Maddy Prior

Maddy Prior is the haunting, lovely voice of quintessential British folk-rock group Steeleye Span, channeling the ghosts of windswept maidens on the moor as the band offered a flower-power version of medieval traveling minstrels. She got her start playing in a duo with Tim Hart, and joined Span in 1969. Prior started releasing solo albums as early as the late '70s, and has released over a dozen apart from Steeleye Span. An icon of the revival of traditional British folk, Prior's flowing-skirt mysticism, not to mention her formidable voice, have also proven an influence on the avant-garde folk movement of the 2000s. In 2002, Prior once again began performing and recording with her old band.