Male Folk Singers

Subject: Male Folk Singers
From: Mervyn
Date: 23 Feb 02 - 02:12 PM

I'm looking for recommendations of male folk singers, especially from the Irish or British Isles folk music tradition.

Back in the early seventies I spent some time learning and playing traditional songs, especially Childe ballads, in Australia. I'm familiar with albums released in the early seventies (Pentangle, Bothy Band, Fairport Convention, Steeleyed Span) but have not kept track of much of the good music released since. For some reason I have lots of albums with female vocalists.... Now I've started taking voice lessons and my teacher wants me to find examples of traditional male singers worth emulating. I'm looking for singers who have both good vocal control, but not at the expense of feeling. I know this is somewhat vague, but I thought I'd give it a try.

Thanks.

Subject: RE: Male Folk Singers
From: Stewart
Date: 23 Feb 02 - 02:21 PM

try Andy Stewart

Cheers, S. in Seattle

Subject: RE: Male Folk Singers
From: Charcloth
Date: 23 Feb 02 - 02:31 PM

Try Fannigan's Isle at www.timemachinepro.com
they are on Folk Era Records
The Corries at www.corries.com
Andy M. Stewart as was mentioned is a good choice as well. His material is on Greenlinnet records was with the group "Silly Wizard"
Stan Rogers is another good one
I am sure there will be a host of suggestions but these are my favorites. You should be able to find their stuff on Amazon.com
Charcloth

Subject: RE: Male Folk Singers
From: GUEST,SharonG
Date: 23 Feb 02 - 02:38 PM

I've enjoyed the singing of both Frank Harte and Tim Dennehy (both Irish and both of whom taught at Gaelic Roots in years I attended classes) Sharon G

Subject: RE: Male Folk Singers
From: Sandy Paton
Date: 23 Feb 02 - 02:46 PM

Ewan MacColl!

Subject: RE: Male Folk Singers
From: Hollowfox
Date: 23 Feb 02 - 03:14 PM

What's your vocal range, tenor, baritone, bass? We may as well recommend somebody in the same range.

Subject: RE: Male Folk Singers
From: Susan of DT
Date: 23 Feb 02 - 03:21 PM

(dick greenhaus here)

Kevin Mitchell. Brian Peters. Nic Jones. Tony Rose. John Strachan. Bob Blair. Jack Beck. Jimmy Hutchinson. Roy Harris. David Jones.

Give CAMSCO Music a call (800/548-FOLK) and I'll be glad to talk to you about this

Subject: RE: Male Folk Singers
From: bill\sables
Date: 23 Feb 02 - 03:22 PM

I would suggest you try any records of Roy Harris

Subject: RE: Male Folk Singers
From: Brían
Date: 23 Feb 02 - 03:38 PM

I would look for recordings by Joe Heaney, Seán 'ac Dhonnchadha(Johnny Donagh, of course Cathal McConnell & Len Graham are also great singers.

Brían

Subject: RE: Male Folk Singers
From: GUEST,Nancy King at work
Date: 23 Feb 02 - 04:40 PM

One of my long-time favorites is Archie Fisher, whose "A Man with a Rhyme" album (and perhaps others)is/are available from Folk-Legacy.

Cheers, Nancy

Subject: RE: Male Folk Singers
From: death by whisky
Date: 23 Feb 02 - 04:45 PM

Christy Moore of course.

Subject: RE: Male Folk Singers
From: Menita
Date: 23 Feb 02 - 04:47 PM

One of my favorite male singers is Robin Laing from Scotland. He has a lovely diction and accurate voice. His CD The Angel's Share is worth a listen. Hic!

Subject: RE: Male Folk Singers
From: The Pooka
Date: 23 Feb 02 - 04:50 PM

If you don't have him, Gordon Bok.

Subject: RE: Male Folk Singers
From: michaelr
Date: 23 Feb 02 - 04:50 PM

Andy Irvine, Dick Gaughan, Brian McNeill, Paul Brady, Gerry O'Beirne, Clive Gregson...

Subject: RE: Male Folk Singers
From: Amergin
Date: 23 Feb 02 - 04:54 PM

I especially agree with Andy M. Stewart...wonderful singer...nice guy to boot.....and then there is Lorcan Otway..... sorry I had to do it before he did....

Subject: RE: Male Folk Singers
From: InOBU
Date: 23 Feb 02 - 05:59 PM

Amergin! ya beat me to it!!! Well, if you enter the contest... Why U don't want a Sork Dork CD, you may get a free CD with a fellow who one promoter said writes like Sy Kahn and sings like Andy Irvine (no kidding, being a great fan of both, well I was chuffed!) ... Lor

Subject: RE: Male Folk Singers
From: Susanne (skw)
Date: 23 Feb 02 - 06:29 PM

Nobody's mentioned Martin Carthy and Roy Bailey yet! Rod Paterson comes to mind, and if you can find him, try Arthur Johnston from Glasgow. He's only made two albums, but he's a great singer.

Subject: RE: Male Folk Singers
From: Mervyn
Date: 24 Feb 02 - 12:55 PM

Thanks for the wealth of suggestions. I'll start working my way through them. In answer to the question from Hollowfox about vocal range, I've usually drifted in the obscure country between baritone and tenor. My teacher is getting me to push my range up, so I'll see where I end up....

I'll definitely have to hear something by Tim Dennehy. There aren't that many of us Dennehys around.

FYI, I found this site while searching for information on Raglan Road. The thread answered all of my questions, and IMO shines new light on the song. Thanks!

Subject: RE: Male Folk Singers
From: Herga Kitty
Date: 24 Feb 02 - 01:14 PM

Of those already mentioned, Dick Gaughan, Kevin Mitchell, Martin Carthy, Nic Jones definitely, also Ron Taylor, Martyn Wyndham Read, Mick Ryan, James Patterson (both ex-Crows), Louis Killen, Brian Watson, Jim Mageean, Johnny Collins, Peter Wood, (also Ian Woods, Charley Yarwood, but they're more bass than baritone).

Subject: RE: Male Folk Singers
From: Peter Kasin
Date: 24 Feb 02 - 03:44 PM

I second the motion on Louis Killen! You can't go wrong with anything he's recorded, but for the purest Killen experience, his 1995 release "A Bonny Bunch: Traditional Songs From England, Scotland and Ireland" is a total gem. Soul singing at its finest. Peter Bellamy is another name to look for. The Mudcat's own Dan Milner has released two outstanding CDs of Irish and Irish-American songs. Richard Grainger, a singer and songwriter from the Northeast of England has recorded a very fine CD of traditional sea songs and his own penned songs which sound traditional. His recent CD "On Stormy Seas" is excellent, and grows better with each listening. Try John Roberts and Tony Barrand, who have been singing English folk songs together for many years. If you like sea songs, the already mentioned Louis Killen, A.L. Lloyd, and Ewan MacColl can't be beat. You might want to take up Dick Greenhaus's offer and call him. He could match you up with recordings that would interest you.

Happy hunting!

-chanteyranger

Subject: RE: Male Folk Singers
From: allanwill
Date: 25 Feb 02 - 01:43 PM

Mervyn

As an ex-aussie of the seventies, maybe you remember the likes of Danny Spooner, (the late) Gordon McIntyre, (the late) Declan Affley and (the late) Trevor Lucas.

Are you sure you want to be a male folk singer - seems like a dangerous profession!

Allan

Subject: RE: Male Folk Singers
From: Mervyn
Date: 25 Feb 02 - 06:48 PM

I learned a lot from Danny (as did most of us) and knew Gordon well. I'm saddened to hear of him passing. The last time I saw Gordon was in the mid-seventies when he and his wife Andrea were in Bali, prior to them moving to New Zealand. He was a truly fine man, and a singular musician. I learned "Golden Apples of the Sun" from him, and the song always reminds me of him.

I didn't know Declan though I heard of him from Tony Lavin and Louis McManus (of the Ramblers). I can't place Trevor Lucas.

I learned early that the prospects for a folk singer were not too bright: More musicians than venues -- and singers guarding their repertoires; living on coffee and cheese for months on end from Frank Traynors coffee lounge, the Outpost Inn and Union pub; hitch-hiking from Melbourne to Sydney to play at the Wayside Chapel and restaurants, and sleeping on park benches with my guitar; there were some great parties though, and the music was very special.

Still I remember a lot of the songs I learned then, and still play them at home, and sometimes for friends. It's been very interesting to compare the lyrics I remember with those on Mudcat and other sites -- it seems the memory isn't perfect. Now I have the time and energy to spend more time with my music, so the first step is to do some work with my voice. Thanks for your message.

Mervyn

Subject: RE: Male Folk Singers
From: Linda Kelly
Date: 25 Feb 02 - 07:28 PM

Jez Lowe and Dougie McLean, plus everyone that has been mentioned already.

Subject: RE: Male Folk Singers
From: Murrey
Date: 25 Feb 02 - 10:59 PM

Pete Coe -from Yorkshire -grand singer of traditional songs -plus of course all those mentioned already -especially Martyn Wyndham Read ,Ian Robb is another dandy singer too --one could just rattle on and on but won't ! Murrey

Subject: RE: Male Folk Singers
From: GUEST,The Duck of the Irish
Date: 26 Feb 02 - 12:20 AM

As usual, Tiny Tim has been sadly overlooked once again!

Subject: RE: Male Folk Singers
From: Peter Kasin
Date: 26 Feb 02 - 02:48 AM

It's his approach to traditional material. He tends to tiptoe through his two lips.

Subject: RE: Male Folk Singers
From: Teribus
Date: 26 Feb 02 - 03:16 AM

In addition to those mentioned above.

Ian Bruce - fantastic voice

John Brindley.

Subject: RE: Male Folk Singers
From: radriano
Date: 26 Feb 02 - 05:56 PM

If Cyril Tawney wasn't mentioned I'd add his name to the list. Other male singers I like are Tim Lyons (Irish), Sean Corcoran (Irish), Derek Elliot (English), Peter Bellamy (English), Gabriel McCartle (Irish).