Lal Waterson

Lal Waterson’s voice was stark and mesmerising

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By Hannah Nepilova

Who knows what else this English folk singer might have achieved, had she not died suddenly, aged 55, of cancer diagnosed only ten days before.

As it is, she produced a significant body of songs. Stark but mesmerising, they often focused on the bleaker side of life.

An orphan brought up by her grandmother of part Gypsy descent, Waterson grew up singing with her siblings. Together they opened their own folk club in a pub in their native city of Hull. By the mid 1960s they had developed their own unaccompanied style singing harmony style re-workings of traditional English songs. 

Later, when Waterson branched off on her own, she would draw on influences ranging from jazz and ragtime. But that facility with harmony, and her ability to take it in unexpected directions, stood her in good stead throughout her relatively short life, contributing to a musical voice that was as original as it was powerful.

Folk Radio – Ep128 “A Festive Winter Mix”

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A festive mix feat. Olivia Chaney, Steve Tilston, Anne Briggs, Bert Jansch, Dick Gaughan, Coope, Boyes & Simpson, Jean Ritchie, Martin Carthy and more.

My first festive mix of the year featuring Olivia Chaney, Steve Tilston, Anne Briggs, Bert Jansch, Dick Gaughan, Lady Maisery and Jimmy Aldridge & Sid Goldsmith, Coope, Boyes & Simpson, Martha Tilston, Jean Ritchie, Blind Boy Grunt (Bob Dylan)/Richard Fariña/Eric Von Schmidt, Nadia Cattouse, Jethro Tull, Johnny Cunningham, Susan McKeown & Aidan Brennan, Martin Carthy (with June Tabor), Richard Thompson, Chris Wood, Ewan McCall and Peggy Seeger, Lal Waterson, Bernard Wrigley and David Strawbridge & Tim Laycock.

Enjoy

  1. Olivia Chaney – Waxwing
  2. Steve Tilston – Roving on a Winter’s Night
  3. Anne Briggs – Fire And Wine
  4. Bert Jansch – The January Man
  5. Dick Gaughan – The Snows They Melt The Soonest
  6. Lady Maisery and Jimmy Aldridge & Sid Goldsmith – Winter Berries
  7. Lady Maisery and Jimmy Aldridge & Sid Goldsmith – The Old Churchyard
  8. Coope, Boyes & Simpson – The Meadowhall Carol
  9. Martha Tilston – Winter Flowers
  10. Jean Ritchie – Wintergrace
  11. Blind Boy Grunt/Richard Fariña/Eric Von Schmidt – Xmas Island
  12. Nadia Cattouse – Red & Green Christmas
  13. Jethro Tull – First Snow in Brooklyn
  14. Johnny Cunningham, Susan McKeown & Aidan Brennan – A Christmas Childhood
  15. Johnny Cunningham, Susan McKeown & Aidan Brennan – My Singing Bird
  16. John Kirkpatrick – Wassail
  17. Martin Carthy – Hunting The Cutty Wren (w/ June Tabor)
  18. Richard Thompson – The Snow Goose
  19. Chris Wood – Turtle Soup
  20. Ewan McCall and Peggy Seeger – Moving on Song
  21. Lal Waterson – Christmas Is Now Drawing Near at Hand
  22. Bernard Wrigley – The Wassail Song
  23. David Strawbridge & Tim Laycock – The Humstrum

Photo by Toa Heftiba

Source: Folk Show – Episode 128 (a Festive Winter Mix)

Once in a Blue Moon: The Songs of Lal Waterson – BBC Sounds

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The story of one of the great folk singers and writers of our time, Lal Waterson.

Lal Waterson’s voice was stark but captivating and it’s been said that the songs she wrote were close to German cabaret or chanson. They were lyrically ambitious and melodically powerful. Since her death in 1998, her reputation has grown and now she is placed alongside the great singer song-writers like Nick Drake and Richard Thompson. She was a member of the famous Waterson family and numbered among other relatives the folk singer Martin Carthy and his daughter Eliza. In this feature, Robin Denselow explores the life and legacy of Lal Waterson and assesses her impact on song-writers today.

Producer: Emma Kingsley First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in November 2010.

Listen at : Once in a Blue Moon: The Songs of Lal Waterson – BBC Sounds