A collective of genre-straddling talents give new life to songs by Nick Drake, John Martyn and Sandy Denny

From a youthful hook-up with the Rolling Stones to crafting his bleakly brilliant final album, three extracts from an exhaustive new biography offer the most nuanced portrait to date of the 70s singer-songwriter

In the dead of night 50 years ago, two men came together to make a pared-back masterpiece that is still beguiling fans to this day. John Wood remembers the singer’s intense, astonishing reinvention

To help readers through the latest lockdowns, Guardian Australia staff nominated the songs that never fail them. The resulting playlist is … well, deranged

A new book explores a musical friendship entailing joy, anger, ‘mountains of drugs’ … and tragedy. In this extract, the pair’s friends examine a complex rivalry

Scott Walker, Slowdive, Smokey Robinson and Della Reese are among the artists spinning this week’s clockwise playlist

Michael Jackson’s estate made $115m last year – proof that artists’ work can carry on making a fortune after their death. From Nick Drake to Elvis, it’s about selling an artist as if they are still alive – and learning how to say no

Canadian singer-songwriter whose forthcoming album of lush chamber-pop is full of awkward characters and lovely atmospherics

Bittersweet, articulate, beautiful or bold? Suggest selections for a special form of sadness in songs for this week’s sorrowful but strangely uplifting topic, says Peter Kimpton