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


Career

Williamson lived in the
Fairmilehead Fairmilehead is a district of southern Edinburgh, Scotland. It lies approximately due south of the city centre and borders Midlothian. The area comprises the neighbourhoods of Buckstone, Caiyside, Caiystane, Swanston, Frogston and Winton. T ...
area of Edinburgh and attended
George Watson's College George Watson's College is a co-educational Independent school (United Kingdom), independent day school in Scotland, situated on Colinton Road, in the Merchiston area of Edinburgh. It was first established as a Scottish education in the eight ...
before leaving at the age of 15 to become a professional musician. He performed in local jazz bands with Gerard Dott (later to be a member of the Incredible String Band) before turning to traditional music as a singer and guitarist. By 1961 he had met and begun sharing a flat with
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 ...
, and in 1963 they traveled to London to play the metropolitan folk circuit. By 1965 he had returned to Edinburgh and formed a duo with
Clive Palmer Clive Frederick Palmer (born 26 March 1954) is an Australian businessman and politician. He has iron ore, nickel, and coal holdings. Palmer owns many businesses such as Mineralogy, Waratah Coal, Queensland Nickel at Townsville, the Palmer C ...
, specializing in fiddle and banjo arrangements of traditional Scottish and Irish songs.
Joe Boyd Joe Boyd (born August 5, 1942) is an American record producer and writer. He formerly owned Hannibal Records. Boyd has worked on recordings of Pink Floyd, Fairport Convention, Sandy Denny, Richard Thompson, Nick Drake, The Incredible String Band ...
signed them to
Elektra Records Elektra Records (or Elektra Entertainment) is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group, founded in 1950 by Jac Holzman and Paul Rickolt. It played an important role in the development of contemporary folk and rock music between the 1 ...
in 1966, by which time they had hired a third member,
Mike Heron James Michael Heron (born 27 December 1942) is a Scotland, Scottish singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, best known for his work in the Incredible String Band in the 1960s and 1970s. Career Heron was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, and at ...
. As resident band at Clive's Incredible Folk Club in Glasgow, they called themselves 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 1966 and 1974 the Incredible String Band, now led by Williamson and Heron, released some 13 albums. The group also included Williamson's girlfriend
Licorice McKechnie Christina 'Licorice' McKechnie (born 2 October 1945) is a Scottish musician. She was a singer and songwriter in The Incredible String Band between 1968 and 1972. Her whereabouts have been publicly unknown since 1987, when she was last seen hit ...
. Williamson released his first solo album, ''Myrrh'', in 1971 when still a member of the Incredible String Band. After the band split up in 1974, he began living in Los Angeles and, for a while, turned his attention to writing, co-writing an
espionage novel Spy fiction is a genre of literature involving espionage as an important context or plot device. It emerged in the early twentieth century, inspired by rivalries and intrigues between the major powers, and the establishment of modern intelligen ...
, ''The Glory Trap''. Many of his albums are released by his label, Pig's Whisker Music. By 1976 he had returned to music, forming The Merry Band with Sylvia Woods (Celtic harp), Jerry McMillan (fiddle), and Chris Caswell (flutes, and wire-strung harp). They toured extensively for three years throughout the US, Canada, and Europe, and released three albums: ''Journey's Edge'', '' American Stonehenge'', and ''A Glint at the Kindling''. After the breakup of the Merry Band, Williamson returned to the UK and started to tour as a solo act, offering sets dominated by traditional stories set to song. Releases of this period include ''Songs of Love and Parting'' and ''Legacy of the Scottish Harpers''. He has also written a tutorial book of English, Welsh, Scottish, and Irish fiddle tunes as well as one for the penny whistle . Williamson's live album with
John Renbourn John Renbourn (8 August 1944 – 26 March 2015) was an English guitarist and songwriter. He was best known for his collaboration with guitarist Bert Jansch as well as his work with the folk group Pentangle, although he maintained a solo care ...
, ''Wheel of Fortune'' (1995), was nominated for a Grammy Award, as was the Incredible String Band album ''Hangman's Beautiful Daughter'' in 1968.). In the late 1990s he took part, with Palmer and Heron, in a reformed Incredible String Band. Williamson left the band some time around the start of 2003. The reformed band disbanded again in 2006. Williamson resumed his solo career on record with a series of albums for ECM: ''The Seed-at-Zero'' (2000), ''Skirting the River Road'' (2002), '' The Iron Stone'' (2006), and ''Trusting in the Rising Light'' (2014). As well as his own words these albums featured material from Dylan Thomas, William Blake, and Walt Whitman.


Involvement with Scientology

Williamson was introduced to
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 business, or a new religious movement. The most recent published census data indi ...
in the 1968-1969 period. In a 1979 interview, he stated:
It's actually a very practical philosophy. It enables you to live slightly better, get on with your fellows slightly better and feel a bit happier about things. That's the reason that I'm interested in it -it's very useable and practical. I've been rather romantic and spiritually inclined. It's probably been helpful to me because of its practicality.


Solo discography

*''
Myrrh Myrrh (; from Semitic, but see '' § Etymology'') is a gum-resin extracted from a number of small, thorny tree species of the genus ''Commiphora''. Myrrh resin has been used throughout history as a perfume, incense and medicine. Myrrh mi ...
'' (1972) *''
Journey's Edge ''Journey's Edge'' is the second solo album by Scottish folk artist Robin Williamson and his Merry Band. The work was released in 1977, and re-released in 2008 by Fledg'ling Records with ten bonus tracks. Journey's Edge was the beginning of a ...
'' (1977) (with The Merry Band) *'' American Stonehenge'' (1978) (with The Merry Band) *'' A Glint at the Kindling'' (1979) (with The Merry Band) *'' Songs of Love & Parting'' (1981) *''The Fisherman's Son and the Gruagach of Tricks'' (1981) *''Prince Dougie and the Swan Maiden'' (1982) *''Rory Mor and the Gruagach Gaire'' (1982) *'' Music for the Mabinogi'' (1983) *''Selected Writings'' (1984) *''Five Humorous Tales of Scotland and Ireland'' (1984) *''The Dragon Has Two Tongues'' (1985) *''Five Celtic Tales of Enchantment'' (1985) *''Five Legendary Histories of Britain'' (1985) *''Five Bardic Mysteries'' (1985) *''Five Tales of Prodigies and Marvels'' (1985) *'' Legacy of the Scottish Harpers'' (1986) *'' Legacy of the Scottish Harpers Volume Two'' (1986) *'' Winter's Turning'' (1986) *'' Songs For Children of All Ages'' (1987) *'' Ten of Songs'' (1988) *''Music for the Newly Born'' (1990) *''Wheel of Fortune'' (1995, with John Renbourn) *''The Island of the Strong Door'' (1996) *''Songs for the Calendarium'' (1996) *''Farewell Concert at McCabe's'' (1997, with The Merry Band) *''Mirrorman's Sequences'' (1997) *''Celtic Harp Airs And Dance Tunes'' (1997) *''Memories/Erinnerungen'' (1997) *''Dream Journals'' (1997) *''Bloomsbury 1997'' (1998, with Mike Heron) *''Gems of Celtic Story 1'' (1998) *''Ring Dance'' (1998) *''Gems of Celtic Story 2'' (1998) *''A Job of Journey Work'' (1998) *''The Old Fangled Tone'' (1999) *''Music For Macbeth'' (1999) *''At The Pure Fountain'' (1999, with Clive Palmer) *''The Seed-at-Zero'' (2000) *''Just Like The Ivy'' (2000, with Clive Palmer) *''Bloomsbury 2000'' (2001, with reformed Incredible String Band) *''Carmina'' (2001) *''Skirting The River Road'' (2002) *''Gems of Celtic Story 3'' (2002) *'' The Iron Stone'' (2006) *''The Celtic Bard'' (2008) *'' Just Like The River And Other Songs For Guitar'' (2008) *''Love Will Remain'' (2012) *''Trusting in the Rising Light'' (2014)


Bibliography

;by Robin Williamson; illustrated by Janet Williamson *''Home Thoughts from Abroad : Poems 1966-1971; illustrated by Janet Williamson'' (1972) ;by Robin Williamson * ''English, Welsh, Scottish and Irish Fiddle Tunes'' (1976) * ''Penny Whistle Book'' (1977) * ''Five Denials on Merlin's Grave: A Poem With Annotations'' (1979) *''The Craneskin Bag: Celtic Stories and Poems'' (1989) * ''The Wise and Foolish Tongue: Celtic Stories and Poems*'' (1991) ;by John Matthews, with a foreword by Robin Williamson *''From the Isles of Dream: Visionary Stories and Poems of the Celtic Renaissance'' (1993) * ''The Bardic Source Book: Inspirational Legacy and Teachings of the Ancient Celts'' (1998) ;by R. J. Stewart and Robin Williamson; illustrated by Chris Down *''Celtic Bards, Celtic Druids'' (1996) *NB. The Wise and Foolish Tongue is a reprint of The Craneskin Bag. However, the Wise and Foolish Tongue omits many of the illustrations found in The Craneskin Bag.


References


External links


Official Robin and Bina Williamson website
by
Richie Unterberger Richie Unterberger (born January 19, 1962) is an American author and journalist whose focus is popular music and travel writing. Life and writing Unterberger attended the University of Pennsylvania, where he wrote for the university newspaper '' ...

Robin Williamson fansiteRobin Williamson, interview documentary in Andalucia (Spain).
{{DEFAULTSORT:Williamson, Robin 1943 births Scottish multi-instrumentalists Living people Musicians from Edinburgh People educated at George Watson's College Scottish folk musicians Scottish songwriters 20th-century Scottish male singers British storytellers Island Records artists The Incredible String Band members Claddagh Records artists Tin whistle players Flying Fish Records artists British male songwriters 20th-century flautists