The Appalachian dulcimer is a fretted string instrument of the zither family, typically with three or four strings, originally played in the Appalachian region of the United States. The body extends the length of the fingerboard, and its fretting is generally diatonic.
Madelaine Edith Prior MBE is an English folk rock singer, best known as the lead vocalist of Steeleye Span. She was born in Blackpool and moved to St Albans in her teens. Her father, Allan Prior, was co-creator of the police drama Z-Cars. She was married to Steeleye bass guitarist Rick Kemp, and their daughter, Rose Kemp, is also a singer. Their son, Alex Kemp, is, like his father, a guitarist and has deputised for his father playing bass guitar for Steeleye Span. She was part of the singing duo 'Mac & Maddy', with Mac MacLeod. She then performed with Tim Hart and recorded two albums with him, before they helped to found the group Steeleye Span, in 1969. She left Steeleye Span in 1997, but returned in 2002, and has toured with them since. With June Tabor she was the singing duo Silly Sisters. She toured with the Carnival Band, in 2007, and with Giles Lewin and Hannah James, in 2012 and 2013. She has released singles and albums as a solo artist, with these bands and in several collaborations. She runs an Arts Centre called Stones Barn, in Bewcastle, in Cumbria, which offers residential courses.
Below the Salt is the fourth studio album by Steeleye Span and their first after they joined the Chrysalis label. The album takes medieval influence and combines it with the band's British folk rock style. The lineup on the album includes Bob Johnson and Rick Kemp making their debuts in the band. By this point, Ashley Hutchings had left the band, leaving Tim Hart and Maddy Prior as the only remaining founding members.
Tim Hart was an English folk singer and multi-instrumentalist, best known as a founding member of British folk rock band Steeleye Span.
Hark! The Village Wait is the debut album by the British folk rock band Steeleye Span, first released in 1970. It is the only album to feature the original lineup of the band as they broke up and reformed with an altered membership immediately after its release, without ever having performed live. Therefore, it is one of only two Steeleye Span studio albums to feature two female vocalists, the other being Time (1996). A similar sound was apparent years later when Prior teamed up with June Tabor to form Silly Sisters. Overall, the album's sound is essentially folk music with rock drumming and bass guitar added to some of the songs. The banjo features prominently on several tracks, including "Blackleg Miner", "Lowlands of Holland" and "One Night as I Lay on My Bed".
Please to See the King is the second album by Steeleye Span, released in 1971. A major personnel change following their previous effort, Hark! The Village Wait, brought about a substantial change in their overall sound, including a lack of drums and the replacement of one female vocalist with a male vocalist. The band even reprised a song from their debut, "The Blacksmith", with a strikingly different arrangement making extensive use of syncopation. Re-recording songs would be a minor theme in Steeleye's output over the years, with the band eventually releasing an entire album of reprises, Present – The Very Best of Steeleye Span.
Ten Man Mop or Mr. Reservoir Butler Rides Again is the third album by Steeleye Span, recorded in September 1971. It was issued on the short-lived Pegasus label, and then the Mooncrest label, also in 1971. It was not initially issued in the US until Chrysalis acquired the group's first three albums in 1975, when it reissued all three in the UK and US. Tracks like "Four Nights Drunk", "Marrowbones", and "Wee Weaver" are essentially pure folk. It was the last album to feature founding member Ashley Hutchings; he left the band in November 1971, just after its completion, partly because he felt that the album had moved too far toward Irish music and away from English music. The band was also considering touring America, and Hutchings was reluctant to make the trip.
Behind the Eyes is the twelfth studio album by Christian music and pop music singer Amy Grant, released in 1997.
No Roses is an album by Shirley Collins and the Albion Country Band. It was recorded at Sound Techniques, and Air Studios in London, in the summer of 1971. It was produced by Sandy Roberton and Ashley Hutchings. It was released in October 1971 on the Pegasus label.
Red Dirt Girl is the nineteenth studio album by American country artist Emmylou Harris, released on September 12, 2000 by Nonesuch Records. The album was a significant departure for Harris, as eleven of the twelve tracks were written or co-written by her. At the time, she was best known for covering other songwriters' work. Prior to this album, only two of Harris' LPs had more than two of her own compositions. Her next album, Stumble into Grace, was also written by Harris. The album contains "Bang the Drum Slowly", a song Guy Clark helped Harris write as an elegy for her father. The album peaked at number 3 on the Billboard country album charts and won the Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Folk Album in 2001.
Commoners Crown is the seventh studio album by British folk rock band Steeleye Span, released in 1975 by Chrysalis Records. It was their second album with the band's most commercially successful line-up. The album reached number 21 in the UK album charts.
The Thorns is the only studio album by rock supergroup The Thorns. Released by Aware Records in 2003, it was produced by Brendan O'Brien following songwriting sessions by the three members before they officially became a band.
The Sea and the Sky is a 2004 collaborative album by North Carolina-based singer-songwriter Jonathan Byrd and Georgia-based world music duo, Dromedary.
Albion Heart, released in 1995, was the second album of the long running Albion Band's acoustic phase and the first to contain both Chris While and Julie Matthews, marking the beginning of their highly successful collaboration. It benefits from their song writing and instrumental talents, but is almost unique in the history of the band for its lack of traditional English instruments or tunes.
Spriguns of Tolgus were a British folk rock group formed in 1972. They managed to obtain a record deal with a major label and the attention of some significant figures in the folk rock world. They produced four albums with growing originality and recognition but were unable to achieve mainstream success and disbanded in 1978. Their lead singer, Mandy Morton, continued her solo career in Scandinavia and the band have now obtained a cult following.
Raybon Brothers is the only studio album by American country music duo Raybon Brothers. The single, "Butterfly Kisses", peaked at number 37 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart and number 22 on the Billboard Hot 100. Another single from the album, "The Way She's Looking", reached number 67 on the Hot 100. The third and final single, "Falling", failed to chart in the U.S.
Parcel of Rogues is the fifth studio album by English folk rock group Steeleye Span. It was released in 1973 by Chrysalis Records. The album was their most successful album thus far, breaking into the Top 30.
Acoustic Traveller is the 1996 album from John McEuen. John is notable for being a longtime member of the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band for which he was a multi-instrument and composer/arranger. He played on many of their charting albums and singles. He also records as a solo artist, and has appeared as a guest musician on many albums by many artists.
Firelight is a pop/folk-band founded in 2013 by vocalist Richard Edwards Micallef in Malta. Michelle Mifsud, Wayne Williams and Daniel (guitars) are all Richard's siblings. The band is completed by Tony Polidano (bass) and Leslie Decesare (drums).
Bright Phoebus, fully titled Bright Phoebus: Songs by Lal & Mike Waterson, is a folk rock album by Lal and Mike Waterson. It was recorded in May 1972 with musical assistance from various well-known members of the British folk rock scene. The album failed to make an impact on its original release, but it was subsequently championed by many musicians, including Billy Bragg, Arcade Fire, Richard Hawley and Jarvis Cocker. For years the album was difficult to obtain. In 2017, a re-release of Bright Phoebus was announced and shortly thereafter pulled from the market for legal reasons.
