Christina 'Licorice' McKechnie (born 2 October 1945) is a Scottish musician. She was a singer and songwriter in

The Incredible String Band The Incredible String Band (sometimes abbreviated as ISB) were a Scottish psychedelic folk band formed by Clive Palmer (musician), Clive Palmer, Robin Williamson and Mike Heron in Edinburgh in 1966. The band built a considerable following, esp ...

between 1968 and 1972. Her whereabouts have been publicly unknown since 1987, when she was last seen hitchhiking across the Arizona desert.

Biography

McKechnie was born in

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

. After reading her poetry at folk clubs in Edinburgh, she met the musician

Robin Williamson Robin Duncan Harry Williamson (born 24 November 1943) is a Scottish multi-instrumentalist, singer, songwriter, and storyteller who was a founding member of The Incredible String Band. Career Williamson lived in the Fairmilehead area of Edinbu ...

, but left home in her teens with the intention of marrying

Bert Jansch Herbert Jansch (3 November 1943 – 5 October 2011) was a Scottish folk musician and founding member of the band Pentangle. He was born in Glasgow and came to prominence in London in the 1960s as an acoustic guitarist and singer-songwriter ...

. The

banns The banns of marriage, commonly known simply as the "banns" or "bans" (from a Middle English word meaning "proclamation", rooted in Frankish and thence in Old French), are the public announcement in a Christian parish church, or in the town co ...

were published but the wedding never took place. Jansch left her behind to travel to

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to ...

in 1963, and, according to Williamson, "she fell into yarms". In 1966 she travelled to Morocco with Williamson, and was later involved in the Incredible String Band's recordings. Her first contribution to the band came in the form of

backing vocals A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are use ...

on the track "Painting Box", on the 1967 album ''

The 5000 Spirits or the Layers of the Onion ''The 5000 Spirits or the Layers of the Onion'' is the second album by the Scottish psychedelic folk group, The Incredible String Band (ISB), and was released in July 1967 on Elektra Records (''see'' 1967 in music). The album was recorded follo ...

''. By 1968, she was regarded as a fully-fledged member of the band, usually as a backing singer and

percussionist A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Ex ...

, and she performed with them at the

Woodstock Festival Woodstock Music and Art Fair, commonly referred to as Woodstock, was a music festival held during August 15–18, 1969, on Max Yasgur's dairy farm in Bethel, New York, United States, southwest of the town of Woodstock. Billed as "an Aquar ...

in August 1969. By 1972 she had left the band, after her relationship with Williamson ended.Whittaker, Adrian, ed. (2003). ''Be Glad: The Incredible String Band Compendium''. . In 1974, McKechnie appeared onstage at a

Scientology Scientology is a set of beliefs and practices invented by American author L. Ron Hubbard, and an associated movement. It has been variously defined as a cult, a Scientology as a business, business, or a new religious movement. The most recent ...

benefit concert in East Grinstead with

Mike Garson Michael David Garson (born July 29, 1945) is an American pianist, who has worked with David Bowie, Nine Inch Nails, St. Vincent, Duran Duran, Free Flight and The Smashing Pumpkins. Early career Garson went to Lafayette High School in Broo ...

Woody Woodmansey Michael "Woody" Woodmansey (born 4 February 1950) is an English rock drummer best known for his work in the early 1970s as a member of David Bowie's core backing ensemble that became known as the Spiders from Mars in conjunction with the rele ...

, Leonard Halliwell and others, before moving to California and joining the Silver Moon Band. She married the musician Brian Lambert; they later divorced. She appeared with Williamson and his Merry Band in 1977, and is credited as Likky Lambert on the 1977 album '' Journey's Edge'', before joining Woody Woodmansey's band U-Boat. She visited Edinburgh in 1986 to see her family, but her whereabouts have been unknown since 1990, when, according to her sister, she was in

Sacramento, California ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento C ...

, apparently recovering from surgery. The music journalist

Mark Ellen Mark Ellen (born 16 September 1953) is a British magazine editor, journalist and broadcaster who lives in West London. Early life Ellen was born in Fleet, Hampshire, England. Whilst at Oxford University in the 1970s, he briefly played bass alo ...

wrote in ''

Mojo Mojo may refer to: * Mojo (African-American culture), a magical charm bag used in voodoo Arts, entertainment and media Film and television * MOJO HD, an American television network * ''Mojo'' (play), by Jez Butterworth, made into a 1997 film * ' ...

'' magazine in 2000 that she was "last seen in 1987 hitchhiking across the

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

Desert. Not even her family has heard from her since." Fellow former Incredible String Band member

Rose Simpson Rose Simpson (born 22 November 1946) is an English former musician. Between 1968 and 1971, she was a member of the Incredible String Band, with whom she played bass guitar, violin, percussion and sang. She later became Lady Mayoress of the Wel ...

was quoted as saying: "There's a possibility she may be dead."Ellen, Mark (2000). "Supertroupers—The Incredible String Band". ''MOJO''. August 2000, issue 81, EMAP Metro, London. p. 46.

References

External links

Recording
of Brian Lambert interview, 2019, discussing his life with Licorice McKechnie {{DEFAULTSORT:McKechnie, Licorice 1945 births 1980s missing person cases 20th-century Scottish women singers Missing people Missing person cases in California Musicians from Edinburgh Scottish songwriters The Incredible String Band members

Biography

See also

References

External links