Tim Hart, who founded the seminal British folk-rock group Steeleye Span with Maddy Prior forty years ago, died on December 24. He was 61 and had been diagnosed with inoperable lung cancer a year ago.

Steeleye Span — along with Fairport Convention and Pentangle — was among the first groups in the United Kingdom to fuse traditional folk music with rock sensibilities. In its original incarnation, the group featured Hart and Prior, Irish traditionalist singers Gay and Terry Woods, and ex-Fairport bassist Ashley Hutchings. The group released its first album in 1970, but before its sophomore release the following year, internal strife had already led to a change in its lineup. Martin Carthy and violinist Peter Knight replaced the Woods’ later in 1970 and joined the band for its much revered early album Please to See the King. After recording its third album, Hutchings and Carthy left the following year to form the Albion Country Band and were replaced by Rick Kemp and Bob Johnson. Unlike Hutchings and Carthy, who were hooked on traditional music, Kemp and Johnson were more rock-oriented, gave Steeleye Span’s sound new direction, and helped the band achieve some commercial success with hit singles “Gaudette” and “All Around My Hat.” The band has undergone a number of personnel changes through the years, including Hart’s departure.

Hart, who formed his first band, Rattfinks, while a student at St. Alban’s High School (which also was home to The Zombies), gave up music in 1988 to become a writer and photographer. However, he reunited with members of Steeleye Span for a charity performance in 1995 and joined Prior for a one-time gig last year. Prior to forming Steeleye Span, Hart and Prior had performed as a duo on the British folk club circuit during the late 1960s and recorded several albums together. She also backed him on his first solo recording in 1979.