Jon Raven (1940–2015) was an English author and musician.

Early life

Jon Raven was the brother of author and musician Michael Raven, father of the late Ministry and

Killing Joke Killing Joke were an English rock music, rock band formed in Notting Hill, London, in 1979 by Jaz Coleman (vocals, keyboards), Paul Ferguson (drums), Geordie Walker (guitar) and Youth (musician), Youth (bass). Their first album, ''Killing Joke ...

bassist Paul Raven, and Gundogs bassist Daniel Raven. Raven was born in Wales and educated at Wolverhampton Municipal Grammar School. His wife was Kate, of Tettenhall, Wolverhampton. Alongside brother, Michael, Jon formed a Wolverhampton folk music group before producing records and books and making television and radio appearances. He was diagnosed with

Parkinson's disease Parkinson's disease (PD), or simply Parkinson's, is a neurodegenerative disease primarily of the central nervous system, affecting both motor system, motor and non-motor systems. Symptoms typically develop gradually and non-motor issues become ...

in 1996 and died in August 2015 at Compton Hospice in Wolverhampton.

Writing

Raven is the author of non-fiction books, the majority related to

Black Country The Black Country is an area of England's West Midlands. It is mainly urban, covering most of the Dudley and Sandwell metropolitan boroughs, with the Metropolitan Borough of Walsall and the City of Wolverhampton. The road between Wolverhampto ...

history, customs, folklore and music and on industry typical of the Black Country area such as coal mining and nail making. His books include ''The Folklore and Songs of the Black Country Colliers'', ''Customs of the Black Country'', and ''Aynuk's First Black Country Waerd Book''.

Bibliography

* ''Folk Songs of the Black Country'' – Wolverhampton Folk Song Club, 1964 * ''Folklore and Songs of the Black Country and West Midlands Volume I'' – Wolverhampton Folk Song Club, 1965 * ''Folklore and Songs of the Black Country and West Midlands Volume II'' – Wolverhampton Folk Song Club, 1966 * ''Folklore and Songs of the Black Country and West Midlands Volume III'' – Wolverhampton Folk Song Club, 1967 * ''Kate of Coalbrookdale'' – 1971 * ''Songs of a Changing World'' – Ginn & Co., 1972 * ''Canal Songs'' – 1974 * ''Turpin Hero'' – 1974 * ''The Nailmakers'' – The Black Country Society, 1975 * ''The Rigs of the Fair: Popular Sports and Pastimes in the Nineteenth Century through Songs, Ballads and Contemporary Accounts (Resources of Music)'' – Cambridge University Press, 1976 * ''The Urban and Industrial Songs of the Black Country and Birmingham'' – Broadside Books, 1977 * ''The Folklore of Staffordshire (The folklore of the British Isles)'' – Batsford, 1978 * ''Victoria's Inferno: Songs of the Old Mills, Mines, Manufactories, Canals and Railways'' – Broadside Books, 1978 * ''Tales from Aynuk's Black Country'' – Broadside Books, 1978 * ''Aynuk's First Black Country Waerd Book'' – Broadside Books, 1978 * ''Aynuk's Second Black Country Waerd Book'' – Broadside Books, 1979 * ''Black Country Songs and Rhymes: v. 1'' – Broadside Books, 1979 * ''Theodore'' – 1984 * ''Black Country and Staffordshire: Stories, Customs, Superstitions, Tales and Folklore'' – Broadside Books, 1986 * ''Customs of the Black Country'' – Broadside Books, 1987 * ''The Book of the Black Country'' – Broadside Books, 1988 * ''Tettenhall'' – Broadside Books, 1989 * ''The Folklore and Songs of the Black Country Colliers'' – Broadside Books, 1990

Music

Raven was a member of folk trio The Black Country Three along with brother Michael Raven and Derek Craft. They recorded their self-titled debut album in 1966 for

Transatlantic Transatlantic, Trans-Atlantic or TransAtlantic may refer to: Film * Transatlantic Pictures, a film production company from 1948 to 1950 * Transatlantic Enterprises, an American production company in the late 1970s * ''Transatlantic'' (1931 film) ...

. Following this, Raven produced several solo and group CDs. He performed on the following albums: * ''The Black Country Three'' by The Black Country Three (1966) * ''Songs Of The Black Country And West Midlands'' by Jon Raven, Michael Raven & Jean Ward (1968) * ''Jon Raven & The Halliard'' by Jon Raven & The Halliard (Nic Jones, Dave Moran & Nigel Paterson) (1968) (Later reissued on CD with "The Jolly Machine") * ''Kate of Coalbrookdale'' by Jon Raven, Michael Raven and Jean Ward (1971) * ''Ballad of the Black Country'' by Jon Raven, John Kirkpatrick, David Oxley and Mike Billington (1975) * ''The Bold Navigators'' by Jon Raven, John Kirkpatrick, Sue Harris, Gary & Vera Aspey 1975) * ''Harvest'' by Jon Raven, supported by Dave Oxley and Nigel M Jones (1976) * ''Steam Ballads'' by Jon Raven, Harry Boardman, Kempion, and Tony Rose (1977) * ''Fragile Life'' by Jon Raven, supported by Daniel Raven and Gavin Monaghan (1995)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Raven, Jon 1940 births Date of birth missing 2015 deaths English folk musicians English non-fiction writers People from the Black Country English male non-fiction writers People educated at Wolverhampton Grammar School Deaths from Parkinson's disease in England