Robin Williamson
Encyclopedia
Robin Williamson is a Scottish
multi-instrumentalist musician, singer, songwriter and storyteller, who first made his name as a founder member of The Incredible String Band.
area of Edinburgh, and attended George Watson's College
before leaving at the age of 15 to become a professional musician. At first he performed in local jazz bands, with Gerard Dott (a later member of the ISB) and others, before turning to traditional music as a singer and guitarist. By 1961 he had met and begun sharing a flat with Bert Jansch
, and in 1963 they traveled together to London to play the metropolitan folk circuit.
By 1965 he had returned to Edinburgh and formed a duo with Clive Palmer
, specialising in fiddle and banjo arrangements of traditional Scots and Irish songs. Joe Boyd
signed them to Elektra Records
in 1966, by which time they had recruited third member Mike Heron
. As resident band at Clive’s Incredible Folk Club in Glasgow, they called themselves the Incredible String Band
.
Between 1966 and 1974 the Incredible String Band, based around the duo of Williamson and Heron, released some 13 albums, becoming in the UK one of the most popular, best-loved and influential groups of the era. The group also included Williamson's sometime girlfriend Licorice McKechnie
.
Williamson released his first solo LP, "Myrrh", in 1971 when still a member of the Incredible String Band. After the band split up in 1974, he began living in Los Angeles
and, for a while, turned his attention to writing, co-writing an espionage novel, "The Glory Trap".
By 1976 he had returned to music, forming The Merry Band with Sylvia Woods
(Celtic harp), Jerry McMillan (fiddle), and Chris Caswell (flutes, and wire-strung harp). They toured extensively for three years throughout the US, Canada, and Europe, and released three albums "Journey’s Edge", "American Stonehenge
", and "A Glint At The Kindling".
After the breakup of the Merry Band, Williamson returned to the UK and started to tour solo, offering sets dominated by traditional stories set to song. Releases of this period include "Songs of Love and Parting" and "Legacy of the Scottish Harpers". Williamson's concern with the British bardic tradition also manifested itself in several books and tapes containing spoken renditions of traditional tales. He has also written a tutorial book of English, Welsh, Scottish and Irish Fiddle Tunes (ISBN 0-8256-0165-7) as well as one for the penny whistle (ISBN 0-8256-0190-8).
Williamson's live album with John Renbourn, 'Wheel Of Fortune' (1995), was nominated for a Grammy, (as was the ISB album 'Hangman's Beautiful Daughter', in 1968).
In the late 1990s he took part, with Palmer and Heron, in a reformed ISB. Williamson left the band some time around the start of 2003 - some rumours had it that he was forced out in acrimonious circumstances. The reformed band disbanded once again in 2006.
Meanwhile Williamson resumed his solo career, notably on record with a series of albums for the ECM label
. "Seed-at-zero' (2000), 'Skirting The River Road' (2002) and 'The Iron Stone' (2006) featured him combining his own words with those of the likes of Dylan Thomas, William Blake, and Walt Whitman. Musically these records show him increasingly working in a fusion style (similar in some ways to the avant-garde work of the Incredible String Band in the 60's) which incorporates folk, jazz, Renaissance, Classical and Eastern influences. A group of distinguished jazz musicians accompany Williamson on the two most recent ECM records, notably violist Mat Maneri, bassist Barre Phillips, Swedish multi-instrumentalist Ale Moller, and English sax player Paul Dunmall.
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...
multi-instrumentalist musician, singer, songwriter and storyteller, who first made his name as a founder member of The Incredible String Band.
Career
He lived in the PortobelloPortobello, Edinburgh
Portobello is a beach resort located three miles to the east of the city centre of Edinburgh, along the coast of the Firth of Forth, in Scotland. It is now a suburb of Edinburgh, with a promenade fronting on to the wide sand beach....
area of Edinburgh, and attended George Watson's College
George Watson's College
George Watson's College, known informally as Watson's, is a co-educational independent day school in Scotland, situated on Colinton Road, in the Merchiston area of Edinburgh. It was first established as a hospital school in 1741, became a day school in 1871 and was merged with its sister school...
before leaving at the age of 15 to become a professional musician. At first he performed in local jazz bands, with Gerard Dott (a later member of the ISB) and others, before turning to traditional music as a singer and guitarist. By 1961 he had met and begun sharing a flat with Bert Jansch
Bert Jansch
Herbert "Bert" Jansch was a Scottish folk musician and founding member of the band Pentangle. He was born in Glasgow and came to prominence in London in the 1960s, as an acoustic guitarist, as well as a singer-songwriter...
, and in 1963 they traveled together to London to play the metropolitan folk circuit.
By 1965 he had returned to Edinburgh and formed a duo with Clive Palmer
Clive Palmer
Clive Palmer is a British folk musician and banjoist best known as a founding member of the Incredible String Band.Born in Edmonton, North London, he first went on stage at the age of 8, and took banjo lessons from the age of 10. Around 1957 he began playing with jazz bands in Soho...
, specialising in fiddle and banjo arrangements of traditional Scots and Irish songs. Joe Boyd
Joe Boyd
Joe Boyd is an American record producer and former owner of the Witchseason production company. Boyd was instrumental in launching the careers of Nick Drake, Fairport Convention, and The Incredible String Band.-Career:...
signed them to Elektra Records
Elektra Records
Elektra Records is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group. In 2004, it was consolidated into WMG's Atlantic Records Group. After five years of dormancy, the label was revived by Atlantic in 2009....
in 1966, by which time they had recruited third member Mike Heron
Mike Heron
Mike Heron is a Scottish singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, best known for his work in the Incredible String Band in the 1960s and 1970s.-Career:...
. As resident band at Clive’s Incredible Folk Club in Glasgow, they called themselves the Incredible String Band
Incredible String Band
The Incredible String Band were a psychedelic folk band formed in Scotland in 1966. The band built a considerable following, especially within British counterculture, before splitting up in 1974...
.
Between 1966 and 1974 the Incredible String Band, based around the duo of Williamson and Heron, released some 13 albums, becoming in the UK one of the most popular, best-loved and influential groups of the era. The group also included Williamson's sometime girlfriend Licorice McKechnie
Licorice McKechnie
Christina 'Licorice' McKechnie was a singer and songwriter in the Incredible String Band between 1968 and 1972....
.
Williamson released his first solo LP, "Myrrh", in 1971 when still a member of the Incredible String Band. After the band split up in 1974, he began living in 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...
and, for a while, turned his attention to writing, co-writing an espionage novel, "The Glory Trap".
By 1976 he had returned to music, forming The Merry Band with Sylvia Woods
Sylvia Woods (harpist)
Sylvia Woods is an American harpist and composer perhaps best known for her role in the worldwide renaissance of the Celtic harp, or cláirseach. Woods began selling and writing music for Celtic harps in the 1970s, when the instrument was not widely known in the United States, contributing to a...
(Celtic harp), Jerry McMillan (fiddle), and Chris Caswell (flutes, and wire-strung harp). They toured extensively for three years throughout the US, Canada, and Europe, and released three albums "Journey’s Edge", "American Stonehenge
American Stonehenge (album)
American Stonehenge is a folk album released in 1978 by Robin Williamson and his Merry Band. This album was produced by Robin Williamson and engineered by Dirk Dalton at Dirk Dalton Recording, Santa Monica, California, in December 1977....
", and "A Glint At The Kindling".
After the breakup of the Merry Band, Williamson returned to the UK and started to tour solo, offering sets dominated by traditional stories set to song. Releases of this period include "Songs of Love and Parting" and "Legacy of the Scottish Harpers". Williamson's concern with the British bardic tradition also manifested itself in several books and tapes containing spoken renditions of traditional tales. He has also written a tutorial book of English, Welsh, Scottish and Irish Fiddle Tunes (ISBN 0-8256-0165-7) as well as one for the penny whistle (ISBN 0-8256-0190-8).
Williamson's live album with John Renbourn, 'Wheel Of Fortune' (1995), was nominated for a Grammy, (as was the ISB album 'Hangman's Beautiful Daughter', in 1968).
In the late 1990s he took part, with Palmer and Heron, in a reformed ISB. Williamson left the band some time around the start of 2003 - some rumours had it that he was forced out in acrimonious circumstances. The reformed band disbanded once again in 2006.
Meanwhile Williamson resumed his solo career, notably on record with a series of albums for the ECM label
ECM (record label)
ECM is a record label founded in Munich, Germany, in 1969 by Manfred Eicher. While ECM is best known for jazz music, the label has released a wide variety of recordings, and ECM's artists often refuse to acknowledge boundaries between genres...
. "Seed-at-zero' (2000), 'Skirting The River Road' (2002) and 'The Iron Stone' (2006) featured him combining his own words with those of the likes of Dylan Thomas, William Blake, and Walt Whitman. Musically these records show him increasingly working in a fusion style (similar in some ways to the avant-garde work of the Incredible String Band in the 60's) which incorporates folk, jazz, Renaissance, Classical and Eastern influences. A group of distinguished jazz musicians accompany Williamson on the two most recent ECM records, notably violist Mat Maneri, bassist Barre Phillips, Swedish multi-instrumentalist Ale Moller, and English sax player Paul Dunmall.
Solo discography
- MyrrhMyrrh (album)Myrrh is a folk album released in 1972 by Robin Williamson.- Track listing :All songs written by Robin Williamson, except "Strings in the Earth and Air" by Ivan Pawle.# Strings In The Earth and Air# Rends-Moi Demain# The Dancing of the Lord of Weir...
(1972) - Journey's EdgeJourney's EdgeJourney's Edge is a folk album released in 1977 by Robin Williamson and his Merry Band. It was re-released in 2008 by Fledg'ling Records with bonus tracks.- Track listing :#Border Tango#The Tune I Hear So Well#Red Eye Blues#Tomorrow#Mythic Times...
(1977) (with The Merry Band) - American StonehengeAmerican Stonehenge (album)American Stonehenge is a folk album released in 1978 by Robin Williamson and his Merry Band. This album was produced by Robin Williamson and engineered by Dirk Dalton at Dirk Dalton Recording, Santa Monica, California, in December 1977....
(1978) (with The Merry Band) - A Glint At The KindlingA Glint at the KindlingA Glint at the Kindling is a folk album released in 1979 by Robin Williamson and his Merry Band.The 2005 CD re-release by Gott Discs includes 5 bonus poetry tracks: "Five Bardic Mysteries".- Track listing :...
(1979) (with The Merry Band) - Songs of Love & Parting (1981)
- The Fisherman's Son And The Gruagach of Tricks (1981)
- Prince Dougie And The Swan Maiden (1982)
- Rory Mor And The Gruagach Gaire (1982)
- Music for the MabinogiMusic for the MabinogiMusic for the Mabinogi is a folk soundtrack album released in 1983 by Robin Williamson. The soundtrack was created for a 1983 British Television production of the Mabinogion.- Track listing :#Arianrhod#Birds of Rhiannon#Bran's Head#Branswen in Ireland...
(1983) - Selected Writings (1984)
- Five Humorous Tales of Scotland and Ireland (1984)
- The Dragon Has Two Tongues (1985)
- Five Celtic Tales of Enchantment (1985)
- Five Legendary Histories Of Britain (1985)
- Five Bardic Mysteries (1985)
- Five Tales of Prodigies and Marvels (1985)
- Legacy of the Scottish HarpersLegacy of the Scottish HarpersLegacy of the Scottish Harpers is a folk album released in 1986 by Robin Williamson.- Track listing :#Scottish Cap/Scotland#Floweres of the Forest Cromlets Lilt/ Chevy Chase#Weel Hoddleed Lucky/The Lochaben Harper#Gilderoy/Cow the Gowans...
(1986) - Legacy of the Scottish Harpers Volume TwoLegacy of the Scottish Harpers Volume TwoLegacy of the Scottish Harpers Volume Two is a folk album released in 1986 by Robin Williamson.- Track listing :#Port Ballangowne#Nou Let Us Sing#Erskine's Lament#Blew Breiks#Doun In Yon Banke#Ettrick Banks#Bakaskie#Almayne#Leslie's Joog...
(1986) - Winter's TurningWinter's Turning- Track listing :#Drive The Cold Winter Away/Cold and Raw#Avant De S'En Aller#Past Time with Good Company/Somerset Wassail#Greensleeves Morris/Green Groweth the Holly/Eagle's Whistle#Past 1 O'clock/Great Tom's Cast#Sheep Under The Snow/Welsh Morris...
(1986) - Songs For Children of All AgesSongs for Children of All AgesSongs For Children of All Ages is a folk album released in 1987 by Robin Williamson. The Album was released in 1987 on the Flying Fish label and on Cladagh Records, it was re-issued with Winter's Turning in 1999 on Pig's Whisker Music.- Track listing :...
(1987) - Ten of SongsTen of SongsTen of Songs is a folk album released in 1988 by Robin Williamson. It was re-issued in 1993 on the Flying Fish label.- Track listing :All songs written by Robin Williamson.#Ancient Song#Lammas#Political Lies#Scotland Yet#Skull and Nettlework...
(1988) - Music For The Newly Born (1990)
- Wheel Of Fortune (1995, with John Renbourn)
- The Island Of The Strong Door (1996)
- Songs For The Calendarium (1996)
- Farewell Concert At McCabe's (1997, with The Merry Band)
- Mirrorman's Sequences (1997)
- Celtic Harp Airs And Dance Tunes (1997)
- Memories/Erinnerungen (1997)
- Dream Journals (1997)
- Bloomsbury 1997 (1998, with Mike Heron)
- Gems Of Celtic Story 1 (1998)
- Ring Dance (1998)
- Gems Of Celtic Story 2 (1998)
- A Job Of Journey Work (1998)
- The Old Fangled Tone (1999)
- Music For Macbeth (1999)
- At The Pure Fountain (1999, with Clive Palmer)
- The Seed-at-Zero (2000)
- Just Like The Ivy (2000, with Clive Palmer)
- Bloomsbury 2000 (2001, with reformed ISB)
- Carmina (2001)
- Skirting The River Road (2002)
- Gems Of Celtic Story 3 (2002)
- The Iron StoneThe Iron StoneThe Iron Stone is an album released in 2006 by Robin Williamson. This album is the third in a trio of Robin Williamson albums on ECM Records...
(2006) - The Celtic Bard (2008)
- Just Like The River And Other Songs For GuitarJust Like The River And Other Songs For GuitarJust Like The River And Other Songs For Guitar is a folk album released in 2008 by Robin Williamson. The song "Through The Horned Clouds" is originally from the 1972 album Myrrh, "The Man In The Van" is from the 1978 album American Stonehenge and "Wild Horses" is from The Rolling Stones 1971 album...
(2008)
External links
- Official Robin and Bina Williamson website
- 2003 Robin Williamson interview by Richie UnterbergerRichie UnterbergerRichie Unterberger is a US author and journalist whose focus is popular music and travel writing.-Life and writing:Having worked as a DJ at WXPN in Philadelphia, he started reviewing records for Op magazine in 1983...
- Robin Williamson fansite
- A cartoon for one of Robin Williamson's songs
- Full discography
- Robin Williamson, interview documentary in Andalucia (Spain).