Roy Williamson
Encyclopedia
Roy Murdoch Buchanan Williamson (25 June 1936, Edinburgh
- 12 August 1990, Forres
) was a Scottish
songwriter and folk musician, most notably with The Corries
.
by ear, pretending to read music
. The teacher found out and banned him from music lessons. He went to Wester Elchies School, then Aberlour
House and Gordonstoun
in Moray
. He taught seamanship and navigation at Burghead
before going to Edinburgh College of Art
. It was there in 1955 that he met Ronnie Browne
, with whom he would team up in The Corries. The partnership lasted over thirty years.
. This meeting started a 35 year long partnership.
Williamson joined Bill Smith and Ron Cockburn to form the "Corrie Folk Trio" in 1962. A corrie
is a circular dip in a highland mountain. They chose it to evoke the Scottish landscape.
The trio's first performance was in the Waverley Bar in St Mary's Street, Edinburgh. After a few weeks Cockburn left. They had already accepted an engagement at the Edinburgh Festival
so Williamson suggested that Ronnie Browne should be brought in to make up numbers. They also added female Irish
singer Paddie Bell
to become the "Corrie Folk Trio and Paddie Bell". The audience was only eight people for the debut of this line-up but by the end of the festival it was house full at every performance.
By 1965, Paddie Bell and Bill Smith left. Williamson was a talented multi-instrumentalist and Browne was the singer. They cancelled all engagements for a few months to practice intensively. Under the new name, "The Corries", they performed at the Jubilee Arms Hotel in Cortachy
, Angus
. The response encouraged them to continue as a duo.
and a guitar
(along with four bass strings operated with slides), the other combined guitar and the 12-string Spanish bandurria
, the latter being an instrument Williamson had played since the early days of the Corrie Folk Trio.
Originally conceived as a way to combine several of the many instruments they carried around on tour - the Corries' long row of chairs behind them on stage bearing instruments is legendary - the combolins in fact became an additional two instruments for the tour van. Most often, Browne played the guitar/mandolin instrument with bass strings, and Williamson the other, which also had 13 sympathetic strings designed to resonate like the Indian sitar
.
The wood for the instruments was obtained from antique hardwood furniture as well as premium grade Tyrolean spruce
, and featured Williamson's artistic embellishments in silver and mother of pearl. The Corries' next album. Strings and Things (1970) was specifically designed to showcase the new instruments and featured detailed descriptions of them on the rear sleeve.
, one of several unofficial Scottish national anthems.
and before a series of concerts he would deliberately cease treatment in order to provoke attacks and gain temporary immunity. He continued performing till 1989. He died of a brain tumour in 1990.
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
- 12 August 1990, Forres
Forres
Forres , is a town and former royal burgh situated in the north of Scotland on the Moray coast, approximately 30 miles east of Inverness. Forres has been a winner of the Scotland in Bloom award on several occasions...
) was a Scottish
Scottish people
The Scottish people , or Scots, are a nation and ethnic group native to Scotland. Historically they emerged from an amalgamation of the Picts and Gaels, incorporating neighbouring Britons to the south as well as invading Germanic peoples such as the Anglo-Saxons and the Norse.In modern use,...
songwriter and folk musician, most notably with The Corries
The Corries
The Corries were a Scottish folk group that emerged from the Scottish folk revival of the early 1960s. Although the group was a trio in the early days, it was as the partnership of Roy Williamson and Ronnie Browne that it is best known.-Early years:...
.
Early life
Williamson's mother played the piano. At school he learned to play the recorderRecorder
The recorder is a woodwind musical instrument of the family known as fipple flutes or internal duct flutes—whistle-like instruments which include the tin whistle. The recorder is end-blown and the mouth of the instrument is constricted by a wooden plug, known as a block or fipple...
by ear, pretending to read music
Music
Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
. The teacher found out and banned him from music lessons. He went to Wester Elchies School, then Aberlour
Aberlour
Aberlour , is the name of a place in Moray, Scotland, 12 miles south of Elgin on the road to Grantown. A burn , a tributary of the River Spey, and surrounding parish, are both named Aberlour, but the name is most commonly used in reference to the village which straddles the stream and flanks the...
House and Gordonstoun
Gordonstoun
Gordonstoun School is a co-educational independent school for boarding and day pupils in Moray in North East Scotland. Named after the estate originally owned by Sir Robert Gordon in the 1600s, the school now uses this estate as its campus...
in Moray
Moray
Moray is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. It lies in the north-east of the country, with coastline on the Moray Firth, and borders the council areas of Aberdeenshire and Highland.- History :...
. He taught seamanship and navigation at Burghead
Burghead
Burghead is a small town in Moray, Scotland, about 8 miles north-west of Elgin. The town is mainly built on a Peninsula which projects north-westward into the Moray Firth, meaning that most of the town has sea on 3 sides. The present town was built between 1805 and 1809, destroying in the...
before going to Edinburgh College of Art
Edinburgh College of Art
Edinburgh College of Art is an art school in Edinburgh, Scotland, providing tertiary education in art and design disciplines for over two thousand students....
. It was there in 1955 that he met Ronnie Browne
Ronnie Browne
Ronnie Browne , is a Scottish folk musician and founding member of The Corries....
, with whom he would team up in The Corries. The partnership lasted over thirty years.
The Corries
In 1955 Williamson met Ronnie Browne at Edinburgh College of ArtEdinburgh College of Art
Edinburgh College of Art is an art school in Edinburgh, Scotland, providing tertiary education in art and design disciplines for over two thousand students....
. This meeting started a 35 year long partnership.
Williamson joined Bill Smith and Ron Cockburn to form the "Corrie Folk Trio" in 1962. A corrie
Cirque
Cirque may refer to:* Cirque, a geological formation* Makhtesh, an erosional landform found in the Negev desert of Israel and Sinai of Egypt*Cirque , an album by Biosphere* Cirque Corporation, a company that makes touchpads...
is a circular dip in a highland mountain. They chose it to evoke the Scottish landscape.
The trio's first performance was in the Waverley Bar in St Mary's Street, Edinburgh. After a few weeks Cockburn left. They had already accepted an engagement at the Edinburgh Festival
Edinburgh Festival
The Edinburgh Festival is a collective term for many arts and cultural festivals that take place in Edinburgh, Scotland each summer, mostly in August...
so Williamson suggested that Ronnie Browne should be brought in to make up numbers. They also added female Irish
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
singer Paddie Bell
Paddie Bell
Paddie Bell was an Irish folk singer and musician.She was born in Belfast, but was a resident of Edinburgh, Scotland most of her life. She sang with The Corries Folk Trio from 1962 and was a founder member. The band later became The Corries after she left when she got pregnant in 1965...
to become the "Corrie Folk Trio and Paddie Bell". The audience was only eight people for the debut of this line-up but by the end of the festival it was house full at every performance.
By 1965, Paddie Bell and Bill Smith left. Williamson was a talented multi-instrumentalist and Browne was the singer. They cancelled all engagements for a few months to practice intensively. Under the new name, "The Corries", they performed at the Jubilee Arms Hotel in Cortachy
Cortachy
Cortachy is a village in Angus, Scotland. It lies in at the mouth of Glen Clova, on the River South Esk, four miles north of Kirriemuir. Nearby lies Cortachy Castle, seat of the Earls of Airlie....
, Angus
Angus
Angus is one of the 32 local government council areas of Scotland, a registration county and a lieutenancy area. The council area borders Aberdeenshire, Perth and Kinross and Dundee City...
. The response encouraged them to continue as a duo.
Combolin
Williamson was a skilled woodworker. In the summer of 1969 he invented the 'combolins', two complementary instruments which combined several into a single instrument. One combined a mandolinMandolin
A mandolin is a musical instrument in the lute family . It descends from the mandore, a soprano member of the lute family. The mandolin soundboard comes in many shapes—but generally round or teardrop-shaped, sometimes with scrolls or other projections. A mandolin may have f-holes, or a single...
and a 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...
(along with four bass strings operated with slides), the other combined guitar and the 12-string Spanish bandurria
Bandurria
The bandurria is a plectrum chordophone from Spain, similar to the cittern and the mandolin, primarily used in Spanish folk music.Prior to the 18th century, the bandurria had with a round back, similar or related to the mandore. It had become a flat-backed instrument by the 18th century, with five...
, the latter being an instrument Williamson had played since the early days of the Corrie Folk Trio.
Originally conceived as a way to combine several of the many instruments they carried around on tour - the Corries' long row of chairs behind them on stage bearing instruments is legendary - the combolins in fact became an additional two instruments for the tour van. Most often, Browne played the guitar/mandolin instrument with bass strings, and Williamson the other, which also had 13 sympathetic strings designed to resonate like the Indian sitar
Sitar
The 'Tablaman' is a plucked stringed instrument predominantly used in Hindustani classical music, where it has been ubiquitous since the Middle Ages...
.
The wood for the instruments was obtained from antique hardwood furniture as well as premium grade Tyrolean spruce
Spruce
A spruce is a tree of the genus Picea , a genus of about 35 species of coniferous evergreen trees in the Family Pinaceae, found in the northern temperate and boreal regions of the earth. Spruces are large trees, from tall when mature, and can be distinguished by their whorled branches and conical...
, and featured Williamson's artistic embellishments in silver and mother of pearl. The Corries' next album. Strings and Things (1970) was specifically designed to showcase the new instruments and featured detailed descriptions of them on the rear sleeve.
Flower of Scotland
Williamson wrote Flower of ScotlandFlower of Scotland
Flower of Scotland is a Scottish song, used frequently at special occasions and sporting events. Although there is no official national anthem of Scotland, Flower of Scotland is one of a number of songs which unofficially fulfil this role, along with the older Scots Wha Hae, Scotland the Brave...
, one of several unofficial Scottish national anthems.
Health problems and death
As a young man, Roy Williamson played rugby for Edinburgh Wanderers. However, he suffered from asthmaAsthma
Asthma is the common chronic inflammatory disease of the airways characterized by variable and recurring symptoms, reversible airflow obstruction, and bronchospasm. Symptoms include wheezing, coughing, chest tightness, and shortness of breath...
and before a series of concerts he would deliberately cease treatment in order to provoke attacks and gain temporary immunity. He continued performing till 1989. He died of a brain tumour in 1990.