Song:What A Beautiful Place
Album:What A Beautiful Place
With her 1971 debut album What A Beautiful Place, singer songwriter actor Catherine Howe showed the potential to be a star in England and maybe the US. But by the 80s she became so frustrated with the music business, she quit to raise her family. This made her a cult figure in England and her albums were sought after prizes in the collectors market. She has returned and recorded a CD last year. She was born May 17, 1950 in Halifax, West Yorkshire, England. As a teen, she moved to London to train at the Corona Drama School. She began acting on British TV shows in the late 60s including Doctor Who in 1967. She was spotted by Reflections Records exec Andrew Cameron Miller and he signed her. Reflections was a subsidiary of CBS Records. Her 1971 debut album What A Beautiful Place was produced by US jazz musician and producer Bobby Scott. And that's the reason Catherine's music sounds different from folksingers like Sandy Denny. The album was critically acclaimed but Miller left CBS to found Revival Records and CBS closed Reflections. The master tapes were lost and for years the album fetched thousands of dollars on the collectors market until the reissue label The Numero Group was able to create a digital master and released What A Beautiful Place on CD in 2007. In 1975, Catherine won the Ivor Novello Award for her song Harry. But RCA Records fumbled the ball and her albums didn't sell despite critical acclaim. After her 1979 album Dragonfly Days on Ariola didn't sell, Catherine threw in the towel and quit the music business. There were suggestions that she should record country music or change her look. She didn't like any of those suggestions. She just wanted to be herself. She returned to music in 2002 and continues to perform in England and record occasionally. Obviously Catherine Howe had the talent to be more than a cult figure but it wouldn't be the first time the music business fumbled the ball. Here's Catherine Howe with Vo Fletcher on violin and Ric Sanders on guitar at Bloxfest 2010.
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