Stanley Robertson (8 June 1940 – 2 August 2009) was a Scottish storyteller,

ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads derive from the medieval French ''chanson balladée'' or ''ballade'', which were originally "dance songs". Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and ...

singer, and

piper Piper may refer to: People * Piper (given name) * Piper (surname) Arts and entertainment Fictional characters Comics * Piper (Morlock), in the Marvel Universe * Piper (Mutate), in the Marvel Universe Television * Piper Chapman, lea ...

. He was born in

Aberdeen Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), and ...

in 1940 into a Traveller family which had settled there. From his aunt, folk singer

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, T ...

, and others including his father, he inherited a huge repertoire of northeast ballads. He was the keyworker for the

Heritage Lottery The National Lottery Heritage Fund, formerly the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF), distributes a share of National Lottery funding, supporting a wide range of heritage projects across the United Kingdom. History The fund's predecessor bodies were ...

-funded "Oral and Cultural Traditions of Scottish Travellers" project at the Elphinstone Institute, University of Aberdeen, from April 2002 until April 2005. As a member of the Traveller community, Robertson documented his own lore and that of other members of this group, and promoted the cultural traditions of Scottish Travellers among young people in schools and community groups. His storytelling was affected by the different trades at which he worked, including his long years spent filleting in the

fish houses, where he gathered many contemporary stories. In June 2003, he represented the University of Aberdeen and Scotland at the Smithsonian Institution's Folklife Festival in Washington, D.C. He published three plays and seven books, some written in his local Scots dialect. He was featured in more than 100 radio programmes and 50 television appearances and made numerous personal appearances on stage and in theatres, schools and colleges. On 27 November 2008, at age 68, Robertson, who was an Honorary Research Associate at the University of Aberdeen's Elphinstone Institute, was conferred an honorary degree of Master of the University (MUniv), in recognition for the work he had done. He was a frequent broadcaster and appeared regularly at storytelling festivals. He was an Honorary Founder of the Scottish Storytelling Forum. Stanley died at his home in Aberdeen on Sunday, 2 August 2009. A musical about Robertson's life by

Kyle Jarrow Kyle Jarrow (born October 7, 1979) is a Los Angeles–based writer and rock musician. Career Writing Jarrow's writing career began in theater, winning an Obie Award with director Alex Timbers in 2004 for '' A Very Merry Unauthorized Children's ...

and Bright Lights, Big City composer Paul Scott Goodman tentatively titled ''Reek Roon'' is currently under development, reportedly commissioned by ''

Fela! ''Fela!'' is a jukebox musical with a book by Bill T. Jones and Jim Lewis, based on music and lyrics by the late Nigerian singer Fela Kuti, with additional music by Aaron Johnson and Jordan McLean and additional lyrics by Jim Lewis. It is based ...

'' producer Steve Hendel. In 2016, in memory of Robertson's significant influence as a storyteller, the Grampian Association of Storytellers commissioned the 'Stanley Robertson Award for Traditional Storytelling' to be given out at the Aberdeen Traditional Music and Song Association's yearly competitions. The trophy was created by glassmaker Shelagh Swanson and its first winner was Jane Chalmers.

References

External links

Stanley Robertson Daily Telegraph obituaryArchive of 37 recordings of ballads sung by Stanley Robertson
British storytellers Scottish folk singers Scottish male songwriters Scottish Travellers Scottish Latter Day Saints 1940 births 2009 deaths Musicians from Aberdeen Scottish dramatists and playwrights 20th-century British dramatists and playwrights 20th-century Scottish writers 20th-century Scottish male singers 20th-century Scottish musicians 21st-century British dramatists and playwrights 21st-century Scottish writers 21st-century Scottish male singers 21st-century Scottish musicians {{scotland-musician-stub