Len Graham (born 1944) is a
Northern Irish traditional singer and song collector from
County Antrim, Northern Ireland. He is a leading authority on
Folk music in Ireland.
Early life
Graham was born in
County Antrim
County Antrim (named after the town of Antrim, ) is one of six counties of Northern Ireland and one of the thirty-two counties of Ireland. Adjoined to the north-east shore of Lough Neagh, the county covers an area of and has a population o ...
. His father, a
fiddler
A fiddle is a Bow (music), bowed String instrument, string musical instrument, most often a violin. It is a colloquial term for the violin, used by players in all genres, including European classical music, classical music. Although in many ...
, brought him to sessions in the local area as a young boy. Throughout the 1960s, Len travelled around Ireland to record and preserve folk songs, befriending singers such as
Joe Holmes
Joe Holmes (born June 11, 1963) is an American heavy metal guitarist best known for his stint with Ozzy Osbourne between 1995 and 2001. He has also played with Van Halen frontman David Lee Roth and the L.A. band Lizzy Borden in addition to lea ...
. Graham won the
All Ireland Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann traditional singing competition in 1971, an important accolade for Irish traditional musicians around the world.
Career
In 1975 Graham released his first album, a collaboration with his mentor
Joe Holmes
Joe Holmes (born June 11, 1963) is an American heavy metal guitarist best known for his stint with Ozzy Osbourne between 1995 and 2001. He has also played with Van Halen frontman David Lee Roth and the L.A. band Lizzy Borden in addition to lea ...
, ''Chaste Muses, Bards and Sages'' on Free Reed Records. In 1976 he released his first solo album, ''Wind and Water'' with
Topic Records
Topic Records is a British folk music label, which played a major role in the second British folk revival. It began as an offshoot of the Workers' Music Association in 1939, making it the oldest independent record label in the world.M. Brocken, ...
. This was followed by his second collaboration with Holmes in 1978: ''After Dawning: Traditional Songs, Ballads and Lilts from the North of Ireland''
Topic Records
Topic Records is a British folk music label, which played a major role in the second British folk revival. It began as an offshoot of the Workers' Music Association in 1939, making it the oldest independent record label in the world.M. Brocken, ...
, which was also later released on the Ossian USA label.
Graham continued to collaborate with other poets and
seanchaithe and storytellers. Since collecting songs from Ulster's older traditional singers, among them
Eddie Butcher
Eddie Butcher (8 May 1900 – 8 September 1980) was an Irish traditional singer, folk-song collector and songwriter from Magilligan, County Londonderry. He had an extensive repertoire of songs that he performed in a sturdy, earthy style. ...
and Joe Holmes, his association with John Campbell would begin a 20-year collaboration of story and song. During the 1980s–90s, Graham and Campbell would bring their events and work to cross-community groups around Ireland, especially to the north which was experiencing
armed conflict
War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular ...
. Since John Campbell's passing in 2006, Len has toured regularly with storyteller Jack Lynch.
Graham and Campbell also gave talks on the shared cultural traditions of both the nationalist and unionist populations in Northern Ireland. Graham collaborates with American-born singer Brían Ó hAirt, touring regions of North America annually. Their performances feature the duet singing tradition that was common among the singing communities of Ulster during Graham's own youth; they also feature the repertoire shared between the Ulster and Appalachian/Ozark traditions as well as lilting, sean-nós dancing, spoons playing and tunes on the tin whistle and concertina. Songs collected and recorded by Graham are now well known in folk
repertoire
A repertoire () is a list or set of dramas, operas, musical compositions or roles which a company or person is prepared to perform.
Musicians often have a musical repertoire. The first known use of the word ''repertoire'' was in 1847. It is a l ...
around the world, and have been recorded by
Altan,
De Dannan
De Dannan (originally ''Dé Danann'') is an Irish folk music group. It was formed 1975 by Frankie Gavin ( fiddle), Alec Finn (guitar, bouzouki), Johnny "Ringo" McDonagh (bodhrán) and Charlie Piggott ( banjo) as a result of sessions in Hughe ...
,
The Chieftains
The Chieftains are a traditional Irish folk band formed in Dublin in 1962, by Paddy Moloney, Seán Potts and Michael Tubridy. Their sound, which is almost entirely instrumental and largely built around uilleann pipes, has become synonymous wi ...
,
Cherish the Ladies
Cherish the Ladies is an American female supergroup (music), super group that plays Celtic music. The band began as a concert series in New York in January 1985. It was the brainchild of Mick Moloney who wanted to showcase the brightest female ...
,
Andy Irvine and
Karen Casey
Karen Lynn Casey (born April 24, 1947) is a Canadian politician, who represented the electoral district of Colchester North in the Nova Scotia House of Assembly, first as a Progressive Conservative (2006 to 2011), and then as member of the Lib ...
, among others.
His recording career has produced over twenty albums of song. In November 2008, he gave a lecture and performance at the
Library of Congress
The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library is ...
entitled ''It's of My Rambles: A Journey in the Song Tradition of Ulster''. Graham's book, ''Here I Am Amongst You'', on the songs, dance music and traditions of
Joe Holmes
Joe Holmes (born June 11, 1963) is an American heavy metal guitarist best known for his stint with Ozzy Osbourne between 1995 and 2001. He has also played with Van Halen frontman David Lee Roth and the L.A. band Lizzy Borden in addition to lea ...
was published by
Four Courts Press
Four Courts Press is an independent Irish academic publishing house, with its office at Malpas Street, Dublin 8, Ireland.
Founded in 1970 by Michael Adams, who died in February 2009, its early publications were primarily theological, notably t ...
in 2010.
Awards and honours
* 1992 – Seán O'Boyle Cultural Traditions Award: "in recognition of his work in Ireland as a song collector and singer."
* 2002 – National Music Award for Traditional Singer of the Year
* 2008 – Keeper of the Tradition Award from the
Tommy Makem
Thomas Makem (4 November 1932 – 1 August 2007) was an internationally celebrated Irish folk musician, artist, poet and storyteller. He was best known as a member of the Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem. He played the long-necked 5-string banjo ...
Festival of Traditional Song
* 2008 – United States' Irish Music Award in the "Sean-Nós Singing" category: "His rich recording history spans over thirty years, with more than twenty albums to his credit"
Personal life
Graham and his wife
Pádraigín Ní Uallacháin
Pádraigín Máire Ní Uallacháin () is an Irish singer-songwriter, academic, and former newsreader , who is also a traditional singer, both specialise in the songs of Ulster. Together they recorded an album of children's songs, called "When I was Young." They live in
Mullaghbawn
Mullaghbawn ( or ; ), or Mullaghbane, is a small village and townland near Slieve Gullion in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. In the 2011 Census it had a population of 596.
History
A barracks was built near Mullaghbawn in 1689 and was known ...
, Co. Armagh. He is the uncle of fiddler and producer
Dónal O'Connor
Dónal O'Connor is an Irish multi-instrumentalist, producer and television presenter from Ravensdale, County Louth, Ireland. He is a member of Belfast-based Irish traditional groups Ulaid & At First Light.
Early life
O'Connor was born into ...
.
Discography
With Joe Holmes
*''
Chaste Muses, Bards and Sages
Chaste refers to practicing chastity.
Chaste may also refer to:
* Aymar Chaste (1514–1603), Catholic French admiral
* Chaste (Marvel Comics), a fictional Marvel Comics martial arts enclave
* Chaste (canton) - see List of townships in Quebec
T ...
'' (1971)
*''
After Dawning
After may refer to:
Literature
* ''After'' (Elgar), an 1895 poem by Philip Bourke Marston set to music by Edward Elgar
* ''After'' (Prose novel), a 2003 novel by Francine Prose
* ''After'' (book), a 2005 book by Canadian writer Francis Chalifour
...
'' (1978)
Skylark
*''Skylark'' (1987)
*''
All of It
''All of It'' is the third studio album by American country music singer Cole Swindell. It was released on August 17, 2018 via Warner Bros. Records Nashville. The album includes the singles "Break Up in the End" and "Love You Too Late" as well as ...
'' (1989)
*''Light and Shade'' (1992)
*''
Raining Bicycles
Rain is water droplets that have condensed from atmospheric water vapor and then fall under gravity. Rain is a major component of the water cycle and is responsible for depositing most of the fresh water on the Earth. It provides water fo ...
'' (1996)
With Cathal McConnell
*''
For the Sake of Old Decency'' (1993)
With Pádraigín Ní Uallacháin and Garry Ó Briain
*''
When I Was Young'' (1996) (children's songs)
With John Campbell
*''Ebb and Flow'' (1998)
*''Two for the Road'' (2001)
With Brian Ó hAirt
*''In Two Minds'' (2011)
*''The Road Taken'' (2015)
Solo
*''
Wind and Water
Len Graham (born 1944) is a Northern Irish traditional singer and song collector from County Antrim, Northern Ireland. He is a leading authority on Folk music in Ireland.
Early life
Graham was born in County Antrim. His father, a fiddler, b ...
'' (1977)
*''
Do Me Justice'' (1983)
*''
Ye Lovers All'' (1986)
*''
It's of My Rambles'' (1993) (field recordings to accompany book by the same name)
*''
In Full Flight'' (2008)
*''Over the Hills and Far Away'' (2010)
In 2009 ''The Knight Templar's Dream'' from ''Wind and Water'' was included in
Topic Records
Topic Records is a British folk music label, which played a major role in the second British folk revival. It began as an offshoot of the Workers' Music Association in 1939, making it the oldest independent record label in the world.M. Brocken, ...
70-year anniversary boxed set ''
Three Score and Ten
''Three Score and Ten: A Voice to the People'' is a multi-CD box set album issued by Topic Records in 2009 to celebrate 70 years as an independent British record label.
The album consists of a hardback book containing the seven CDs and a paper ...
'' as track eighteen on the third CD.
Publications
*
References
External links
Official website– Len Graham
A lecture in the Song Tradition of Ulster given by Len Graham to the Library of Congress
{{DEFAULTSORT:Graham, Len
1944 births
Living people
Musicians from County Antrim
Folk singers from Northern Ireland
20th-century male singers from Northern Ireland
21st-century male singers from Northern Ireland
Irish folk-song collectors
20th-century musicologists
Claddagh Records artists
Shanachie Records artists
Topic Records artists