In Focus: Margo Guryan

In the early 1990s, Margo Guryan was living a quiet life as a piano teacher in Los Angeles, with her past life as budding '60s pop star far behind her. Until royalty cheques started arriving at her house. The cheques were coming from bootleggers of her music, first from Japan, and later from Spain. In Japan she was known as "The Soft Pop Queen", and original copies of her records were incredibly hard to find. Her profile rose over the decade, and her debut album "Take A Picture" was reissued in 2000, followed by a demos compilation the following year. The public interest in her music now far exceeded any attention she garnered in the 1960s when the music was initially released. Guryan's music was now being distributed across the internet, and appearing in films and advertising. In more recent years, Guryan garnered yet another new generation of listeners, with her demo "Why Do I Cry" intoxicating the more emotional and nostalgic corners of TikTok, and the release of "Like Someone I Know: A Celebration of Margo Guryan", featuring covers from Clairo, TOPS, and other contemporary fans. Guryan passed away in 2021, but her story of continual reappraisal is a testament to the timeless power of great pop songwriting. Selected and mixed by Aki Yamouridis.