Alexander William MacLeod Beaton (July 15, 1944 – May 27, 2022) was 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 ...

and

guitarist A guitarist (or a guitar player) is a person who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of guitar family instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselve ...

. He performed across the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

and in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

, hosted tours to

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

, and established folk singers as a regular feature at highland games in the United States, beginning with the Grandfather Mountain Highland Games in

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

. Beaton released 21 albums on CD and one DVD musical travelogue of Scotland that combined three titles that were previously released on VHS tape. Artists featured on his recordings included

Alasdair Fraser Alasdair Fraser (born 14 May 1955, Clackmannan, Scotland) is a Scottish fiddler, composer, performer, and recording artist. Fraser operates Culburnie Records and is a leading artist on the label. He has founded various summer fiddling prog ...

and Eric Rigler.

Origins and early work

Alexander William MacLeod Beaton was born on July 15, 1944, in Glasgow, Scotland, to an Irish mother and Scottish father. He began his musical career at the age of 17 as a member of ''The Cumberland Three'', a British

folk group 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 bee ...

in the early 1960s. ''The Cumberland Three'' consisted of Beaton, Brian Fogarty, and Leonard Sturrock, with Pete Sayers on the banjo. In 1963 they appeared at a large folk music concert with

Robin Hall Robin Hall (27 June 1936 – 18 November 1998) was a Scottish folksinger, best known as half of a singing duo with Jimmie Macgregor. Hall was a direct descendant of the famous Scottish folk hero and outlaw Rob Roy MacGregor as well as of t ...

and

Jimmie Macgregor Jimmie Macgregor (born 10 March 1930) is a Scottish folksinger and broadcaster, best known as half of a singing duo with Robin Hall. Biography Jimmie Macgregor was born in Springburn, Glasgow, Scotland, and grew up in a tenement and then a ...

. The group made appearances on radio and television, including on the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

and ITV television networks. On December 7, 1963, the group performed on the British TV series Hullabaloo! The group recorded for

Parlophone Records Parlophone Records Limited (also known as Parlophone Records and Parlophone) is a record label founded in Germany in 1896 by the Carl Lindström Company as Parlophon. The British branch of the label was founded on 8 August 1923 as the Parloph ...

. In 1964 they released their one and only album ''Introducing The Cumberland Three''. In 1965 ''The Cumberland Three'' disbanded in connection with the end of the folk music revival. Beaton emigrated to the United States in 1965 where he initially lived in

New York state New York, also called New York State, is a state in the northeastern United States. Bordered by New England to the east, Canada to the north, and Pennsylvania and New Jersey to the south, its territory extends into both the Atlantic Ocean and ...

and worked as a singer on TV and in restaurants. For a time he was the head of the entertainment department at Cunning Hartmann and Associates in

Troy, New York Troy is a city in and the county seat of Rensselaer County, New York, United States. It is located on the western edge of the county, on the eastern bank of the Hudson River just northeast of the capital city of Albany, New York, Albany. At the ...

. Later serving in the

US Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of the United Stat ...

, he entertained troops in the Third Army Soldiers' Show and the Seventh US Army Chorus in Germany. After serving 4 years in the army he took up the nightclub scene in 1969. During the 1970s, he re-directed his career toward writing and performing American country music, later winning an accolade at the International American Song Festival Awards in 1974 for a country song. Also in 1974, he moved to the

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

area.

Career as a Scottish folk singer

By 1981 Beaton was a resident singer at the Bob Burns Restaurant in

Woodland Hills, California Woodland Hills is a neighborhood bordering the Santa Monica Mountains in the San Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles, California, United States. History The area was inhabited for around 8,000 years by Native Americans in the United States, ...

, performing a variety of music including country, folk, pop, rock, and standards. In 1983 he was "getting burned out" and, at the suggestion of a friend, started focusing more on traditional Scottish music. While at Bob Burns, wealthy real estate broker James Gary, who was of Scottish descent, became a fan of Beaton's and invested in an album of Scottish music; this resulted in the two becoming business partners to form Glenfinnan Records (

Glenfinnan Glenfinnan ( ) is a hamlet in Lochaber area of the Scottish Highlands, Highlands of Scotland. In 1745 the Jacobite rising of 1745, Jacobite rising began here when Prince Charles Edward Stuart ("Bonnie Prince Charlie") raised his House of Stuart ...

is the place name of where the

Jacobite rising of 1745 The Jacobite rising of 1745 was an attempt by Charles Edward Stuart to regain the Monarchy of Great Britain, British throne for his father, James Francis Edward Stuart. It took place during the War of the Austrian Succession, when the bulk of t ...

began). In 1986 Beaton fully transitioned to performing folk music that was primarily Scottish in origin or subject, although his repertoire included songs in the folk music genre that were not purely Scottish (such as by

Gordon Lightfoot Gordon Meredith Lightfoot Jr. (November 17, 1938 – May 1, 2023) was a Canadian singer-songwriter who achieved worldwide success and helped define the singer-songwriter era of the 1970s. Widely considered one of Canada's greatest songwriters, ...

and

Stan Rogers Stanley Allison Rogers (November 29, 1949 – June 2, 1983) was a Canadian folk musician and songwriter who sang traditional-sounding songs frequently inspired by Canadian history and the working people's daily lives, especially from the fishin ...

). Beaton "tried for three years in the early '80s to perform at the prestigious Grandfather Mountain Games in North Carolina, with no success." Determined to make a breakthrough, he traveled to

Linville, North Carolina Linville is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Avery County, North Carolina, United States. It was first listed as a CDP in the 2020 census with a population of 283. Centered just south of US 221 and NC ...

and busked on a street corner on the route to the games. By the next year, Beaton was singing at the games and emceed the Tartan Ball. Following that success, he promoted and advertised himself and pushed his way into other games. "Now, every Highland Games has folk music," Beaton told the ''

Albuquerque Journal The ''Albuquerque Journal'' is the largest newspaper in the U.S. state of New Mexico. History The ''Golden Gate'' newspaper was founded in June 1880. In the fall of 1880, the owner of the ''Golden Gate'' died and Journal Publishing Company was ...

'' in 2000, whereas previously they "never included singers, only bagpipe bands." By 1990, Beaton had "won acclaim as the featured performer at numerous Highland Games and Scottish cultural events throughout the U.S. and Canada". In 1993 it was reported that Beaton was appearing at several dozen festivals that year. Also in 1993, it was stated that Beaton was "the featured performer at all of the major Scottish festivals, including Maxville and Fergus Highland Games in Canada, North Carolina's Grandfather Mountain, California's Santa Rosa and Cost Mesa, and the Stone Mountain Highland Games in Atlanta, Georgia." In 1994 it was said that he gave about 75 performances a year, mostly at Scottish festivals. In 1996 he started hosting guided tours to Scotland. In 1999, he was described as "among the best-known Scottish entertainers" in the United States. ''The Times Scotland'' noted Beaton's performance style, stating "mixed in with the tender ballads from his homeland were bawdy family favorites such as "You Cannae Shove yer Granny aff a Bus" and a healthy dose of Glaswegian banter." ''The Herald Scotland'' described him as "a tall, distinctive figure with . . . (an) easy-on-the-ear singing style." He had a

baritone A baritone is a type of classical music, classical male singing human voice, voice whose vocal range lies between the bass (voice type), bass and the tenor voice type, voice-types. It is the most common male voice. The term originates from the ...

vocal range. The Virginia Gazette said "Beaton's voice and guitar are clear, thoughtful and sensitive. Singing sentimental ballads, his rich (singing voice) evokes a tear; his sly Scot's humor provokes laughter; rousing interpretations of patriotic songs invite enthusiastic cheers." He interspersed narratives of Scottish history and wit amongst songs in his musical sets. Beaton gave what would become his last public performance on the

Isle of Harris Harris (, ) is the southern and more mountainous part of Lewis and Harris, the largest island in the Outer Hebrides, Scotland. Although not an island itself, Harris is often referred to in opposition to the ''Isle of Lewis'' as the Isle of Harr ...

on June 11, 2011.> He performed Piper to the End by

Mark Knopfler Mark Freuder Knopfler OBE (born 12 August 1949) is a British musician. He was the lead guitarist, singer and songwriter of the rock band Dire Straits from 1977 to 1995, and he is the one of the two members who stayed during the band's existence ...

, which he was planning to include on his next album.

Guitars

Beaton's stage guitar was a

Tony Rice David Anthony Rice (June 8, 1951 – December 25, 2020) was an American bluegrass guitarist and singer. He was an influential acoustic guitar player in bluegrass, progressive bluegrass, newgrass and acoustic jazz. He was inducted into the In ...

model made by the

Santa Cruz Guitar Company The Santa Cruz Guitar Company is an American manufacturer of acoustic guitars, located in Santa Cruz, California. The company was started in 1976 by luthier Richard A. Hoover, who is reputed to have "trained some of the most accomplished contempo ...

, located in Santa Cruz, California. The model is based on Tony Rice's 1935 Martin D-28, formerly owned by

Clarence White Clarence White (born Clarence Joseph LeBlanc; June 7, 1944 – July 15, 1973) was an American bluegrass and country guitarist and singer. He is best known as a member of the bluegrass ensemble the Kentucky Colonels and the rock band the Byrds ...

. Beaton's guitar was fashioned of

Brazilian rosewood ''Dalbergia nigra'', commonly known as the Bahia rosewood, jacarandá-da-Bahia, Brazilian rosewood, Rio rosewood, jacarandá-do-brasil, pianowood, caviúna, graúna, jacarandá-una or obuina is a species of legume in the family Fabaceae. Descri ...

(back, sides, and neck), old growth German spruce (top), and

ebony Ebony is a dense black/brown hardwood, coming from several species in the genus '' Diospyros'', which also includes the persimmon tree. A few ''Diospyros'' species, such as macassar and mun ebony, are dense enough to sink in water. Ebony is fin ...

wood (fret board). He used a Sunrise sound hole pickup. The guitar was completed in June 1988 and was purchased by Beaton in August 1988 from a music store in Carmel, California. Beaton also used two

Martin Martin may refer to: Places Antarctica * Martin Peninsula, Marie Byrd Land * Port Martin, Adelie Land * Point Martin, South Orkney Islands Europe * Martin, Croatia, a village * Martin, Slovakia, a city * Martín del Río, Aragón, Spain * M ...

guitars.

Honors

In 2012, the "Alex Beaton stage" was dedicated at the Scottish Fest at the OC Fair & Event Center (Costa Mesa, California). There is also a stage named for Beaton at the Grandfather Mountain Highland Games. In July 2012, Beaton received the Agnes McCrae Morton Award from the Grandfather Mountain Highland Games. In 2022 it was reported that Mark Knopfler (of

Dire Straits Dire Straits were a British rock band formed in London in 1977 by Mark Knopfler (lead vocals, lead guitar), David Knopfler (rhythm guitar, backing vocals), John Illsley (bass guitar, backing vocals) and Pick Withers (drums, percussion). Th ...

fame) was a fan of Beaton's. The Virginia Scottish Games features the "Beaton Entertainment Tent" as of 2022.

Illness and death

In 2011 Beaton was paralyzed from the neck down due to an accident at home. Two years after his accident, he and his wife, Linda, moved to

St. Peters, Missouri St. Peters is a city in St. Charles County, Missouri, United States. The population was 57,732 at the 2020 census, making it the eleventh-largest city in Missouri. It is a northwestern suburb of St. Louis. Interstate 70 passes through the ci ...

, to be nearer to family. Beaton died at his home on May 27, 2022, with his wife, Linda, by his side. He was also survived by two daughters, Alessandra (Ali) and Catriona (Catie); a brother, Neil; a stepson, John; a granddaughter, Maggie; three nieces; one nephew; two grandnieces; and three grandnephews.

Discography

Beaton co-founded his own record label, Glenfinnan Music Ltd., with a business partner. He released 21 albums under this label: # ''Alex Beaton Sings of Scotland Forever'' (1984) # ''Alex Beaton Sings of Scotland Forever'' (1984) # ''Los Angeles Police Pipe Band, Featuring Vocals, Alex Beaton'' (1984) # ''Daft Ditties, A Collection of Humorous and Tastefully Offensive Songs'' (1987) # ''On the Beaton Path'' (1987) # ''The Road to the Isles'' (1990) # ''Halfway Home'' (1992) # ''Alex Beaton's Christmas Classics'' (1994) # ''Beaton's Best'' (1994) # ''In The Scottish Tradition'' (1994) # ''Songs of Praise, Pipes of Peace'' (1994) # ''The Water is Wide'' (1995), featuring a version of Dougie MacLean's "

Caledonia Caledonia (; ) was the Latin name used by the Roman Empire to refer to the forested region in the central and western Scottish Highlands, particularly stretching through parts of what are now Lochaber, Badenoch, Strathspey, and possibly as ...

" # ''The Scotsman'' (1996), featuring "Pipes in the Glen," a song written by Beaton and Ron Eisenberg # ''A Dream of Arran'' (1998) # ''Kidding Around'' (1999) # ''I Have Seen the Highlands'' (2000) # ''Over the Border'' (2001), featuring "

Northwest Passage The Northwest Passage (NWP) is the sea lane between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans through the Arctic Ocean, near the northern coast of North America via waterways through the Arctic Archipelago of Canada. The eastern route along the Arctic ...

" written by Stan Rogers # ''Lover's Heart'' (2004) # ''Beaton's Personal Favorites'' (2005), featuring a version of Dougie MacLean's "

" and "Pipes in the Glen," a song written by Beaton and Ron Eisenberg # ''The Songs of Robert Burns'' (2007) # ''From the Sea to the Shore'' (2010), featuring "Sailing to Philadelphia" written by Mark Knopfler and "Christian Island" written by Gordon Lightfoot # ''Live in Concert, Alex Beaton, Alasdair Fraser, & Eric Rigler'' (2012), featuring "

The Mary Ellen Carter "The Mary Ellen Carter" is a song written and first recorded by Stan Rogers in 1979. It tells the story of a heroic effort to salvage a sunken ship, the eponymous ''Mary Ellen Carter'', by members of her crew. Original version The song chronicl ...

" written by Stan Rogers, and "Pipes in the Glen," a song written by Beaton and Ron Eisenberg In March 2023, two of Beaton's early albums (that were previously released on vinyl) were re-released posthumously on CD and for download: # ''Live at the Sawmill'' (1975), featuring folk and Scottish songs # ''Seasons'' (early 1980s), featuring country and Scottish folk songs and including two songs that Beaton co-wrote, "Seasons Come, Seasons Go" and "I'd Rather Live Alone with Me"

Filmography

''Alex Beaton's Scotland, A Musical Travelogue of Scotland in Three Films'' (2005), is a DVD containing three films previously released on VHS tape: * ''Going Home'' (1989) - Beaton visits

Bannockburn Bannockburn () is an area immediately south of the centre of Stirling in Scotland. It is part of the City of Stirling. It is named after the Bannock Burn, a stream running through the town before flowing into the River Forth. History Land in ...

, Culloden,

Glen Coe Glen Coe ( ) is a glen of glacial origins, that cuts though volcanic rocks in the Scottish Highlands, Highlands of Scotland. It lies in the north of the shires of Scotland, county of Argyll, close to the border with the history of local governm ...

Loch Lomond Loch Lomond (; ) is a freshwater Scottish loch which crosses the Highland Boundary Fault (HBF), often considered the boundary between the lowlands of Central Scotland and the Highlands.Tom Weir. ''The Scottish Lochs''. pp. 33-43. Published by ...

, the

Isle of Skye The Isle of Skye, or simply Skye, is the largest and northernmost of the major islands in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland. The island's peninsulas radiate from a mountainous hub dominated by the Cuillin, the rocky slopes of which provide some of ...

, and

Stirling Castle Stirling Castle, located in Stirling, is one of the largest and most historically and architecturally important castles in Scotland. The castle sits atop an Intrusive rock, intrusive Crag and tail, crag, which forms part of the Stirling Sill ge ...

* ''I Belong to Glasgow'' (1990) - Beaton visits Glasgow and the

River Clyde The River Clyde (, ) is a river that flows into the Firth of Clyde, in the west of Scotland. It is the eighth-longest river in the United Kingdom, and the second longest in Scotland after the River Tay. It runs through the city of Glasgow. Th ...

* ''On The Castle Trail'' (1994) - Beaton visits castles such as Caerlaverock, Dunnottar, Dunstaffnage,

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

Eilean Donan Eilean Donan () is a small tidal island situated at the confluence of three sea lochs ( Loch Duich, Loch Long and Loch Alsh) in the western Highlands of Scotland, about from the village of Dornie. It is connected to the mainland by a footbrid ...

, and

Glamis Glamis is a small village in Angus, Scotland, located south of Kirriemuir and southwest of Forfar. It is the location of Glamis Castle, the childhood home of Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother. History The vicinity of Glamis has prehistoric t ...

References

External links

Alex Beaton's song lyrics
{{DEFAULTSORT:Beaton, Alex 1944 births 2022 deaths Scottish country musicians Musicians from Glasgow Scottish folk singers Scottish male singer-songwriters Scottish singer-songwriters Scottish male songwriters