Jeannie Robertson
b. 1908 d. 1975
“A native of Aberdeen, Jeannie belongs to the 'travelling clans’ of the North-East of Scotland. She learned most of her songs from her mother, who kept a wee shop in the Gallowgate. It was of Jeannie that the American folklorist Marguirite Olney wrote: “Here is the finest ballad singing I’ve ever heard. It’s as near as you can get to the high ballad style. There’s nothing like it in the States-no trained singer could possible imitate it. It has to be inherited”. Other tributes include: “One of the finest ballad-singers in Western Europe”, (from A. L. Lloyd) and “A monumental figure of the world’s folksong” (from Alan Lomax). Hamish Henderson 1958
See also:
http://www.tradmusichall.com/jeannierobertson.htm
For many more recordings of Jeannie see:
http://www.tobarandualchais.co.uk/
http://www.mustrad.org.uk/reviews/j_robtsn.htm
http://www.dickgaughan.co.uk/chain/jeannie-robertson.html
http://www.musicpictures.com/propxt/main/search_string~artid:55122::/ltext~Jeannie%20ROBERTSON