Regina Christina Robertson (21 October 1908 – 13 March 1975) 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 ...

. She is known for her version of the traditional song " 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,

The Tannahill Weavers The Tannahill Weavers are a traditional Scottish music musical group.They released their first album in 1976, and were one of the first popular bands to incorporate the Great Highland Bagpipe in an ensemble setting. In doing so, they helped ch ...

and

The Pogues The Pogues are an English Celtic punk band founded in King's Cross, London, in 1982, by Shane MacGowan, Spider Stacy and Jem Finer. Originally named Pogue Mahone—an anglicisation of the Irish language, Irish phrase :wikt:póg mo thóin, ''p� ...

. Other versions of the song are known from the US in the 1880s and

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

in the 1850s.

Early life and career

Regina Christina Robertson was born on 21 October 1908, in

Aberdeen Aberdeen ( ; ; ) is a port city in North East Scotland, and is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, third most populous Cities of Scotland, Scottish city. Historically, Aberdeen was within the historic county of Aberdeensh ...

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 ...

. Her father Donald (d. 1909), was a piper and her mother Maria (

née The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...

Stewart), was a singer."Jeannie Robertson MBE", ''Scottish Traditional Music Hall of Fame''
Retrieved 22 February 2024 In her early life she sometimes lived at 90 Hilton Road, where a plaque now commemorates her.

Hamish Henderson (James) Hamish Scott Henderson (11 November 1919 – 9 March 2002) was a Scotland, Scottish poet, songwriter, communist, intellectual and soldier. Henderson was a catalyst for the folk revival in Scotland. He was also an accomplished folk s ...

wanted to track down the best singers in Blairgowrie. In 1953, he followed Robertson's reputation to her doorstep in Aberdeen. According to legend, Robertson was reluctant to let him in. She challenged him to tell her the opening line of

Child ballad The Child Ballads are List of the Child Ballads, 305 traditional ballads from England and Scotland, and their American variants, anthologized by Francis James Child during the second half of the 19th century. Their lyrics and Child's studies ...

no 163, "The Battle of Harlaw", and he complied. In November of the same year she was staying in the London apartment of

Alan Lomax Alan Lomax (; January 31, 1915 – July 19, 2002) was an American ethnomusicologist, best known for his numerous field recordings of folk music during the 20th century. He was a musician, folklorist, archivist, writer, scholar, political activ ...

. In preparation for a TV appearance, Jean Ritchie, Margaret Barry and Isla Cameron were also there. They swapped songs with each other, while the tape rolled. It is sometimes stated that she made the first recording of "The Battle of Harlaw" but this is not so. Another of the songs she sang was " Andrew Lammie" ("Mill o' Tifty's Annie"), lasting over 13 minutes. At the end she told Alan Lomax about the parts of the story that she had not sung. Many of the 1953 recordings were issued as ''The Queen Among the Heather'' in 1975. They later reappeared along with other songs on a CD of the same name.

Performances

The television programme was ''The Song Hunter'', produced by

David Attenborough Sir David Frederick Attenborough (; born 8 May 1926) is an English broadcaster, biologist, natural historian and writer. He is best known for writing and presenting, in conjunction with the BBC Studios Natural History Unit, the nine nature d ...

, who later became controller of

BBC Two BBC Two is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's second flagship channel, and it covers a wide range of subject matte ...

television. In 1958,

recorded her in Edinburgh. Those recordings were issued as ''Up the Dee and Doon The Don'' on the Lismor label. The Traditional Music and Song Association founded the Blairgowrie Festival in 1965, during the fruit picking. The first festival saw Robertson, plus Jimmy MacBeath and other valuable source singers, who learned folk songs without the influence of radios or books. Her 1968 appearance there was issued as part of an anthology on the Topic label. As well as classic ballads, she sang bawdy songs such as "Never Wed an Old Man".

Related folk musicians

Robertson's daughter Lizzie Higgins issued an album in 1975: ''Up and Awa' wi' the Laverock''. Stanley Robertson, a storyteller, ballad singer and piper from Aberdeen, was Jeannie's nephew. Carmen Higgins, ex-fiddler with the Aberdeen folk band, Rock Salt and Nails, is also closely related to her. Carmen Higgins has played with Old Blind Dogs, recorded a solo CD, and has appeared regularly on television, radio and in the press. Joss Cameron, a folk singer from Edinburgh is related to her, and still performs Jeannie Robertson ballads. Maggie Stewart (1902-1983), Robertson's aunt, was recorded singing many traditional ballads and telling stories which can be heard via the Tobar an Dualchais website. In the early 1960s, the folk-singer Andy Hunter learned songs and storytelling from Robertson and her family while studying French at the

University of Aberdeen The University of Aberdeen (abbreviated ''Aberd.'' in List of post-nominal letters (United Kingdom), post-nominals; ) is a public university, public research university in Aberdeen, Scotland. It was founded in 1495 when William Elphinstone, Bis ...

Personal life

Robertson was awarded the MBE in 1968, being the first folk singer and first traveller to receive the award. She died on 13 March 1975. She had a daughter,

Lizzie Lizzie or Lizzy is a nickname for Elizabeth or Elisabet, often given as an independent name in the United States, especially in the late 19th century. Lizzie can also be the shortened version of Lizeth, Lissette or Lizette. People * Elizabe ...

, who was also a singer.

Discography

*''Lord Donald'', Collector JFS 4001 *''World's Greatest Folk Singer'', Prestige (1960) INT 13006 *''The Cuckoo's Nest and Other Scottish Folk Songs'', Prestige INT 13075 *''Songs of a Scots Tinker Lady'', (with Josh Morse) Riverside RLP12-633 *''Jeannie Robertson'', Topic (1959) 10T52 *--do.--(without guitar acc.), Topic 12T96 *''What a Voice'', Folktracks TFSA 60-067 *''The Gypsy Lady'', Folktracks TFSA 60-186 *''Silly John & the Factor'', (folk tale & talk) Folktracks TFSA 60-187 *''Up the Dee and doon the Don'', Lismor (1984) In 2009, "MacCrimmon's Lament" from ''Jeannie Robertson'' was included in Topic Records 70-year anniversary CD boxed set '' Three Score and Ten''.

References

External links

Scottish Traditional Music - Hall of Fame
{{DEFAULTSORT:Robertson, Jeannie 1908 births 1975 deaths Scottish folk singers 20th-century Scottish women singers Scottish Travellers Musicians from Aberdeen Scottish folk-song collectors 20th-century British musicologists British women musicologists Scottish folklorists Scottish women folklorists Topic Records artists Riverside Records artists