Eliza Carthy
Encyclopedia
Eliza Carthy is an English
folk
musician known for both singing and playing fiddle
. She is the daughter of English
folk
musicians singer/guitar
ist Martin Carthy
and singer Norma Waterson
.
. At the age of thirteen Carthy formed the Waterdaughters with her mother, aunt (Lal Waterson
) and cousin Maria Knight
. She has subsequently worked with Nancy Kerr
, with her parents as Waterson:Carthy
, and as part of the "supergroup" Blue Murder
, in addition to her own solo work. She went to school at Fyling Hall
School in North Yorkshire
.
Eliza Carthy led the vocals as a member of Blue Murder on the song "I Bid You Goodnight" found on the CD tribute to the music of Joseph Spence & the Pinder family called Out On the Rolling Sea (1994) (Green Linnet). Along with Eliza are Lal Waterson, Norma Waterson, Jim Boyes, Martin Carthy, Barry Coope, Lester Simpson and Mike Waterson.
She has twice been nominated for the Mercury Music Prize for UK album of the year: in 1998 for Red Rice, and again in 2003 for Anglicana. Eliza was a guest on the album Mermaid Avenue
by Billy Bragg
and Wilco
. Eliza and Billy also recorded together on the song "My Father's Mansions" which appeared on the Pete Seeger
tribute album called Where Have All The flowers Gone (1998).
In September 2002 Eliza took part in the Tribute concert for Kirsty MacColl
, "The Song's the Thing" along with other artists.
In 2003 Eliza swept the boards at the Radio 2
Folk Awards
, winning Folk Singer of the Year, Best Album (for Anglicana) and Best Traditional Track (for "Worcester City", on the album Anglicana). She was also the first traditional English musician to be nominated for a BBC Radio 3 Award for World Music in the same year (for Anglicana).
In 2004 she was part of Oysterband Big Session, a collaboration with numerous folk artists brought together by Oysterband
. They produced an album The Big Session Volume One, and the group as a whole were awarded Best Group at the Folk Awards in 2005.
On May 29, 2005, Carthy took part in a tribute to Peggy Seeger
at the Queen Elizabeth Hall
, London
. A double CD Three Score and Ten (2007) contains highlights on the concert.
In 2006 she contributed three songs (one as lead vocalist, two as backing vocalist) to Rogue's Gallery: Pirate Ballads, Sea Songs, and Chanteys
, produced by Hal Willner
. Performing as a duo with Richard Thompson, she contributed "The Coo Coo Bird" to a boxed set called The Harry Smith Project (2006) also by Hal Willner. As a duo with Bob Neuwirth
, she sang "I Wish I Was a Mole in the Ground" by Bascom Lamar Lunsford
on the same boxed set.
Dreams of Breathing Underwater
, Carthy's second collection of self penned songs was released on 23 June 2008. Combining traditional instrumentation with experimental arrangements, and drawing influences from all aspects of her career so far, the album was conceived as the follow-up to 2000's Angels and Cigarettes and has been in the making for the best part of seven years.
Carthy's 2008 tour was cancelled in November, as a cyst on her throat made singing inconsistent and painful. Because of her pregnancy, doctors delayed treatment until spring 2009.
She became a mother to Florence Daisy on 24 December 2008.
The St George's Day
Celebrations in Trafalgar Square
on 25 April 2009 were opened by Carthy who performed two songs.
In 2010, Carthy released an album of collaborations with her mother entitled Gift. A BBC reviewer wrote: "The gift in question here, one gathers, is a handing of talent from generation to generation; Norma Waterson and Eliza Carthy are, after all, the sublimely gifted mother and daughter who make up part of British folk’s great dynasty." Commenting on the final song, "Shallow Brown", the reviewer noted: "Backed variously by other family members, including Eliza’s father Martin Carthy on guitar as well as her cousin Oliver Knight on electric guitar, vocals and cello, there is a real sense of congregation and rootedness about this song, and indeed this record as a whole. Long may the dynasty flourish."
Her second child was born on 26 November 2010, a second daughter called Isabella Mary.,
Solo
with the Waterson family
Collaborations and guest appearances
with Martin Green
DVDs
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
folk
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
musician known for both singing and playing fiddle
Fiddle
The term fiddle may refer to any bowed string musical instrument, most often the violin. It is also a colloquial term for the instrument used by players in all genres, including classical music...
. She is the daughter of English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
folk
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
musicians singer/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...
ist 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...
and singer Norma Waterson
Norma Waterson
Norma Christine Waterson is an English musician, best known as one of the original members of The Watersons, a premier English traditional group. Other members of the group included her brother Mike Waterson and sister Lal Waterson, and in later incarnations of the group her husband Martin...
.
Life and career
Carthy was born in Scarborough, North Yorkshire, EnglandEngland
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. At the age of thirteen Carthy formed the Waterdaughters with her mother, aunt (Lal Waterson
Lal Waterson
Lal Waterson was an English folksinger and songwriter. She sang with, among others, The Watersons, The Waterdaughters and Blue Murder. She was born in Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire and died suddenly in Robin Hood's Bay, of cancer diagnosed only ten days before...
) and cousin Maria Knight
Maria Gilhooley
Maria Gilhooley, also known as Marie Gilhooley, Marie Knight and Marie/Maria/Marry Waterson is a singer and artist best known for her contributions to numerous recordings and live performances by various members of the Waterson family....
. She has subsequently worked with Nancy Kerr
Nancy Kerr
Nancy Kerr is an English folk musician, specialising in the fiddle and singing. She is the daughter of London-born singer-songwriter Sandra Kerr and Northumbrian piper Ron Elliott....
, with her parents as Waterson:Carthy
Waterson:Carthy
Waterson:Carthy are an English folk group originally comprising Norma Waterson on vocals, her husband Martin Carthy on guitar and vocals and their daughter Eliza Carthy on fiddle and vocals....
, and as part of the "supergroup" Blue Murder
Blue Murder (folk)
Blue Murder is an occasional English folk "supergroup", consisting at various times of various members of Swan Arcade, Coope Boyes and Simpson, Waterson:Carthy and The Watersons....
, in addition to her own solo work. She went to school at Fyling Hall
Fyling Hall
Fyling Hall is an independent co-educational day and boarding school situated near the small village of Fylingthorpe, near Robin Hood's Bay, south east of Whitby, North Yorkshire, England. Founded in 1923 by Mab Bradley, the school was then run for thirty years by her daughter, Clare White, who...
School in North Yorkshire
North Yorkshire
North Yorkshire is a non-metropolitan or shire county located in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England, and a ceremonial county primarily in that region but partly in North East England. Created in 1974 by the Local Government Act 1972 it covers an area of , making it the largest...
.
Eliza Carthy led the vocals as a member of Blue Murder on the song "I Bid You Goodnight" found on the CD tribute to the music of Joseph Spence & the Pinder family called Out On the Rolling Sea (1994) (Green Linnet). Along with Eliza are Lal Waterson, Norma Waterson, Jim Boyes, Martin Carthy, Barry Coope, Lester Simpson and Mike Waterson.
She has twice been nominated for the Mercury Music Prize for UK album of the year: in 1998 for Red Rice, and again in 2003 for Anglicana. Eliza was a guest on the album Mermaid Avenue
Mermaid Avenue
Mermaid Avenue is a 1998 album of previously unheard lyrics written by American folk singer Woody Guthrie, put to music written and performed by British singer Billy Bragg and the American band Wilco. The project was organized by Guthrie's daughter, Nora Guthrie. Mermaid Avenue was released on the...
by Billy Bragg
Billy Bragg
Stephen William Bragg , better known as Billy Bragg, is an English alternative rock musician and left-wing activist. His music blends elements of folk music, punk rock and protest songs, and his lyrics mostly deal with political or romantic themes...
and Wilco
Wilco
Wilco is an American alternative rock band based in Chicago, Illinois. The band was formed in 1994 by the remaining members of alternative country group Uncle Tupelo following singer Jay Farrar's departure. Wilco's lineup has changed frequently, with only singer Jeff Tweedy and bassist John...
. Eliza and Billy also recorded together on the song "My Father's Mansions" which appeared on the Pete Seeger
Pete Seeger
Peter "Pete" Seeger is an American folk singer and was an iconic figure in the mid-twentieth century American folk music revival. A fixture on nationwide radio in the 1940s, he also had a string of hit records during the early 1950s as a member of The Weavers, most notably their recording of Lead...
tribute album called Where Have All The flowers Gone (1998).
In September 2002 Eliza took part in the Tribute concert for Kirsty MacColl
Kirsty MacColl
Kirsty Anna MacColl was an English singer-songwriter.MacColl scored several pop hits from the early 1980s to the early 1990s...
, "The Song's the Thing" along with other artists.
In 2003 Eliza swept the boards at the Radio 2
BBC Radio 2
BBC Radio 2 is one of the BBC's national radio stations and the most popular station in the United Kingdom. Much of its daytime playlist-based programming is best described as Adult Contemporary or AOR, although the station is also noted for its specialist broadcasting of other musical genres...
Folk Awards
BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards
The BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards celebrate outstanding achievement during the previous year within the field of folk music. The awards have been given annually since 2000 by British radio station BBC Radio 2....
, winning Folk Singer of the Year, Best Album (for Anglicana) and Best Traditional Track (for "Worcester City", on the album Anglicana). She was also the first traditional English musician to be nominated for a BBC Radio 3 Award for World Music in the same year (for Anglicana).
In 2004 she was part of Oysterband Big Session, a collaboration with numerous folk artists brought together by Oysterband
Oysterband
Oysterband is a British electric folk or folk rock band formed in Canterbury in or around 1976.-Early history:...
. They produced an album The Big Session Volume One, and the group as a whole were awarded Best Group at the Folk Awards in 2005.
On May 29, 2005, Carthy took part in a tribute to Peggy Seeger
Peggy Seeger
Margaret "Peggy" Seeger is an American folksinger. She is also well known in Britain, where she lived for more than 30 years with her husband, singer and songwriter Ewan MacColl.- The first American period :...
at the Queen Elizabeth Hall
Queen Elizabeth Hall
The Queen Elizabeth Hall is a music venue on the South Bank in London, United Kingdom that hosts daily classical, jazz, and avant-garde music and dance performances. The QEH forms part of Southbank Centre arts complex and stands alongside the Royal Festival Hall, which was built for the Festival...
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. A double CD Three Score and Ten (2007) contains highlights on the concert.
Rogue's Gallery: Pirate Ballads, Sea Songs, and Chanteys
Rogue's Gallery: Pirate Ballads, Sea Songs and Chanteys is a compilation album of sea shanties performed by a wide array of artists, ranging from Sting to Bryan Ferry, representing a variety of genres. The artists cover a large number of diverse songs of the sea, at times adding elements...
, produced by Hal Willner
Hal Willner
Hal Willner is an American music producer working in recording, films, TV and live events. He is best known for assembling tribute albums and events featuring a wide variety of artists and musical styles...
. Performing as a duo with Richard Thompson, she contributed "The Coo Coo Bird" to a boxed set called The Harry Smith Project (2006) also by Hal Willner. As a duo with Bob Neuwirth
Bob Neuwirth
Bob Neuwirth is an American singer, songwriter, record producer and visual artist. A mainstay of the early 1960s Cambridge, Massachusetts, folk scene, he subsequently became a friend and associate of Bob Dylan alongside whom he appears in D.A...
, she sang "I Wish I Was a Mole in the Ground" by Bascom Lamar Lunsford
Bascom Lamar Lunsford
Bascom 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 :...
on the same boxed set.
Dreams of Breathing Underwater
Dreams of Breathing Underwater
Dreaming of Breathing Underwater is a 2008 album by folk singer and violin player Eliza Carthy. It is seen by many as a successor to her 2000 album Angels and Cigarettes as, unlike her other albums, it contains, rather than traditional songs and tunes, her own songs - in this case, written in...
, Carthy's second collection of self penned songs was released on 23 June 2008. Combining traditional instrumentation with experimental arrangements, and drawing influences from all aspects of her career so far, the album was conceived as the follow-up to 2000's Angels and Cigarettes and has been in the making for the best part of seven years.
Carthy's 2008 tour was cancelled in November, as a cyst on her throat made singing inconsistent and painful. Because of her pregnancy, doctors delayed treatment until spring 2009.
She became a mother to Florence Daisy on 24 December 2008.
The St George's Day
St George's Day
St George's Day is celebrated by the several nations, kingdoms, countries, and cities of which Saint George is the patron saint. St George's Day is celebrated on 23 April, the traditionally accepted date of Saint George's death in AD 303...
Celebrations in Trafalgar Square
Trafalgar Square
Trafalgar Square is a public space and tourist attraction in central London, England, United Kingdom. At its centre is Nelson's Column, which is guarded by four lion statues at its base. There are a number of statues and sculptures in the square, with one plinth displaying changing pieces of...
on 25 April 2009 were opened by Carthy who performed two songs.
In 2010, Carthy released an album of collaborations with her mother entitled Gift. A BBC reviewer wrote: "The gift in question here, one gathers, is a handing of talent from generation to generation; Norma Waterson and Eliza Carthy are, after all, the sublimely gifted mother and daughter who make up part of British folk’s great dynasty." Commenting on the final song, "Shallow Brown", the reviewer noted: "Backed variously by other family members, including Eliza’s father Martin Carthy on guitar as well as her cousin Oliver Knight on electric guitar, vocals and cello, there is a real sense of congregation and rootedness about this song, and indeed this record as a whole. Long may the dynasty flourish."
Her second child was born on 26 November 2010, a second daughter called Isabella Mary.,
Discography
with Nancy Kerr- Eliza Carthy & Nancy Kerr (1993)
- Shape of Scrape (1995)
- On Reflection (compilation 2002)
Solo
- Heat Light & Sound (1996)
- Eliza Carthy & The Kings of Calicutt (1997)
- Red Rice (originally sold as a 2 CD set. Now available as 2 separate CDs: Red and Rice 1998)
- Angels & Cigarettes (2000)
- Anglicana (2002)
- The Definitive CollectionThe Definitive Collection (Eliza Carthy)The Definitive Collection is a compilation album by Eliza Carthy.The recordings were made between 1995 and 2002. The tracks are taken from Waterson:Carthy , Red , And the Kings of Calicut , Heat, Light and Sound , Common Tongue , A Dark...
(compilation 2003) - Rough Music (2004)
- Dreams of Breathing UnderwaterDreams of Breathing UnderwaterDreaming of Breathing Underwater is a 2008 album by folk singer and violin player Eliza Carthy. It is seen by many as a successor to her 2000 album Angels and Cigarettes as, unlike her other albums, it contains, rather than traditional songs and tunes, her own songs - in this case, written in...
(2008) - Neptune (2011)
with the Waterson family
- Waterson:Carthy: Waterson:Carthy (1994)
- Waterson:Carthy: Common Tongue (1996)
- Waterson:Carthy: Broken Ground (1999)
- Blue Murder: No One Stands Alone (2002)
- Various Artists: Shining Bright - The Songs of Lal & Mike Waterson (2002)
- Waterson:Carthy: A Dark Light (2002)
- The Watersons: The Definitive Collection (compilation 2003)
- The Watersons: Mighty River of Song (4 CD & 1 DVD compilation 2004)
- Waterson:Carthy: Fishes and Fine Yellow Sand (2004)
- Waterson: Carthy: The Definitive Collection (compilation 2005)
- Waterson:Carthy: Holy Heathens and the Old Green ManHoly Heathens and the Old Green ManHoly Heathens and the Old Green Man is an album by Waterson:Carthy. There is more instrumental accompaniment on this collection than on any previous Waterson:Carthy album. Tracks 13 and 16 could even be mistaken for the work of "Brass Monkey". Despite the title, almost all the songs have a...
(2006) - Eliza Carthy & Norma Waterson: Gift (2010)
Collaborations and guest appearances
- Norma Waterson: Norma Waterson (1996)
- Chipolata 5: 'Skinless' (1996)
- Tim Winton (various artists) 'Music from the novel 'Dirt Music' (one track with Tristan Chipolata and Jock Tyldesley) (1996)
- Billy Bragg & Wilco: Mermaid Avenue (1998)
- Lal & Norma Waterson: A True Hearted Girl (The Waterdaughters sing one track on the CD reissue 1999)
- Norma Waterson: The Very Thought of You (1999)
- Various Artists: A Tribute to Pete Seeger (Two tracks with Billy Bragg) (199?)
- Billy Bragg & Wilco: Mermaid Avenue Vol. II (2000)
- Norma Waterson: Bright Shiny Morning (2000)
- Roger McGuinn: Treasures From the Folk DenFolk DenFolk Den is a folk music website founded in 1995 by Roger McGuinn, former front man of The Byrds. Hosted at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill's ibiblio, the site is intended to preserve and promote folk music and offers a new folk song on a monthly basis...
(2001) - Oliver Knight: Mysterious Day (2002)
- Jools Holland & Friends: Jack O The Green (one track)
- The Big Session Vol. 1 (2004)
- Martin Carthy: Waiting for Angels (2004)
- Paul Weller: Studio 150 (two tracks) (2004)
- Salsa Celtica: El Camino (2006)
- Rogue's Gallery: Pirate Ballads, Sea Songs & ShanteysRogue's Gallery: Pirate Ballads, Sea Songs, and ChanteysRogue's Gallery: Pirate Ballads, Sea Songs and Chanteys is a compilation album of sea shanties performed by a wide array of artists, ranging from Sting to Bryan Ferry, representing a variety of genres. The artists cover a large number of diverse songs of the sea, at times adding elements...
(2006) - Rubber Folk (2006)
- The Harry Smith Project: Anthology of American Folk Music Revisited (2006)
- The Imagined VillageThe Imagined VillageThe Imagined Village is a folk musical project founded by Simon Emmerson of the Afro Celt Sound System. It is intended to produce modern folk music that represents modern multiculturalism in the United Kingdom and as such, features musicians from a wide variety of ethnic and cultural backgrounds...
(2007) - Patrick WolfPatrick WolfPatrick Wolf is an English-Irish singer-songwriter from South London. Patrick utilises a wide variety of instruments in his music, most commonly the ukulele, piano and viola...
: The Bachelor (2009) - David Rotheray: The Life of Birds (2010)
with Martin Green
- Dinner (2001)
DVDs
- In Search of English Folk Song (1997 BBC film directed by Ken RussellKen RussellHenry Kenneth Alfred "Ken" Russell was an English film director, known for his pioneering work in television and film and for his flamboyant and controversial style. He attracted criticism as being obsessed with sexuality and the church...
)
- Fairport Convention, Donovan, Osibisa, Eliza Carthy, The Albion Band, Waterson:Carthy, Edward II.
- Reissued on DVD in 2008, but for Region 1 only
External links
- Official Eliza Carthy Website
- Eliza Carthy's Facebook
- Eliza Carthy's MySpace
- Waterson:Carthy Official Website
- Unofficial Eliza Carthy homepage
- Interview with Eliza Carthy in September 2008 about her latest work
- BBC online review of "Dreams Of Breathing Underwater"
- The Independent Newspaper's online review of "Dreams Of Breathing Underwater"
- The Guardian Newspaper's online review of "Dreams Of Breathing Underwater"