Johnny Silvo (born John Frederick Woods; 2 December 1936 – 19 December 2011) was a British

folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Folk Plus or Fo ...

and blues singer.

Biography

Born in 1936, Silvo started his career playing

skiffle Skiffle is a genre of folk music with influences from American folk music, blues, country, bluegrass, and jazz, generally performed with a mixture of manufactured and homemade or improvised instruments. Originating as a form in the United State ...

and

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

and singing solo in nightclubs. When the folk scene took off in the 60s he became a popular guest act at folk clubs. In March 1967 he appeared with his own Johnny Silvo Folk Group on the '' Alex Campbell and His Friends'' LP alongside

Sandy Denny Alexandra Elene MacLean Denny (6 January 1947 – 21 April 1978) was an English singer who was lead singer of the British folk rock band Fairport Convention. She has been described as "the pre-eminent British folk rock singer". After briefly w ...

. A month later an LP called '' Sandy and Johnny'' was released in which the two singers alternated songs. Silvo also performed for nine years as part of a duo with Dave Moses. Johnny was also a presenter on '' Play School'' in the early 1970s. Silvo continued to tour until 2011 when he was forced to cancel his autumn tour because of cancer. Silvo died on 19 December 2011 aged 75, a few weeks after his birthday.

External links

The Guardian obituary Derek Schofield 6th Jan 2012

{{DEFAULTSORT:Silvo, Johnny 1936 births 2011 deaths BBC television presenters British folk singers British blues singers