Well Fred, I think these people don't get mentioned enough, but others may disagree...
Sandy Denny : 'Nothing More' {Fotheringay}
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I3x01BYDmDY&fmt=18
One of Sandy's most beautiful songs. She was a tormented soul, haunted by feelings of inadequacy, yet she had a beautiful voice {Robert Plant refered to her as "the best of all the British girls"}. She had the talent to write deep and emotional lyrics, which touch the soul, possibly reflecting her own inner turmoil. This song, along with many others she wrote / sang, truly stands the test of time.
I would also mention one of the last {and greatest} songs she wrote for Fairport Convention, 'One More Chance'
http://www.last.fm/music/Fairport+Convention/_/One+More+Chance?autostart
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Christine McVie : 'Songbird'
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E-cxtm6JJv4&fmt=18
Whilst the Fleetwood Mac fans of the world tend to rave about Stevie, Lindsey and Peter, the first-lady of British Blues-Pop-Rock, Christine, is so often overlooked. Before officially joining the legendary band, she had won two awards for Best Female Singer for her work with Chicken Shack, and released a still-loved solo album. But of her many loved FM songs, this is the most enduring and heartfelt. She was singing of the end of a marriage, the start of new relationships, and her love for her friends and fellow band members. In her own words, it is "about nobody and everybody…in retrospect, it’s like an anthem…a little prayer of sorts."
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Ian Anderson : 'Dark Ages' {Jethro Tull}
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AuM-yatN0pI&fmt=18
(still as relevant 30 years on)
This is one of Ian's most philosophical, political and interesting songs. The "Stormwatch" album was very much about Ian's thoughts on the state of Britain in 1978/79, and this song was about the "Winter of Discontent". He sings of power cuts, picket lines, the rich, revolution, useless government, and loss of what we know. The music has a very 'dark' quality to it, but also an energy and drive.
Documentary: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uxp_H-8hsIw&fmt=18
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Nick Drake : 'Time Has Told Me'
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t5HsQsmJsRY&fmt=18
Another lost soul, very like Sandy. Nick had terrible stagefright and spent a long time on antidepressants, and yet his songs have a depth and knowing to them, as though his inspirations came from another place. This is for me the best of his songs, a song of love and affection and devotion.
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Mark Knopfler : 'Tunnel of Love' {Dire Straits}
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GrDK0UoAkfY&fmt=18
The other philosopher. Like Ian, Mark gives his interpretations and fictionalisations of real everyday life. This is one of Dire Straits' most classic songs, a story of young fleeting love, told against the backdrop of a fairground. From the opening of 'The Carousel Waltz' to the closing guitar work, the music and lyrics combine to evoke the very images they depict ~ I can see the characters, hear the fair rides...
MQ : Sandy Denny ~ "Like an Old Fashioned Waltz"
song : 'No End'