Traditional singer
Encyclopedia
A Traditional singer is someone who has learned folk songs in their original context - for example while sailing a ship or working on a farm. Until modern inventions such as the phonograph radio and cinema became common, this was the only way for ordinary people to learn songs.
By the time of the first world war it became clear that people living in the countryside were preserving songs that were no longer sung in the cities. Scholarly collectors went to gatherings of country people to collect songs and tunes and publish them. The phrase "old time musician" is used commonly in the USA to designate the preservers of the musical styles of the nineteenth century. The phrase "source singer" is sometimes used. The oldest songs and the most complete versions of songs were particularly sought out.
Traditional singers were almost all born before the second world war. After 1950 it became difficult for anyone to avoid hearing popular songs on the radio, and the tradition became diluted. However some singers tried to emulate the old er styles. The phrase "Tradition Bearer" is sometimes used for the most dedicated proponents of folk songs. Often they concentrate on songs from a particular county or country - for example Frank Harte
concentrated on Dublin street songs. Sometimes they preserve the local dialect and the exact phrases used by particularly admired traditional singers.
Since 1982 the USA has given a National Heritage Fellowship
to artists and musicians promoting traditional styles. In the UK singers such as Martin Carthy
, Shirley Collins and Maddy Prior have been awarded MBEs for their role as tradition bearers. On their albums they often mention particular traditional singers who inspired them.
From Scotland
From Ireland (see Traditional Irish Singers
)
From Wales
From the USA (Old time Musicians)
From Canada
By the time of the first world war it became clear that people living in the countryside were preserving songs that were no longer sung in the cities. Scholarly collectors went to gatherings of country people to collect songs and tunes and publish them. The phrase "old time musician" is used commonly in the USA to designate the preservers of the musical styles of the nineteenth century. The phrase "source singer" is sometimes used. The oldest songs and the most complete versions of songs were particularly sought out.
Traditional singers were almost all born before the second world war. After 1950 it became difficult for anyone to avoid hearing popular songs on the radio, and the tradition became diluted. However some singers tried to emulate the old er styles. The phrase "Tradition Bearer" is sometimes used for the most dedicated proponents of folk songs. Often they concentrate on songs from a particular county or country - for example Frank Harte
Frank Harte
Frank Harte was a traditional Irish singer, song collector, architect and lecturer. He was born and raised in Dublin. His father Peter Harte who had moved from a farming background in Sligo owned 'The Tap' pub in Chapelizod...
concentrated on Dublin street songs. Sometimes they preserve the local dialect and the exact phrases used by particularly admired traditional singers.
Since 1982 the USA has given a National Heritage Fellowship
National Heritage Fellowship
The National Heritage Fellowship is a lifetime honor presented to master folk and traditional artists by the National Endowment for the Arts. Similar to Japan's Living National Treasure award, the Fellowship is the United States' highest honor in the folk and traditional arts...
to artists and musicians promoting traditional styles. In the UK singers such as Martin Carthy
Martin Carthy
Martin Carthy MBE is an English folk singer and guitarist who has remained one of the most influential figures in British traditional music, inspiring contemporaries such as Bob Dylan and Paul Simon and later artists such as Richard Thompson since he emerged as a young musician in the early days...
, Shirley Collins and Maddy Prior have been awarded MBEs for their role as tradition bearers. On their albums they often mention particular traditional singers who inspired them.
Examples of traditional singers
From England- Joseph Taylor (1832 - after 1908)
- Harry CoxHarry CoxHarry Fred Cox , was a Norfolk farmworker and one of the most important singers of traditional English music of the twentieth century, on account of his large repertoire and fine singing style....
(1885 - 1971) - Fred JordanFred Jordan (singer)Fred Jordan was a farm worker from Ludlow, Shropshire, and is noted as one of the great musically untutored traditional English singers. He was first recorded in the 1940s by folk music researcher Alan Lomax and, over subsequent decades endeared himself to the English folk-song revival movement...
(1922 - 2002) - Copper FamilyCopper FamilyThe Copper Family are a family of singers of traditional, unaccompanied English folk song. Originally from Rottingdean, near Brighton, Sussex, England, the nucleus of the family now live in the neighbouring village of Peacehaven.-History:...
(born 1912 - 1915)
From Scotland
- Jeannie RobertsonJeannie RobertsonJeannie Robertson was a Scottish folk singer.-Hamish Henderson and Alan Lomax:It is not known where Jeannie Robertson was born but she did live at 90, Hilton Street in Aberdeen, where a plaque now commemorates her. Like many of the Scottish Travellers from Aberdeen, Glasgow and Ayrshire, she went...
(1908 - 1975) - Belle StewartBelle StewartBelle Stewart became known as a Scottish traditional singer.The general public knew little about Belle Stewart until 2006, when her daughter, Sheila Stewart, wrote the biography Queen Amang the Heather: the Life of Belle Stewart.Sheila Stewart corrects the frequently cited birthdate 17 July to the...
(1906 - 1997)
From Ireland (see Traditional Irish Singers
Traditional Irish Singers
Some of the traditional Irish singers alphabetically listed below are known to have sung in both the Irish and English language and if so are listed in both sections below as well known singers of macaronic Irish songs.-Mainly English language songs:...
)
- Margaret BarryMargaret BarryMargaret Barry was a traditional Irish singer and banjo player.Born in Cork into a family of Travellers and street singers, she taught herself how to play the zither banjo and the fiddle at a young age. At the age of sixteen, after a family disagreement, Margaret left home and started performing...
(1917 - 1989/90) - Frank HarteFrank HarteFrank Harte was a traditional Irish singer, song collector, architect and lecturer. He was born and raised in Dublin. His father Peter Harte who had moved from a farming background in Sligo owned 'The Tap' pub in Chapelizod...
(1933 - 2005) - Micho RussellMicho RussellMicho Russell was an Irish musician and author best known for his expert tin whistle performance. He also played the simple-system flute and was a collector of traditional music and folklore.-Biography:...
(1915 - 1994) - Joe Heaney (1919-1984)
- Sarah MakemSarah MakemSarah Makem a native of Keady, County Armagh, Northern Ireland, was a traditional Irish singer.She was the wife of fiddler Peter Makem, mother of musicians Tommy Makem and Jack Makem, and grandmother of musicians Shane Makem, Conor Makem and Rory Makem...
(1900 - 1983)
From Wales
- Phil Tanner (1862 - 1950)
From the USA (Old time Musicians)
- Bascom Lamar LunsfordBascom Lamar LunsfordBascom Lamar Lunsford was a lawyer, folklorist, and performer of traditional music from western North Carolina. He was often known by the nickname "Minstrel of the Appalachians."- Early life :...
(1882 - 1973) - Clarence AshleyClarence Ashley"Tom" Clarence Ashley was an American clawhammer banjo player, guitarist and singer. He began performing at medicine shows in the Southern Appalachian region as early as 1911, and gained initial fame during the late 1920s as both a solo recording artist and as a member of various string bands...
(1885/95 - 1967) - Hobart SmithHobart SmithHobart Smith was an American old-time musician. He was most notable for his appearance with his sister, Texas Gladden, on a series of Library of Congress recordings in the 1940s and his later appearances at various festivals during the folk music revival of the 1960s...
(1897 - 1965) - Doc WatsonDoc WatsonArthel Lane "Doc" Watson is an American guitar player, songwriter and singer of bluegrass, folk, country, blues and gospel music. He has won seven Grammy awards as well as a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. Watson's flatpicking skills and knowledge of traditional American music are highly regarded...
From Canada
- O J Abbott (1872 - 1962)
- LaRena Clark (1904 - 1991)