Len Graham (singer)

Len Graham (born 1944) is a Northern Irish traditional singer and song collector from County Antrim, Northern Ireland. He is a leading authority on Folk music in Ireland.

Early life

Graham was born in County Antrim. His father, a fiddler, brought him to sessions in the local area as a young boy. Throughout the 1960s, Len travelled around Ireland to record and preserve folk songs, befriending singers such as Joe Holmes. Graham won the All Ireland Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann traditional singing competition in 1971, an important accolade for Irish traditional musicians around the world.

Career

In 1975 Graham released his first album, a collaboration with his mentor Joe Holmes, ''Chaste Muses, Bards and Sages'' on Free Reed Records. In 1976 he released his first solo album, ''Wind and Water'' with Topic Records. This was followed by his second collaboration with Holmes in 1978: ''After Dawning: Traditional Songs, Ballads and Lilts from the North of Ireland'' Topic Records, which was also later released on the Ossian USA label.

Graham continued to collaborate with other poets and seanchaithe and storytellers. Since collecting songs from Ulster's older traditional singers, among them Eddie Butcher and Joe Holmes, his association with John Campbell would begin a 20-year collaboration of story and song. During the 1980s–90s, Graham and Campbell would bring their events and work to cross-community groups around Ireland, especially to the north which was experiencing armed conflict. Since John Campbell's passing in 2006, Len has toured regularly with storyteller Jack Lynch.

Graham and Campbell also gave talks on the shared cultural traditions of both the nationalist and unionist populations in Northern Ireland. Graham collaborates with American-born singer Brían Ó hAirt, touring regions of North America annually. Their performances feature the duet singing tradition that was common among the singing communities of Ulster during Graham's own youth; they also feature the repertoire shared between the Ulster and Appalachian/Ozark traditions as well as lilting, sean-nós dancing, spoons playing and tunes on the tin whistle and concertina. Songs collected and recorded by Graham are now well known in folk repertoire around the world, and have been recorded by Altan, De Dannan, The Chieftains, Cherish the Ladies, Andy Irvine and Karen Casey, among others.

His recording career has produced over twenty albums of song. In November 2008, he gave a lecture and performance at the Library of Congress entitled ''It's of My Rambles: A Journey in the Song Tradition of Ulster''. Graham's book, ''Here I Am Amongst You'', on the songs, dance music and traditions of Joe Holmes was published by Four Courts Press in 2010.

Awards and honours

* 1992 – Seán O'Boyle Cultural Traditions Award: "in recognition of his work in Ireland as a song collector and singer."
* 2002 – National Music Award for Traditional Singer of the Year
* 2008 – Keeper of the Tradition Award from the Tommy Makem Festival of Traditional Song
* 2008 – United States' Irish Music Award in the "Sean-Nós Singing" category: "His rich recording history spans over thirty years, with more than twenty albums to his credit"

Personal life

Graham recorded an album of children's songs, called 'When I was Young' with Pádraigín Ní Uallacháin, County Armagh and is now resident in Newcastle, County Down. He has two sons, Eoghan an
Macdara Jewellery

Discography

With Joe Holmes

*''Chaste Muses, Bards and Sages'' (1971)
*''After Dawning'' (1978)

Skylark

*''Skylark'' (1987)
*''All of It'' (1989)
*''Light and Shade'' (1992)
*'' Raining Bicycles'' (1996)

With Cathal McConnell

*'' For the Sake of Old Decency'' (1993)

With Pádraigín Ní Uallacháin and Garry Ó Briain

*'' When I Was Young'' (1996) (children's songs)

With John Campbell

*''Ebb and Flow'' (1998)
*''Two for the Road'' (2001)

With Brian Ó hAirt

*''In Two Minds'' (2011)
*''The Road Taken'' (2015)

Solo

*'' Wind and Water'' (1977)
*'' Do Me Justice'' (1983)
*''Ye Lovers All'' (1986)
*'' It's of My Rambles'' (1993) (field recordings to accompany book by the same name)
*'' In Full Flight'' (2008)
*''Over the Hills and Far Away'' (2010)

In 2009 ''The Knight Templar's Dream'' from ''Wind and Water'' was included in Topic Records 70-year anniversary boxed set ''Three Score and Ten'' as track eighteen on the third CD.

Publications

*

References

External links

Official website
– Len Graham
A lecture in the Song Tradition of Ulster given by Len Graham to the Library of Congress

{{DEFAULTSORT:Graham, Len
1944 births
Living people
Musicians from County Antrim
Male folk singers from Northern Ireland
20th-century male singers from Northern Ireland
21st-century male singers from Northern Ireland
Folk-song collectors from Northern Ireland
20th-century musicologists
Claddagh Records artists
Shanachie Records artists
Topic Records artists
20th-century folk musicians from Northern Ireland
21st-century folk musicians from Northern Ireland
1970s in Irish music
1980s in Irish music
1990s in Irish music
2000s in Irish music
2010s in Irish music
2020s in Irish music