Alex Beaton
Encyclopedia
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
(primarily highland games
Highland games
Highland games are events held throughout the &Highland games are events held throughout the &Highland games are events held throughout the &(-è_çà in Scotland and other countries as a way of celebrating Scottish and Celtic culture and heritage, especially that of the Scottish Highlands. Certain...
). Beaton appears annually at the Grandfather Mountain Highland Games
Grandfather Mountain Highland Games
-History of Scottish Games in North Carolina:The Scottish people have a long and rich history in the state of North Carolina. After the battle of Culloden in 1745, highland clearances left many Scottish clans with no home and nowhere to go. During the time after the clearances, North Carolina...
in North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
, and the Stone Mountain
Stone Mountain
Stone Mountain is a quartz monzonite dome monadnock in Stone Mountain, Georgia, United States. At its summit, the elevation is 1,686 feet amsl and 825 feet above the surrounding area. Stone Mountain granite extends underground at its longest point into Gwinnett County...
Highland Games
Highland games
Highland games are events held throughout the &Highland games are events held throughout the &Highland games are events held throughout the &(-è_çà in Scotland and other countries as a way of celebrating Scottish and Celtic culture and heritage, especially that of the Scottish Highlands. Certain...
in Atlanta, Georgia
Georgia (U.S. state)
Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
, two of the largest highland games events in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Beaton has been called "probably the country's most popular Scottish folk singer." He has a baritone
Baritone
Baritone is a type of male singing voice that lies between the bass and tenor voices. It is the most common male voice. Originally from the Greek , meaning deep sounding, music for this voice is typically written in the range from the second F below middle C to the F above middle C Baritone (or...
voice.
At many events, Beaton not only serves as a key entertainer, but as the event emcee. Beaton is known for his powerful stage presence and sense of humor. He frequently interacts and jokes with audiences while performing and in-between songs. One of his albums, Daft Ditties, is composed entirely of comedic songs. Beaton is also known for his keen knowledge of Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
's history.
Beaton had released 20 albums on CD and one DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
musical travelogue
Travel literature
Travel literature is travel writing of literary value. Travel literature typically records the experiences of an author touring a place for the pleasure of travel. An individual work is sometimes called a travelogue or itinerary. Travel literature may be cross-cultural or transnational in focus, or...
of Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
that pulls together three titles that were previously released on VHS
VHS
The Video Home System is a consumer-level analog recording videocassette standard developed by Victor Company of Japan ....
tape. Along with his concert appearances, Beaton usually hosts one or two trips to Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
per year where he serves as the host and tour guide. As of 2011, his tour offerings had grown to include a "Highlands & Islands Tour" in June, the occasional Ireland
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...
tour, and a 3-day tour of Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
. All tours typically sell out quickly.
Biography
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
, to a Scottish father and an Irish mother, Beaton began his musical career as a member of The Cumberland Three, one of Britain's top folk groups in the early 1960s. The Cumberland Three consisted of Beaton, Brian Fogarty, and Leonard Sturrock, with Pete Sayers on the banjo. Beaton immigrated to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
in 1965. He served in the U.S. Army, entertaining troops in the Third Army Soldiers' Show and the Seventh U.S. Army Chorus in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. He launched his solo career in New York in 1968. During the 1970s, he re-directed his career toward writing and performing American country music. He had songs of that genre that won the International American Song Festival Awards in 1974.
Since the early 1980s, Beaton has focused on folk music that is primarily Scottish in origin or subject, although his repertoire includes songs in the folk music genre that are not purely Scottish (Stan Rogers
Stan Rogers
Stanley Allison "Stan" Rogers was a Canadian folk musician and songwriter.Rogers was noted for his rich, baritone voice and his finely crafted, traditional-sounding songs which were frequently inspired by Canadian history and the daily lives of working people, especially those from the fishing...
music for example). Featured on his recordings are artists such as Eric Rigler
Eric Rigler
Eric Rigler is an American player of the Uilleann pipes, Great Highland Bagpipes, and tin whistle. He plays on his own and with the band Bad Haggis, and has been featured on a number of movie soundtracks. He has been described as "the most recorded bagpiper of all time"...
and Alasdair Fraser
Alasdair Fraser
Alasdair Fraser is a Scottish fiddler.Fraser operates Culburnie Records, and is a leading artist on the label. He has founded three summer fiddling programs: the fiddle camp in California , a week-long course on the Isle of Skye and the more recent in California...
.
In July of 2011 Beaton was paralyzed from the neck down due to a severely compressed cervical disc. There is a possibility of a full recovery.
Little is known about his personal life other than he is a cancer
Cancer
Cancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...
survivor and, after spending more than three decades in the Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
area (most recently the Woodland Hills area), he currently resides in Franklin, Tennessee
Franklin, Tennessee
Franklin is a city within and the county seat of Williamson County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 62,487 as of the 2010 census Franklin is located approximately south of downtown Nashville.-History:...
where he is reported to be very happy and feels at home. Alex is happily married to his wife, Linda. He has two daughters from a previous marriage and a step son from his new marriage.
Discography
Glenfinnan
Glenfinnan is a village in Lochaber area of the Highlands of Scotland. It is located at the northern end of Loch Shiel, at the foot of Glenfinnan.- Glenfinnan Monument :...
Music Ltd. He has released 20 albums under this label (all titles are available on CD).
| Album Title | Glenfinnan Music Product Number | Copyright Date |
|---|---|---|
| Alex Beaton Sings of Scotland Forever | GRCD101 | 1984 |
| Los Angeles Police Pipe Band, Featuring Vocals, Alex Beaton | GRCD102 | 1984 |
| The Scotsman | GRCD103 | 1985 |
| I Have Seen the Highlands | GRCD104 | 1986 |
| On the Beaton Path | GRCD105 | 1987 |
| Daft Ditties | GRCD106 | 1987 |
| Halfway Home | GRCD107 | 1988 |
| A Dream of Arran | GRCD108 | 1989 |
| Songs of Praise, Pipes of Peace | GRCD110 | 1990 |
| The Road to the Isles | GRCD112 | 1991 |
| Beaton's Best | GRCD113 | 1992 |
| In The Scottish Tradition | GRCD115 | 1993 |
| Alex Beaton's Christmas Classics | GRCD116 | 1994 |
| The Water is Wide | GRCD117 | 1995 |
| Kidding Around | GRCD118 | 1999 |
| Over the Border | GRCD119 | 2001 |
| Lover's Heart | GRCD120 | 2004 |
| Beaton's Personal Favorites | GRCD121 | 2006 |
| The Songs of Robert Burns | GRCD122 | 2007 |
| From the Sea to the Shore | GRCD123 | 2010 |
Filmography
- Alex Beaton's Scotland, A Musical Travelogue of Scotland in Three Films (GR DVD 101), includes three films previously released on VHSVHSThe Video Home System is a consumer-level analog recording videocassette standard developed by Victor Company of Japan ....
tape:- Going Home (1989) — "Alex's Going Home, magically transports you - in this stunning musical and video production - to such historic and majestic locales as GlencoeGlen CoeGlen Coe is a glen in the Highlands of Scotland. It lies in the southern part of the Lochaber committee area of Highland Council, and was formerly part of the county of Argyll. It is often considered one of the most spectacular and beautiful places in Scotland, and is a part of the designated...
, CullodenCulloden, ScotlandCulloden is the name of a village three miles east of Inverness, Scotland and the surrounding area. Three miles south of the village is Drummossie Moor , site of the Battle of Culloden....
, Loch LomondLoch LomondLoch Lomond is a freshwater Scottish loch, lying on the Highland Boundary Fault. It is the largest lake in Great Britain by surface area. The lake contains many islands, including Inchmurrin, the largest fresh-water island in the British Isles, although the lake itself is smaller than many Irish...
, Stirling CastleStirling CastleStirling Castle, located in Stirling, is one of the largest and most important castles, both historically and architecturally, in Scotland. The castle sits atop Castle Hill, an intrusive crag, which forms part of the Stirling Sill geological formation. It is surrounded on three sides by steep...
, GlenfinnanGlenfinnanGlenfinnan is a village in Lochaber area of the Highlands of Scotland. It is located at the northern end of Loch Shiel, at the foot of Glenfinnan.- Glenfinnan Monument :...
, BannockburnBannockburnBannockburn is a village immediately south of the city of Stirling in Scotland. It is named after the Bannock Burn, a burn running through the village before flowing into the River Forth.-History:...
and the Isle of Skye" (from DVD jacket). - I Belong to Glasgow (1990) — "Let Alex personally lead you on an enchanted stroll through his beloved birthplace in I Belong to Glasgow. Share in the humor, the songs, and the history. Take a trip down the river ClydeRiver ClydeThe River Clyde is a major river in Scotland. It is the ninth longest river in the United Kingdom, and the third longest in Scotland. Flowing through the major city of Glasgow, it was an important river for shipbuilding and trade in the British Empire....
and see GlasgowGlasgowGlasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
from its industrious past through its rich and colorful present" (from DVD jacket). - On The Castle Trail (1994) — "...travel back in time as Alex takes you on a mysterious exploration of Scotland's rich history. With castles as guideposts, On The Castle Trail is a magic carpet ride of sheer exhilaration. You'll visit the picturesque ruins of CaerlaverockCaerlaverock CastleCaerlaverock Castle is a moated triangular castle, built in the 13th century, in the Caerlaverock National Nature Reserve area at the Solway Firth, south of Dumfries in the southwest of Scotland. In the Middle Ages it was owned by the Maxwell family. Today, the castle is in the care of Historic...
and the forbidding strongholds of HermitageHermitage CastleHermitage Castle is a semi-ruined castle in the border region of Scotland. It is under the care of Historic Scotland. The Castle has a reputation, both from its history and its appearance, as one of the most sinister and atmospheric in Scotland....
and DunstaffnageDunstaffnage CastleDunstaffnage Castle is a partially ruined castle in Argyll and Bute, western Scotland. It lies N.N.E. of Oban, situated on a platform of conglomerate rock on a promontory at the south-west of the entrance to Loch Etive, and is surrounded on three sides by the sea.The castle dates back to the 13th...
. See the remarkable fairytale retreats of GlamisGlamis CastleGlamis Castle is situated beside the village of Glamis in Angus, Scotland. It is the home of the Earl and Countess of Strathmore and Kinghorne, and is open to the public....
and Eilean DonanEilean DonanEilean Donan is a small island in Loch Duich in the western Highlands of Scotland. It is connected to the mainland by a footbridge and lies about half a mile from the village of Dornie. Eilean Donan is named after Donnán of Eigg, a Celtic saint martyred in 617...
; and the dramatic clifftop fortress of Dunnottar and the world-famous Edinburgh CastleEdinburgh CastleEdinburgh Castle is a fortress which dominates the skyline of the city of Edinburgh, Scotland, from its position atop the volcanic Castle Rock. Human habitation of the site is dated back as far as the 9th century BC, although the nature of early settlement is unclear...
. You'll came face-to-face with knights in shining armor and warring clan chiefs. Let your imagination run wild!" (from DVD jacket).
- Going Home (1989) — "Alex's Going Home, magically transports you - in this stunning musical and video production - to such historic and majestic locales as Glencoe
Guitar
Beaton uses a Tony RiceTony Rice
Tony Rice is an American acoustic guitarist and bluegrass musician. He is considered one of the most influential acoustic guitar players in bluegrass, progressive bluegrass, newgrass and acoustic jazz.Rice spans the range of acoustic music, from traditional bluegrass to jazz-influenced New...
model guitar made by the Santa Cruz Guitar Company, located in Santa Cruz
Santa Cruz, California
Santa Cruz is the county seat and largest city of Santa Cruz County, California in the US. As of the 2010 U.S. Census, Santa Cruz had a total population of 59,946...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. That model is based on Tony Rice's D-28 (circa 1930s), formerly owned by Clarence White
Clarence White
Clarence White was a guitar player for Nashville West, The Byrds, Muleskinner, and the Kentucky Colonels. His parents were Acadians from New Brunswick, Canada...
.
Interesting facts
- Beaton's full name is Alexander William MacLeod Beaton.
- Beaton also plays the harmonicaHarmonicaThe harmonica, also called harp, French harp, blues harp, and mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used primarily in blues and American folk music, jazz, country, and rock and roll. It is played by blowing air into it or drawing air out by placing lips over individual holes or multiple holes...
. - Beaton sometimes refers to himself as "Alec" during live shows.
- In times of whimsy, Beaton has been known to perform "On the Commode Again," a humorous take on Willie NelsonWillie NelsonWillie Hugh Nelson is an American country music singer-songwriter, as well as an author, poet, actor, and activist. The critical success of the album Shotgun Willie , combined with the critical and commercial success of Red Headed Stranger and Stardust , made Nelson one of the most recognized...
's "On the Road AgainOn the Road Again (Willie Nelson song)"On the Road Again" is a song made famous by country music singer Willie Nelson, and is part of the soundtrack to the 1980 movie Honeysuckle Rose....
." - Beaton regularly (every August) hosts one or two tours on a 10-day trip to his beloved homeland. It sells out quickly and is so popular that several of his tour group members have signed up to go more than once.