Biography

1946-2019.
Well-known singer. Born in Bellshill and lived in Rutherglen.

In the words of her obituary in the Herald (09/03/2019), she was 'one of Scotland's great folksong and ballad singers, arguably the most important and most influential of her generation, and one who leaves a major legacy among the many younger singers she encouraged'.

She was a pupil of Rutherglen Academy when the folk revivalist and politician Norman Buchan was an English teacher there, and she was a member of his Ballads Club at the school, which included other soon-to-be well-known folk musicians such as Ray and Archie Fisher, Ewan MacVicar, and Josh MacRae.

Her recordings on the Kist o Riches website span almost 30 years, from the early days of her career as an 18-year-old in 1964, to the 'Muckle Sangs' concert at the Edinburgh Folk Festival in 1993.