Terry Reid’s remarkable singing voice ensured he stood out in a golden age of British rock vocalists. So much so that in the late 1960s both Jimmy Page and Ritchie Blackmore, the respective guitarists and leaders of the heavy rock bands Led Zeppelin and Deep Purple, approached him to front their groups. That Reid, who has died of cancer aged 75, turned them both down, could have reduced him to a footnote in rock history, yet his singular talent continued to be recognised by musicians from Aretha Franklin to Dr Dre.
Reid’s lack of chart success – he would only release six studio albums in a career that spanned almost 60 years – should not detract from his achievements: alongside his powerful voice (his nickname was “Superlungs”), he was also a gifted guitarist and songwriter, while two of his albums, River (1973) and Seed of Memory (1976), would achieve retrospective critical acclaim and find, once reissued, a far wider audience than when first released.
