Julie Ann Felix (June 14, 1938 – March 22, 2020) was an American-British folk singer and recording artist who achieved success, particularly on British television, in the late 1960s and early 1970s. She later performed and released albums on her own record label.

Early life and education

Felix was born in

Santa Barbara, California Santa Barbara ( es, Santa Bárbara, meaning "Saint Barbara") is a coastal city in Santa Barbara County, California, of which it is also the county seat. Situated on a south-facing section of coastline, the longest such section on the West Coas ...

, to a father of Mexican and Native American origin and mother of English and Welsh ancestry. She graduated in 1956 from high school in

Westchester, Los Angeles Westchester is a neighborhood in the City of Los Angeles and the Westside Region of Los Angeles County, California. It is home to Los Angeles International Airport, Loyola Marymount University, Otis College of Art and Design, and Westchester ...

Career

Felix grew up in a musical household -- her father was a professional

mariachi Mariachi (, , ) is a genre of regional Mexican music that dates back to at least the 18th century, evolving over time in the countryside of various regions of western Mexico. The usual mariachi group today consists of as many as eight violins, t ...

musician and her mother was an amateur singer who loved the music of

Burl Ives Burl Icle Ivanhoe Ives (June 14, 1909 – April 14, 1995) was an American musician, actor, and author with a career that spanned more than six decades. Ives began his career as an itinerant singer and guitarist, eventually launching his own rad ...

. Her father taught her to play

ukulele The ukulele ( ; from haw, ukulele , approximately ), also called Uke, is a member of the lute family of instruments of Portuguese origin and popularized in Hawaii. It generally employs four nylon strings. The tone and volume of the instrumen ...

and then guitar, and she wrote her first song at the age of seven. After studying speech and drama at the University of California at Santa Barbara, Felix worked as a sports mistress at a school for disabled children. At this time she began her music career, singing at night in coffee shops in her native Los Angeles, where she met a young

David Crosby David Van Cortlandt Crosby (born August 14, 1941) is an American singer, guitarist, and songwriter. In addition to his solo career, he was a founding member of both the Byrds and Crosby, Stills & Nash. Crosby joined the Byrds in 1964. They got ...

. After saving up $1000 from her job, she left the USA in June 1962 and travelled extensively around Europe for around two years, often playing in bars and coffee shops to earn extra money. It was during her stay on the Greek island of Hydra, that she met

Leonard Cohen Leonard Norman Cohen (September 21, 1934November 7, 2016) was a Canadian singer-songwriter, poet and novelist. His work explored religion, politics, isolation, depression, sexuality, loss, death, and romantic relationships. He was inducted in ...

, who at this time had become part of the 'salon' that formed around expatriate Australian writers George Johnston and

Charmian Clift Charmian Clift (30 August 19238 July 1969) was an Australian writer and essayist. She was the second wife and literary collaborator of George Johnston. Biography Clift was born in Kiama, New South Wales in 1923. She married George Johnston ...

. She arrived in the United Kingdom in 1964 and became the first solo folk performer signed to a major British record label when she gained a recording contract with

Decca Records Decca Records is a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis (Decca), Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934 by Lewis, Jack Kapp, American Decca's first president, and Milton Rackmil, who later became American ...

, for whom she recorded three solo albums. Her first major break was a headlining appearance at the Fairfield Hall in Croydon in 1965, and later that year her first solo show gave her the distinction of being the first folksinger to fill the

Royal Albert Hall The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London. One of the UK's most treasured and distinctive buildings, it is held in trust for the nation and managed by a registered charity which receives no govern ...

, and she was described by ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...

'' as "Britain's First Lady of Folk". Her first major break in British television was an appearance on the

Eamonn Andrews Eamonn Andrews, (19 December 1922 – 5 November 1987) was an Irish radio and television presenter, employed primarily in the United Kingdom from the 1950s to the 1980s. From 1960 to 1964 he chaired the Radio Éireann Authority (now the RTÉ A ...

TV show, which was so well-received that she was invited back to perform again the following week. Felix was also the first "pop" musician ever to perform at Westminster Abbey. During this period Felix met

Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained worldwide fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John Lennon. One ...

, and they had a brief affair, although they kept it kept secret, since McCartney was at the time 'officially' still in a relationship with his longtime girlfriend

Jane Asher Jane Asher (born 5 April 1946)The International Who's Who of Women, 3rd edition, ed. Elizabeth Sleeman, Europa Publications, 2002, p. 29 is an English actress and author. She achieved early fame as a child actress and has worked extensively in f ...

. Felix also reportedly had an affair with singer Dusty Springfield. In 1966, on the way to the launch party for her debut album, Felix had a chance meeting with comedian

David Frost Sir David Paradine Frost (7 April 1939 – 31 August 2013) was a British television host, journalist, comedian and writer. He rose to prominence during the satire boom in the United Kingdom when he was chosen to host the satirical programme ' ...

in the elevator of her Chelsea apartment building. Frost -- who had recently been chosen as the host of a new BBC topical satire series -- accompanied Felix to the launch, and was so impressed by her performance that he lobbied the BBC to include her as one of the two resident musical performers on his new BBC television programme ''

The Frost Report ''The Frost Report'' is a satirical television show hosted by David Frost. It introduced John Cleese, Ronnie Barker, and Ronnie Corbett to television, and launched the careers of other writers and performers. It premiered on BBC1 on 10 March ...

'' (the other being American musical satirist

Tom Lehrer Thomas Andrew Lehrer (; born April 9, 1928) is an American former musician, singer-songwriter, satirist, and mathematician, having lectured on mathematics and musical theater. He is best known for the pithy and humorous songs that he recorded in ...

). Her appearances on the series brought her international recognition and made her a household name in the UK. In 1966, following the end of her deal with Decca, Felix signed a new contract with

Fontana Records Fontana Records is a record label that was started in the 1950s as a subsidiary of the Dutch Philips Records. The independent label distributor Fontana Distribution takes its name from the label. History Fontana started in the 1950s as a subs ...

, a subsidiary of the Dutch-based Philips label. She made six albums for Fontana between 1966 and 1969. Her first Fontana LP, ''Changes'', was a UK Top 40 hit, reaching #27, and the label also released two "tie-in" EPs of songs Felix performed on the ''The Frost Report''. In 1967, with strong support from Frost (with whom she had a long-running romantic relationship), Felix was hired to host and perform in her own musical variety shows on the BBC2, which ran from 1967 to 1970. Felix made two consecutive musical-variety shows for the BBC. The first was ''Once More With Felix''. The premiere episode was transmitted on December 9, 1967, and it was the first BBC TV series made in colour, and one of the first British shows of that genre to be hosted by a female "pop" performer (Dusty Springfield's show ''Dusty'' had premiered 18 months earlier, in June 1966). In an interview promoting her 80th birthday concert in 2018, Felix recalled that the BBC gave her one of the first colour televisions in Britain at the time, and she recounted how her Chelsea flat was "packed" with friends and guests who came to watch the Boxing Day 1967 premiere broadcast of

The Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...

Magical Mystery Tour ''Magical Mystery Tour'' is a record by the English rock band the Beatles that was released as a double EP in the United Kingdom and an LP in the United States. It includes the soundtrack to the 1967 television film of the same name. The EP ...

'' on her colour TV. Many notable musical guests featured on ''Once More with Felix'' and its successor ''The Julie Felix Show'', including

Dusty Springfield Mary Isobel Catherine Bernadette O'Brien (16 April 1939 – 2 March 1999), known professionally as Dusty Springfield, was an English singer. With her distinctive mezzo-soprano sound, she was a popular singer of blue-eyed soul, Pop music, p ...

Billy Preston William Everett Preston (September 2, 1946 – June 6, 2006) was an American keyboardist, singer and songwriter whose work encompassed R&B, rock, soul, funk, and gospel. Preston was a top session keyboardist in the 1960s, during which he ba ...

The Kinks The Kinks were an English rock band formed in Muswell Hill, north London, in 1963 by brothers Ray and Dave Davies. They are regarded as one of the most influential rock bands of the 1960s. The band emerged during the height of British rhythm ...

Tim Buckley Timothy Charles Buckley III (February 14, 1947 – June 29, 1975) was an American musician. His music and style changed considerably through the years. Buckley began his career based in folk music, but his subsequent albums experimented with ja ...

The Hollies The Hollies are a British pop rock band, formed in 1962. One of the leading British groups of the 1960s and into the mid-1970s, they are known for their distinctive three-part vocal harmony style. Allan Clarke (singer), Allan Clarke and Graham ...

The Incredible String Band The Incredible String Band (sometimes abbreviated as ISB) were a Scottish psychedelic folk band formed by Clive Palmer, Robin Williamson and Mike Heron in Edinburgh in 1966. The band built a considerable following, especially in the British co ...

Fleetwood Mac Fleetwood Mac are a British-American rock band, formed in London in 1967. Fleetwood Mac were founded by guitarist Peter Green, drummer Mick Fleetwood and guitarist Jeremy Spencer, before bassist John McVie joined the line-up for their epony ...

, and

The Four Tops ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

, as well as comedians

Peter Cook Peter Edward Cook (17 November 1937 – 9 January 1995) was an English actor, comedian, satirist, playwright and screenwriter. He was the leading figure of the British satire boom of the 1960s, and he was associated with the anti-establishme ...

and

Spike Milligan Terence Alan "Spike" Milligan (16 April 1918 – 27 February 2002) was an Irish actor, comedian, writer, musician, poet, and playwright. The son of an English mother and Irish father, he was born in British Raj, British Colonial India, where h ...

. She invited her old friend

to appear in 1968, marking his British TV debut, and

Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin were an English rock band formed in London in 1968. The group comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham. With a heavy, guitar-driven sound, they are ci ...

lead guitarist,

Jimmy Page James Patrick Page (born 9 January 1944) is an English musician who achieved international success as the guitarist and founder of the rock band Led Zeppelin. Page is prolific in creating guitar riffs. His style involves various alternative ...

gave a rare solo performance, playing the "

White Summer "White Summer" is a guitar instrumental by English rock guitarist Jimmy Page, that incorporates Indian and Arabic musical influences. Page initially recorded and performed it with the Yardbirds and later included it in many Led Zeppelin concer ...

" and "

Black Mountain Side "Black Mountain Side" is an instrumental by the English rock band Led Zeppelin. It was recorded in October 1968 at Olympic Studios in London, and is included on the group's 1969 debut album ''Led Zeppelin''. Composition and recording "Black Mo ...

" guitar pieces. Felix also regularly performed with her guests -- surviving segments from the show include her duetting with Cohen, singing and playing guitar with The Incredible String Band on their song "Paintbox" and singing her own song "Going to the Zoo", backed by The Hollies. Sadly, the BBC subsequently wiped most of the master tapes of her shows and only selected excerpts survive, which vary greatly in quality. Some of these can be viewed on YouTube. On May 1, 1967 she appeared on the German TV show ''

Beat-Club ''Beat-Club'' is a West German music programme that ran from September 1965 to December 1972. It was broadcast from Bremen, West Germany on ''Erstes Deutsches Fernsehen'', the national public TV channel of the ARD, and produced by one of its m ...

''; in September 1968 at the International Essen Song Days. She performed at the

Isle of Wight Festival The Isle of Wight Festival is a British music festival which takes place annually in Newport on the Isle of Wight, England. It was originally a counterculture event held from 1968 to 1970. The 1970 event was by far the largest of these early ...

in 1969. In 1968, Felix was caught in possession of cannabis at Heathrow Airport, en route to Amsterdam. She was arrested, charged, and remanded on bail, and her public image suffered somewhat, although her TV show was not cancelled, as she had feared it might be. She was defended in court by

John Mortimer Sir John Clifford Mortimer (21 April 1923 – 16 January 2009) was a British barrister, dramatist, screenwriter and author. He is best known for novels about a barrister named Horace Rumpole. Early life Mortimer was born in Hampstead, London, ...

, QC. In 1971 Felix travelled to New Zealand and performed at the Western Springs music festival. On 19 December that year she gave birth to her only child, a daughter, Tanit Alexandra Teresa Guadalupe, choosing to raise her daughter herself as a single mother. Felix would not discuss her child's father and never revealed his identity. Bill Lewis with Julie Felix (cropped)

She had two

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

hits Hits or H.I.T.S. may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * ''H.I.T.S.'', 1991 album by New Kids on the Block * ''...Hits'' (Phil Collins album), 1998 * ''Hits'' (compilation series), 1984–2006; 2014 - a British compilation album se ...

in 1970, the first of several on the RAK label, produced by

Mickie Most Michael Peter Hayes (20 June 1938 – 30 May 2003), known as Mickie Most, was an English record producer behind scores of hit singles for acts such as the Animals, Herman's Hermits, the Nashville Teens, Donovan, Lulu, Suzi Quatro, Hot Chocolate ...

. The first was with the song titled " If I Could (El Cóndor Pasa)", while the second, "Heaven Is Here", was written by

Errol Brown Lester Errol Brown MBE (12 November 1943 – 6 May 2015) was a British-Jamaican singer and songwriter, best known as the frontman of the soul and funk band Hot Chocolate. In 2004, Brown received the Ivor Novello Award for Outstanding Contributi ...

and

Tony Wilson Anthony Howard Wilson (20 February 1950 – 10 August 2007) was a British record label owner, radio and television presenter, nightclub manager, impresario and a journalist for Granada Television, the BBC and Channel 4. As a co-founder of ...

Hot Chocolate Hot chocolate, also known as hot cocoa or drinking chocolate, is a heated drink consisting of shaved chocolate, melted chocolate or cocoa powder, heated milk or water, and usually a sweetener like whipped cream or marshmallows. Hot chocolate ...

Later life and death

Felix continued to record throughout her career and released fourteen albums on various labels between 1972 and 2018; many were released by her own label, Remarkable Records, including the 1989 album ''Bright Shadows''. In the late 1970s Felix relocated to Norway for several years, but she grew disenchanted with the direction her career was taking and returned to her native California, where she took a break from music to study yoga and other spiritual practices. She resumed performing in the late 1980s, and returned to the UK, where she resided for the rest of her life. Social activism and charity work played a large role in Felix's life and career, and she performed on behalf of or was an activist for many causes. On March 24, 2008, she appeared on a

BBC Four BBC Four is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was launched on 2 March 2002

programme in which stars of ''The Frost Report'' gathered for a night celebrating 40 years since ''Frost Over England''; Felix sang "

Blowin' in the Wind "Blowin' in the Wind" is a song written by Bob Dylan in 1962. It was released as a single and included on his album ''The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan'' in 1963. It has been described as a protest song and poses a series of rhetorical questions about ...

". She appeared at the Wynd Theatre,

Melrose, Scottish Borders Melrose ( gd, Maolros, "bald moor") is a small town and civil parish in the Scottish Borders, historically in Roxburghshire. It lies within the Eildon committee area of Scottish Borders Council. History The original Melrose was ''Mailros'', mean ...

, on an annual basis in the 2000s. After her return to the UK, Felix lived in

Chorleywood Chorleywood is both a village and a civil parish in the Three Rivers District, Hertfordshire, on the border with Buckinghamshire, approximately northwest of Charing Cross. The village is adjacent to the Chiltern Hills Area of Outstanding Na ...

, Hertfordshire, England until her death, still recording and performing. In 2018, she celebrated her 80th birthday with a special concert at the Charing Cross Theatre, which featured guest appearances by

John Paul Jones John Paul Jones (born John Paul; July 6, 1747 July 18, 1792) was a Scottish-American naval captain who was the United States' first well-known naval commander in the American Revolutionary War. He made many friends among U.S political elites ( ...

, singer

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and composer-arranger-musician John Cameron (famed for his collaborations with

Donovan Donovan Phillips Leitch (born 10 May 1946), known mononymously as Donovan, is a Scottish musician, songwriter, and record producer. He developed an eclectic and distinctive style that blended folk, jazz, pop, psychedelic rock and world mus ...

and

). Julie Felix died on March 22, 2020 after a short illness."American-born folk singer Julie Felix dies aged 81"
''The Belfast Telegraph'', March 23, 2020. Retrieved March 23, 2020.

Discography

Albums

* 1964 ''Julie Felix'' (

Decca Decca may refer to: Music * Decca Records or Decca Music Group, a record label * Decca Gold, a classical music record label owned by Universal Music Group * Decca Broadway, a musical theater record label * Decca Studios, a recording facility in W ...

) including version of

Deportee (Plane Wreck at Los Gatos) "Deportee (Plane Wreck at Los Gatos)" is a protest song with lyrics by Woody Guthrie and music by Martin Hoffman detailing the January 28, 1948 crash of a plane near Los Gatos Canyon, west of Coalinga in Fresno County, California, United Stat ...

* 1965 ''2nd Album'' (Decca) * 1966 ''3rd Album'' (Decca) * 1966 ''Changes'' (

Fontana Fontana may refer to: Places Italy *Fontana Liri, comune in the Province of Frosinone *Fontanafredda, comune in the Province of Pordenone *Fontanarosa, comune in the Province of Avellino *Francavilla Fontana, comune in the Province of Brindisi * ...

) – UK No. 27 * 1967 ''In Concert'' (World) * 1967 ''Flowers'' (Fontana) * 1968 ''This World Goes Round and Round'' (Fontana) * 1968 ''Julie Felix's World'' (Fontana) * 1969 ''Going to the Zoo'' (Fontana) * 1972 ''Clotho's Web'' ( RAK) * 1974 ''Lightning'' (

EMI EMI Group Limited (originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records Ltd. or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At the time of its break-up in 201 ...

) * 1977 ''Hota Chocolata'' (Monte Rosa) * 1982 ''Colours in the Rain'' (Scranta) * 1982 ''Blowing in the Wind'' (Scranta/Dingle's) * 1987 ''Amazing Grace'' (Starburst) * 1989 ''Bright Shadows'' (Remarkable) * 1993 ''Branches in the Mist'' (Remarkable) * 1995 ''Windy Morning'' (Remarkable) * 1998 ''Fire – My Spirit'' (Remarkable) * 2002 ''Starry Eyed and Laughing: Songs by Bob Dylan'' (Remarkable) * 2008 ''Highway of Diamonds'' (Remarkable) * 2013 La Que Sabe (She Who Knows) (Remarkable) * 2018 ''Rock Me Goddess'' (Talking Elephant)

EPs

*1965 ''Sings Dylan & Guthrie'' (Decca) * 1966 ''Songs from the Frost Report'' (Fontana) * 1967 ''Songs from the Frost Report, Vol.2'' (Fontana)

Singles

*1965 "Someday Soon" (Decca) * 1966 "I Can't Touch the Sun" (Fontana) * 1967 "Saturday Night" (Fontana) * 1967 "The Magic of the Playground" (Fontana) * 1968 " That's No Way to Say Goodbye" (Fontana) * 1970 " If I Could (El Cóndor Pasa)" (RAK) – UK No. 19 * 1970 "Heaven Is Here" (RAK) – UK No. 22 * 1971 "Snakeskin" (RAK) * 1971 "Moonlight" (RAK) * 1972 "Fire Water Earth and Air" (RAK) * 1974 "Lady With the Braid" (EMI) * 1974 "Finally Getting to Know One Another" (EMI) * 1974 "I Dreamed I Saw St. Augustine" (EMI) * 1977 "Hota Chocolata" (Talent) * 1978 "Come Out" (Talent) * 1981 "Yoke (We Believe)" (Scranta) * 1981 "Dance With Me" (Scranta) * 1988 "The Sea and the Sky" (Remarkable) * 1992 "Woman" (Remarkable)

References

External links

*
Link to Jimmy Page's performance here
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Felix, Julie 1938 births 2020 deaths American expatriates in England American women singers American folk singers Musicians from Santa Barbara, California People from Santa Barbara, California Rak Records artists People from Chorleywood American folk guitarists American women guitarists American acoustic guitarists American women songwriters Songwriters from California American musicians of Mexican descent American people who self-identify as being of Native American descent American people of Welsh descent Guitarists from California 21st-century American women