I'm enjoying a musical blast from my family's past. My parents loved the songs of Kenneth McKellar, the famous Scottish tenor, and had several of his albums, including the family favorite, Roamin' in the Gloamin'. To my great delight, I recently found that album (along with many others of his) on Amazon, and immediately bought and downloaded the MP3 version. I've been thoroughly enjoying it.
For those of you new to Scottish music, here's a selection from that tradition. For those of you new to Kenneth McKellar, this is a great introduction to one of the finest post-World-War-II singers to come out of the Highlands.
Let's begin with a traditional, quirky, fun tune, 'The Cockle Gatherer'. Lyrics and background information may be found here.
Next, a love song by Robert Burns, 'Bonnie Wee Thing'. Lyrics may be found here.
Finally, how could any collection of Kenneth McKellar's songs be complete without his rendition of 'Scotland the Brave'? Lyrics here.
The entire album, plus many others, are available on Amazon.com.
Peter
3 comments:
Yep, definitely 'old school' singer! And one with a powerful voice!
There's nothing more Scottish than Bobbie Burns. Auld Lang Syne originally had a different tune, which I find to be more soulful than the on we hear on TV at New Year's. The link is to a beautiful Celtic soprano rendition.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0U3w_zpiWSE
When my father was stationed at Ramstein AFB in '66 AFTV had to fill spaces in the programming where commercials would have been stateside. They would feature various new developments in MilTech and martial music performances. One of the martial music performances was Scotland the Brave by group of Highlander Troops. This is the first time I've heard the lyrics since that "commercial."
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