Heather Heywood (born Heather Williamson on 26 December 1950), is a Scottish
folk singer
Folk music is a music genre that includes traditional folk music and the contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be called world music. Traditional folk music has b ...
from Kilmarnock, Ayrshire. She was voted "Artist of the Year" by Glasgow’s Star Club in 1993.
Career
Heywood's first performance took place around 1968 in the Eglinton Folk Club in
Lizzie Higgins
Lizzie Higgins (20 September 1929 – 20 February 1993) was an Aberdeenshire ballad singer.
Early life
Born Elizabeth Ann Higgins in Guest Row, Aberdeen, she was the daughter of settled Travellers the piper Donald "Donty" Higgins and the sin ...
and
Jeannie Robertson
Jeannie Robertson (1908 – 13 March 1975) was a Scottish folk singer.
Her most celebrated song is "I'm a Man You Don't Meet Every Day", otherwise known as "Jock Stewart", which was covered by Archie Fisher, The Dubliners, The McCalmans, ...
among others, she progressed to bookings as a solo artist for a number of Scottish clubs. She remained a solo artist for most of her career except for one tour of Brittany with the band
The Clutha
The Clutha were a traditional Scottish band hailing from Glasgow, that released a small number of albums in the 1970s. The line-up on the Clutha's first album, ''Scotia'' (1971), was John Eaglesham (vocal, concertina), Erlend Voy (fiddle, conc ...
during the absence of their singer Gordeanna McCulloch.
Heather Heywood is best known for ballads and is quoted to be "not so taken with lighter numbers."
Personal life
In 1970, Williamson married Peter Heywood, a folk music activist and publisher of ''
The Living Tradition
''The Living Tradition'' was a bi-monthly music magazine published in the United Kingdom between 1993 and 2022. It specialised in traditional folk music from the UK, Ireland and beyond. The original editors were Peter and Heather Heywood. In 20 ...
'' magazine. They have three daughters.
Discography
*''Some Kind of Love'' (1987)
*''By Yon Castle Wa (1993)
*''Lassies Fair and Laddies Braw'' (2011)