Dougie MacLean
Encyclopedia
Dougie MacLean OBE
(born 27 September 1954 in Dunblane
) is a Scottish singer-songwriter
, composer
and multi-instrumentalist
.
His career started with a traditional band, The Tannahill Weavers
, in 1976. His solo career started in 1981 and since then he has recorded numerous albums. He plays multiple instruments, including guitar
, violin
, mandola
, viola
, bouzouki
, banjo
and bass
as well as being a singer and composer.
MacLean's most famous pieces include "The Gael", from his 1990 album The Search, which was adapted by Trevor Jones as the main theme to the 1992 film Last of the Mohicans
; and Caledonia
, from his first album, which has been covered by numerous singers and groups.
In 2011, MacLean was invested as an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE).
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
(born 27 September 1954 in Dunblane
Dunblane
Dunblane is a small cathedral city and former burgh north of Stirling in the Stirling council area of Scotland. The town is situated off the A9 road, on the way north to Perth. Its main landmark is Dunblane Cathedral and the Allan Water runs through the town centre, with the Cathedral and the High...
) is a Scottish singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriters are musicians who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. As opposed to contemporary popular music singers who write their own songs, the term singer-songwriter describes a distinct form of artistry, closely associated with the...
, composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
and multi-instrumentalist
Multi-instrumentalist
A multi-instrumentalist is a musician who plays a number of different instruments.The Bachelor of Music degree usually requires a second instrument to be learned , but people who double on another instrument are not usually seen as multi-instrumentalists.-Classical music:Music written for Symphony...
.
His career started with a traditional band, The Tannahill Weavers
The Tannahill Weavers
The Tannahill Weavers are a popular band who performs traditional Scottish music. Releasing their first album in 1976 they became notable for being one of the first popular bands to incorporate the sound of the Great Highland Bagpipe in an ensemble setting, and in doing so helped to change the...
, in 1976. His solo career started in 1981 and since then he has recorded numerous albums. He plays multiple instruments, including guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
, violin
Violin
The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
, mandola
Mandola
The mandola or tenor mandola is a fretted, stringed musical instrument. It is to the mandolin what the viola is to the violin: the four double courses of strings tuned in fifths to the same pitches as the viola , a fifth lower than a mandolin...
, viola
Viola
The viola is a bowed string instrument. It is the middle voice of the violin family, between the violin and the cello.- Form :The viola is similar in material and construction to the violin. A full-size viola's body is between and longer than the body of a full-size violin , with an average...
, bouzouki
Bouzouki
The bouzouki , is a musical instrument with Greek origin in the lute family. A mainstay of modern Greek music, the front of the body is flat and is usually heavily inlaid with mother-of-pearl. The instrument is played with a plectrum and has a sharp metallic sound, reminiscent of a mandolin but...
, banjo
Banjo
In the 1830s Sweeney became the first white man to play the banjo on stage. His version of the instrument replaced the gourd with a drum-like sound box and included four full-length strings alongside a short fifth-string. There is no proof, however, that Sweeney invented either innovation. This new...
and bass
Bass (instrument)
Bass describes musical instruments that produce tones in the low-pitched range. They belong to different families of instruments and can cover a wide range of musical roles...
as well as being a singer and composer.
MacLean's most famous pieces include "The Gael", from his 1990 album The Search, which was adapted by Trevor Jones as the main theme to the 1992 film Last of the Mohicans
The Last of the Mohicans (1992 film)
The Last of the Mohicans is a 1992 historical epic film set in 1757 during the French and Indian War and produced by Morgan Creek Pictures. It was directed by Michael Mann and based on James Fenimore Cooper's novel of the same name, although it owes more to George B. Seitz's 1936 film adaptation...
; and Caledonia
Caledonia (song)
Caledonia is a modern Scottish folk ballad written by Dougie MacLean somewhere between 1974 and 1977. and published in 1979 on an album of the same name. The chorus features the lyrics "Caledonia, you're calling me, and now I'm going home". MacLean plays the song in the key of E using Open C tuning...
, from his first album, which has been covered by numerous singers and groups.
In 2011, MacLean was invested as an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE).
Discography
- Caledonia (1979)
- Snaigow (1980)
- On A Wing And A Prayer (1981)
- Craigie Dhu (1982)
- Butterstone (1983)
- Fiddle (1984)
- Singing Land (1985)
- Real Estate (1988)
- Whitewash (1990)
- The Search (1990)
- Indigenous (1991)
- Sunset Song (1994)
- Marching Mystery (1994)
- The Dougie MacLean Collection (1995)
- Tribute (1996)
- Riof (1997)
- Perthshire Amber (2000)
- Dougie MacLean Live (2000)
- Who am I (2002)
- Inside The Thunder (2006)
- The Essential Dougie MacLean (2007)
- Muir of Gormack (2007)
- Resolution (2010)