was accustomed to keeping his own hours; he frequently had difficulty sleeping, and would often stay up through the night playing and listening to music, then sleeping late into the following morning. Recalling the events of that night, his mother later stated: "I never used to disturb him at all. But it was about 12 o’clock, and I went in, because really it seemed it was time he got up. And he was lying across the bed. The first thing I saw was his long, long legs." There was no suicide note, although a letter addressed to Ryde was found close to his bed.
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