Nancy Whiskey (born Anne Alexandra Young Wilson, 4 March 1935 – 1 February 2003) was a Scottish

folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk horror ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Fo ...

singer, best known for the 1957 hit song, "

Freight Train A freight train, also called a goods train or cargo train, is a railway train that is used to carry cargo, as opposed to passengers. Freight trains are made up of one or more locomotives which provide propulsion, along with one or more railroad ...

Life and career

Nancy Wilson was born in

Dalmarnock Dalmarnock (, ) is a district in the Scottish city of Glasgow. It is situated east of the city centre, directly north of the River Clyde opposite the town of Rutherglen. It is also bounded by the Glasgow neighbourhoods of Parkhead to the north-e ...

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

, Scotland, and learned guitar as a child. Dean Steel, "Obituary: Nancy Whiskey"
''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'', 8 February 2003. Retrieved 8 January 2014 While attending art school in Glasgow, she performed on the local folk club circuit where she met fellow singer and guitarist

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 ...

who introduced her to

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated among African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, cha ...

and

hillbilly music ''Hillbilly'' is a term historically used for White people who dwell in rural, mountainous areas in the United States, primarily in the Appalachian region and Ozarks. As people migrated out of the region during the Great Depression, the term sp ...

. She took her

stage name A stage name or professional name is a pseudonym used by performers, authors, and entertainers—such as actors, comedians, singers, and musicians. The equivalent concept among writers is called a ''nom de plume'' (pen name). Some performers ...

from a Scottish folk song, " The Calton Weaver", which has a chorus of: "Whisky, whisky, Nancy whisky, Whisky, whisky, Nancy-O". She formed a relationship with

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

pianist Bob Kelly, and they moved to London in 1955. Obituary: Nancy Whiskey
''

The Scotsman ''The Scotsman'' is a Scottish compact (newspaper), compact newspaper and daily news website headquartered in Edinburgh. First established as a radical political paper in 1817, it began daily publication in 1855 and remained a broadsheet until ...

'', 2003. Retrieved 8 January 2014 On MacGregor's recommendation, she was signed by

Topic Records Topic Records is a British folk music label, which played a major role in the second British folk revival. It began as an offshoot of the Workers' Music Association in 1939, making it the oldest independent record label in the world.M. Brocken ...

and, although reluctant to surrender her reputation as a solo performer, was persuaded to join the

Chas McDevitt Charles James McDevitt (born 4 December 1934) is a Scottish musician who was one of the leading lights of the skiffle genre which was highly influential and popular in the United Kingdom in the mid-to-late 1950s. Biography McDevitt was born in ...

Skiffle Group to record

Elizabeth Cotten Elizabeth "Libba" Cotten ( Nevills; January 5, 1893 – June 29, 1987) was an influential American folk and blues musician. She was a self-taught left-handed guitarist who played a guitar strung for a right-handed player, but played it upside do ...

's song "Freight Train". The group had already recorded the song, with McDevitt singing, but re-recorded it with Nancy Whiskey's vocals. The record made the top five in the UK Singles Chart in 1957, and she also toured the United States with McDevitt's group and appeared on the ''

Ed Sullivan Show ''The Ed Sullivan Show'' is an American television variety show that ran on CBS from June 20, 1948, to March 28, 1971, and was hosted by New York entertainment columnist Ed Sullivan. It was replaced in September 1971 by the '' CBS Sunday Nig ...

''. "Freight Train" sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold record award. A dispute over the rights to the song, which had been introduced to Britain by

Peggy Seeger Margaret "Peggy" Seeger (born June 17, 1935) is an American Folk music, folk singer and songwriter. She has lived in Britain for more than 60 years and was married to the singer-songwriter Ewan MacColl until his death in 1989. She is a member ...

, was eventually settled out of court. After a second, smaller hit, "Greenback Dollar", Whiskey left the group. She disliked the

skiffle Skiffle is a music genre, genre of folk music with influences from American folk music, blues, Country music, country, Bluegrass music, bluegrass, and jazz, generally performed with a mixture of manufactured and homemade or improvised instruments. ...

style which she was obliged to perform with McDevitt, and her outspoken comments, together with the fact that she was expecting a child with Bob Kelly, a married man, offended some fans. She resumed a solo career and — after his divorce — married Kelly, who became a member of her backing group, the Skifflers, who later renamed themselves as the Teetotallers. She also recorded several singles for Oriole Records in the late 1950s, and released an album, ''The Intoxicating Miss Whiskey''. She and Kelly moved to

Melton Mowbray Melton Mowbray () is a market town in the Borough of Melton, Melton district in Leicestershire, England, north-east of Leicester and south-east of Nottingham. It lies on the River Eye, Leicestershire, River Eye, known below Melton as the Rive ...

Leicestershire Leicestershire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It is bordered by Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire to the north, Rutland to the east, Northamptonshire to the south-east, Warw ...

, around 1958 after the birth of their daughter (named Yancey Anne in tribute to pianist

Jimmy Yancey James Edward Yancey (February 20, c. 1895 – September 17, 1951) was an American boogie-woogie pianist, composer, and lyricist. One reviewer described him as "one of the pioneers of this raucous, rapid-fire, eight-to-the-bar piano style". Bio ...

). Although by the 1970s she had largely retired from the mainstream music industry, she continued to perform occasionally in folk clubs, and at other events such as a 1997 gala concert at the

Royal Albert Hall The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London, England. It has a seating capacity of 5,272. Since the hall's opening by Queen Victoria in 1871, the world's leading artists from many performance genres ...

billed as "The Roots Of British Rock". Bob Kelly died in 1999, and she died in 2003 in

Leicester Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area, and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest city in the East Midlands with a popula ...

, aged 67. The song "Freight Train", sung by Nancy Whiskey with the Chas McDevitt Skiffle Group, appears in full in the Bermondsey Town Hall concert sequence at the end of the 1957 film ''

The Tommy Steele Story ''The Tommy Steele Story'' is a 1957 British film directed by Gerard Bryant and starring Tommy Steele, dramatising Steele's rise to fame as a teen idol. Along with '' Rock You Sinners'', it was one of the first British films to feature rock and r ...

''. Also, in 2023, "Freight Train", sung by Whiskey, was featured in

Wes Anderson Wesley Wales Anderson (born May 1, 1969) is an American filmmaker. Wes Anderson filmography, His films are known for themes of grief, loss of innocence, and dysfunctional families. Due to his films' eccentricity, distinctive visual and narrative ...

's film ''

Asteroid City ''Asteroid City'' is a 2023 American Science fiction film, science fiction comedy drama film written, directed, and produced by Wes Anderson, from a story he wrote with Roman Coppola. It features an ensemble cast, including Jason Schwartzman, ...

''.

Discography

* ''Nancy Whiskey Sings'' (1957, Topic 7T10) * ''The Intoxicating Miss Whiskey''

References

External links

More information
{{DEFAULTSORT:Whiskey, Nancy 1935 births 2003 deaths Musicians from Glasgow 20th-century Scottish women singers Scottish folk singers Skiffle musicians Bridgeton–Calton–Dalmarnock