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Norma Waterson

{{Short description|English folk singer and songwriter (1939–2022)}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2022}}

{{Use British English|date=September 2019}}

{{Infobox musical artist

| name = Norma Waterson

| honorific_suffix = {{post-nominals|country=UK|size=100|MBE}}

| image = Norma Waterson.jpg

| caption = Waterson at a Waterson:Carthy performance in Cranleigh, Surrey, in 2006

| birth_name = Norma Christine Waterson{{cn|date=February 2022}}

| alias =

| birth_date = {{birth date|df=yes|1939|8|15}}

| birth_place = Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England

| death_date = {{death date and age|df=yes|2022|1|30|1939|8|15}}

| genre = Folk

| occupation = Singer, songwriter, record producer

| years_active =

| label = Hannibal Records, Topic Records

| associated_acts = {{unbulleted list|The Watersons|Martin Carthy|Waterson:Carthy|Blue Murder|Danny Thompson|Richard Thompson|Roger Swallow}}

| website =

| module = {{Infobox person

| embed = yes

| spouse = {{marriage|Martin Carthy|1972}}

| children = Eliza Carthy

| relatives = {{unbulleted list|Mike Waterson (brother)|Lal Waterson (sister)}}

}}}}

{{listen|pos=right|filename=We Poor Labouring Men.ogg|title="We Poor Labouring Men"|description=from the 1999 album Broken Ground by Waterson:Carthy}}

Norma Christine Waterson {{post-nominals|country=UK|size=100%|MBE}} (15 August 1939 – 30 January 2022) was an English singer and songwriter, best known as one of the original members of The Watersons, a celebrated English traditional folk group. Other members of the group included her brother Mike Waterson and sister Lal Waterson, a cousin John Harrison and, in later incarnations of the group, her husband Martin Carthy.

Waterson was known as the "matriarch of the royal family of British folk music".

Early life

Waterson was born in Hull, in the East Riding of Yorkshire Her parents died when she was young and she was raised, with her brother Mike and sister Lal, by their maternal grandmother, Eliza Ward, of Irish Gypsy descent.{{Cite web|url=https://mainlynorfolk.info/watersons/biography/index.html|title=Biographies of the Watersons|website=mainlynorfolk.info}}{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2010/oct/31/norma-waterson-eliza-carthy|title=Norma Waterson and Eliza Carthy – review|author= Denselow, Robin|author-link= Robin Denselow|work = The Guardian |place=London|date= 31 October 2010|accessdate= 18 May 2012}} Waterson later recalled that her grandmother was "a lovely singer and knew a lot of parlour ballads and musical songs she had learned from her childhood, and we all used to sing them." Other members of the family, including her father and two uncles, were musical, playing the cornet, the banjo, the guitar and the organ.{{Cite web|url=https://www.folkradio.co.uk/2018/06/interview-norma-waterson-and-eliza-carthy/|title=Interview with Norma Waterson and Eliza Carthy|website=folkradio.co.uk|date=20 June 2018 }}

The Watersons

The band began in the early 1960s with the members being Norma, brother Mike, and sister Elaine (known as Lal),{{cite web |first=Jon |last=Pareles |title=Watersons, Folk Singers From Britain |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1987/12/04/arts/pop-jazz-watersons-folk-singers-from-britain.html |work=The New York Times |date= 4 December 1987 |accessdate=17 April 2011}} with their cousin John Harrison. They started as a skiffle band but moved on to playing more traditional material. Their first recordings date from 1965; the Topic Records sampler New Voices and their first album, Frost and Fire. Frost and Fire was awarded the Melody Maker Album of the Year. The albums The Watersons and A Yorkshire Garland came out in 1966 but the group disbanded in 1968. Norma moved to the island of Montserrat, working as a DJ for Radio Antilles.

The group reformed in 1972, with John Harrison briefly replaced by Bernie Vickers, performing on the Alan Plater TV Play for Today, "The Land of Green Ginger", set and filmed in Hull, and appearing in a scene filmed in the Bluebell Folk Club.{{cite web|url=http://www.screenonline.org.uk/tv/id/1202180/|title=BFI Screenonline: Land of Green Ginger (1973)|website=Screenonline.org.uk|access-date=19 January 2018}} Vickers was replaced the same year by Waterson's husband, Martin Carthy.{{cite web|url={{AllMusic|class=artist|id=p2164/biography|pure_url=yes}}|title=Biography: The Watersons|last=Harris|first=Craig|publisher=Allmusic|accessdate=4 June 2010}} This line-up recorded For Pence and Spicy Ale (1975), Sound, Sound Your Instruments of Joy (1977), and Green Fields (1981).{{Cite web|url=https://mainlynorfolk.info/watersons/records/forpenceandspicyale.html|title=The Watersons: For Pence and Spicy Ale|website=mainlynorfolk.info}}{{Cite web|url=https://mainlynorfolk.info/watersons/records/soundsoundyourinstrumentsofjoy.html|title=The Watersons: Sound, Sound Your Instruments of Joy|website=mainlynorfolk.info}}{{Cite web|url=https://mainlynorfolk.info/watersons/records/greenfields.html|title=The Watersons: Green Fields|website=mainlynorfolk.info}}

In the mid-1980s, Mike Waterson's daughter Rachel Waterson replaced Lal, due to the latter's illness, remaining with the group on Lal's return. Regular performing included a session for the BBC Andy Kershaw show in 1986.{{Cite web|url=https://soundcloud.com/comesingitplain-7/the-watersons-1986|title=The Watersons 1986|via=soundcloud.com}} In 1987, the group collaborated with Swan Arcade to form Blue Murder, who performed and recorded sporadically with various line-ups.{{Cite web|url=https://mainlynorfolk.info/watersons/records/noonestandsalone.html|title=Blue Murder: No One Stands Alone|website=mainlynorfolk.info}} Subsequent line-ups fluctuated, featuring Waterson's daughter Eliza Carthy, Anne Waterson, Jill Pidd and Maria Gilhooley at various times, but recording only occasionally.{{Cite web|url=https://mainlynorfolk.info/watersons/records/mightyriverofsong.html|title=The Watersons: Mighty River of Song|website=mainlynorfolk.info}}

Lal Waterson died in 1998 and, by the early 1990s, Carthy, Waterson and their daughter Eliza had formed the group Waterson:Carthy.{{Cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2022/jan/31/norma-waterson-obituary|title=Norma Waterson obituary|date=31 January 2022|website=The Guardian}} They stopped singing live on a regular basis, but occasionally reconvened, as "The Waterson Family", for special events. These have included "A Mighty River of Song" at the Royal Albert Hall on 12 May 2007,{{Cite web|url=https://www.stewartlee.co.uk/written_for_money/the-watersons-mighty-river-of-song/|title=The Watersons' Mighty River Of Song : Stewart Lee – 41st Best Standup Ever!|first=Stewart|last=Lee|website=www.stewartlee.co.uk}}{{Cite web|url=http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2007/may/12/familyandrelationships.family2|title='Feeling part of a dynasty in musical terms is a great feeling'|date=12 May 2007|website=The Guardian}} the BBC Radio 2 Electric Proms concert, "Once in a Blue Moon: A Tribute to Lal Waterson", at Cecil Sharp House in London on 25 October 2007{{Cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/electricproms/2007/artists/lalwaterson/|title=BBC – Electric Proms 2007 – A Tribute to Lal Waterson|website=www.bbc.co.uk}} and "A Tribute to Bert," a concert celebrating the life and work of Albert Lancaster Lloyd, at Cecil Sharp House on 15 November 2008. During the summer of 2009, "The Waterson Family" performed at a number of festivals and large concerts throughout England and Ireland.{{Cite web|url=https://www.setlist.fm/setlists/the-waterson-family-63d4f2b7.html|title=The Waterson Family Concert Setlists|website=setlist.fm}}

Later career

Norma's solo debut album Norma Waterson was produced by John Chelew and released by Hannibal Records in 1996, and proved popular, receiving a nomination for the Mercury Music Prize. It included songs with her daughter Eliza, husband Martin Carthy and other members of The Watersons, as well as Danny Thompson (Pentangle), Richard Thompson (Fairport Convention) and Roger Swallow (the Albion Band).{{cite web|last=Tradfolk|first=Obituary|date=31 January 2022|title=Norma Waterson (1939–2022): A Tribute|url=https://tradfolk.co/music/writing-music/norma-waterson/|access-date=31 January 2022|website=Tradfolk}} In 1999, the follow-up The Very Thought of You was released by Hannibal Records and once again featured Richard Thompson, Danny Thompson, Eliza Carthy and husband Martin Carthy.

In 2001 she released her first solo traditional folk album, Bright Shiny Morning, on Topic Records.{{Cite web|url=https://mainlynorfolk.info/watersons/records/brightshinymorning.html|title=Norma Waterson: Bright Shiny Morning|website=mainlynorfolk.info}} She appeared on a variety of collective recordings, notably Peter Bellamy's The Transports.{{Cite web|url=https://mainlynorfolk.info/peter.bellamy/records/thetransports.html|title=The Transports|website=mainlynorfolk.info}} In 2008 Waterson made a guest appearance alongside brother Mike on Scottish musician James Yorkston's album When the Haar Rolls In, singing her sister Lal's song, "Midnight Feast".{{Cite web|url=https://www.theskinny.co.uk/music/reviews/albums/james-yorkston-when-the-haar-rolls-in|title=James Yorkston – When The Haar Rolls In | The Skinny|website=www.theskinny.co.uk}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/when-the-haar-rolls-in-mw0000800651/credits|title=When the Haar Rolls In – James Yorkston | Credits | AllMusic|via=www.allmusic.com}}

In 2009 Topic Records released a 70-year anniversary boxed set Three Score and Ten. This included two Watersons albums and one Waterson:Carthy album; Frost and Fire,{{cite web|url=http://www.topicrecords.co.uk/category/three-score-ten|title=Three Score & Ten|publisher = Topic Records|accessdate=17 December 2018}}{{rp|34}} For Pence and Spicy Ale{{rp|46}} and Waterson:Carthy.{{rp|76}} The tracks that Norma performs on are Hal-An-Tow (track 11 on the second CD), Three Score and Ten (track 17), We Poor Labouring Men with Waterson:Carthy (track 21 on the sixth CD) and, with Blue Murder, "No One Stands Alone" (track 22 of the seventh CD).

In 2010 Waterson released an album of collaborations with her daughter Eliza entitled Gift. BBC reviewer Laura Barton wrote: "The gift in question here, one gathers, is a handing of talent from generation to generation; Norma Waterson and Eliza Carthy are, after all, the sublimely gifted mother and daughter who make up part of British folk's great dynasty." Commenting on the final song, "Shallow Brown", the reviewer noted: "Backed variously by other family members, including Eliza's father Martin Carthy on guitar as well as her cousin Oliver Knight on electric guitar, vocals and cello, there is a real sense of congregation and rootedness about this song, and indeed this record as a whole. Long may the dynasty flourish."{{cite web| url = https://www.bbc.co.uk/music/reviews/8qhf| title = Mother and daughter's first album as a folk duo is a beguiling listen.| last = Barton |first = Laura| author-link =Laura Barton | date = 21 July 2010| accessdate = 17 August 2010| publisher = BBC Music}}

In 2016 Waterson received the Lifetime Achievement Award at the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards alongside Joan Armatrading.{{Cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p03sftj0/p03sfdhp|title=BBC Radio 2 – BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards, 2016, Backstage, onstage: the Folk Awards in photos – Norma Waterson wins the Lifetime Achievement Award at Radio 2 Folk Awards 2016|website=BBC}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.independent.ie/entertainment/music/joan-armatrading-wins-lifetime-achievement-gong-at-bbc-radio-2-folk-awards-34666904.html|title=Joan Armatrading wins lifetime achievement gong at BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards|website=independent}}

Waterson was known as the "matriarch of the royal family of British folk music".{{Cite news|date=31 January 2022|title=Norma Waterson: Folk singer dies aged 82|language=en-GB|work=BBC News|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-humber-60199744|access-date=31 January 2022}} She continued to sing well in her 70s, and was described as "a hard-working, prolific artist who refused to stop recording or touring." Her final album, released in 2018, was Anchor, the second recorded with Eliza. It includes Waterson singing lead on a dramatic, jazz-edged treatment of the Tom Waits song "Strange Weather" and on a version of Nick Lowe's "The Beast in Me".

Personal life and death

File:Norma Waterson 2016 (cropped).jpg

Waterson married Martin Carthy in 1972.{{cite web|accessdate=31 January 2022|title=Martin Carthy Biography|url=https://mainlynorfolk.info/martin.carthy/biography.html#:~:text=In%201972%2C%20Martin%20Carthy%20married,outstanding%20artist%20of%20her%20owm.&text=In%201998%20Martin%20was%20awarded,services%20to%20English%20folk%20music.|work=Mainly Norfolk: English Folk and Other Good Music}}{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2022/jan/31/norma-waterson-celebrated-british-folk-singer-dies-aged-82|title=Norma Waterson, celebrated British folk singer, dies aged 82|date=31 January 2022|website=The Guardian|accessdate=31 January 2022}} Their daughter Eliza Carthy was born in 1975. They also have another daughter named Lucy Carthy. {{Cite web |title=Biographies of the Watersons |url=https://mainlynorfolk.info/watersons/biography/ |access-date=2025-01-04 |website=mainlynorfolk.info}}

She was awarded the MBE (Member of the Order of the British Empire) in the Queen's 2003 New Year Honours, for her services to folk music.

Waterson died on 30 January 2022, at the age of 82.{{cite web|url=https://www.clashmusic.com/news/norma-waterson-has-died|title=Norma Waterson Has Died|website=Clash Magazine|date=31 January 2022 |accessdate=31 January 2022}}{{Cite web |date=31 January 2022 |title=Obituary Norma Waterson |url=https://www.folkradio.co.uk/2022/01/tribute-norma-waterson/ |accessdate=31 January 2022 |website=folkradio.co.uk}} She had been suffering from pneumonia.

Selected discography

= With The Watersons =

{{main|The Watersons#Discography}}

:(all on Topic Records unless shown otherwise)

{{divcol}}

  • Frost and Fire (1965){{cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/frost-and-fire-mw0000707566|title=Frost and Fire - The Watersons |via=www.allmusic.com|accessdate=2 February 2022}}
  • The Watersons (1966){{Cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/watersons-mw0000889423|title=Watersons – The Watersons |via=www.allmusic.com}}
  • A Yorkshire Garland (1966){{Cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/yorkshire-garland-mw0000887825|title=Yorkshire Garland – The Watersons |via=www.allmusic.com}}
  • For Pence and Spicy Ale (1975){{Cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/for-pence-and-spicy-ale-mw0000092188|title=For Pence and Spicy Ale – The Watersons |via=www.allmusic.com}}
  • A True Hearted Girl (1977) (Lal & Norma Waterson with Maria Waterson){{Cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/true-hearted-girl-mw0000254284|title=True Hearted Girl – The Watersons |via=www.allmusic.com}}
  • Sound, Sound Your Instruments of Joy (1977){{Cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/sound-sound-your-instruments-of-joy-mw0000779351|title=Sound, Sound Your Instruments of Joy – The Watersons |via=www.allmusic.com}}
  • Green Fields (1981){{Cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/green-fields-mw0000039220|title=Green Fields – The Watersons |via=www.allmusic.com}}
  • Early Days (1994){{Cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/early-days-mw0000232752|title=Early Days – The Watersons |via=www.allmusic.com}}
  • Mighty River of Song (2004){{Cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/mighty-river-of-song-mw0000327668|title=Mighty River of Song – The Watersons |via=www.allmusic.com}}
  • A Yorkshire Christmas (Witchwood Collection, 2005){{Cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/a-yorkshire-christmas-mw0001435762|title=A Yorkshire Christmas – The Watersons |via=www.allmusic.com}}

{{div col end}}

=With Waterson:Carthy =

{{main|Waterson:Carthy#Discography}}

:(all on Topic Records)

{{div col}}

  • Waterson:Carthy (1994){{Cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/waterson-carthy-mw0000123654|title=Waterson:Carthy - Waterson:Carthy |via=www.allmusic.com}}
  • Common Tongue (1996){{Cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/common-tongue-mw0000020006|title=Common Tongue - Waterson:Carthy |via=www.allmusic.com}}
  • Broken Ground (1999){{Cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/broken-ground-mw0000258647|title=Broken Ground - Waterson:Carthy |via=www.allmusic.com}}
  • A Dark Light (2002){{Cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/a-dark-light-mw0000221084|title=A Dark Light - Waterson:Carthy |via=www.allmusic.com}}
  • Fishes And Fine Yellow Sand (2004){{Cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/fishes-fine-yellow-sand-mw0000656367|title=Fishes & Fine Yellow Sand - Waterson:Carthy |via=www.allmusic.com}}
  • Holy Heathens and the Old Green Man (2006){{Cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/holy-heathens-and-the-old-green-man-mw0000445693|title=Holy Heathens and the Old Green Man - Waterson:Carthy |via=www.allmusic.com}}

{{div col end}}

=Solo discography=

  • Norma Waterson (Hannibal Records, 1996){{Cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/norma-waterson-mw0000185891|title=Norma Waterson – Norma Waterson |via=www.allmusic.com}}
  • The Very Thought of You (Hannibal Records, 1999){{Cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/the-very-thought-of-you-mw0001474706|title=The Very Thought of You – Norma Waterson |via=www.allmusic.com}}
  • Bright Shiny Morning (Topic Records, 2001){{Cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/bright-shiny-morning-mw0000115838|title=Bright Shiny Morning – Norma Waterson |via=www.allmusic.com}}
  • Gift (Topic Records, 2010) with Eliza Carthy{{Cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/gift-mw0002021952|title=Gift – Eliza Carthy, Norma Waterson |via=www.allmusic.com}}
  • Anchor (Topic Records, 2018) with Eliza Carthy and the Gift Band{{Cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/anchor-mw0003160024|title=Anchor – Norma Waterson, Eliza Carthy |via=www.allmusic.com}}

References

{{Reflist}}

External links

{{cc}}

  • {{discogs artist|Norma Waterson}}
  • {{imdb name|1182759}}
  • [https://www.telegraph.co.uk/obituaries/2022/01/31/norma-waterson-giant-british-folk-music-family-burst-scene-1960s/ Norma Waterson, one of the greats of British folk music who burst on to the scene with her family in the 1960s – obituary] at The Daily Telegraph {{small|(subscription required)}}
  • [https://www.thetimes.com/uk/article/norma-waterson-obituary-6wflfvk9f Norma Waterson obituary] at The Times {{small|(subscription required)}}
  • {{YouTube|5L_oHC2DiGs|"We Poor Labouring Men"}} from Broken Ground (1999)

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Waterson, Norma}}

Category:1939 births

Category:2022 deaths

Category:Members of the Order of the British Empire

Category:20th-century English singers

Category:20th-century English women singers

Category:21st-century English singers

Category:21st-century English women singers

Category:Blue Murder (folk group) members

Category:English folk musicians

Category:English folk singers

Category:Musicians from Kingston upon Hull

Category:Waterson–Carthy members

Category:The Watersons members

Category:Deaths from pneumonia in the United Kingdom

Category:English people of Irish descent