Jock Duncan Explained

Jock Duncan
Background:solo_singer
Birth Date:1925
Birth Place:Gellibrae, New Deer, Aberdeenshire
Death Place:Dundee
Genre:Bothy ballad
Occupation:Farmer
Instrument:Voice
Years Active:1930sā€“2021

Jock Duncan (1925 ā€“ 25 March 2021) was a Scottish singer from Gelliebrae near New Deer in Aberdeenshire, known for singing many songs and bothy ballads from Aberdeenshire. He had performed at bothy ballad competitions since 1975 and made recordings of his music since 1996. In recognition of his work for furthering Scots singing, Duncan was inducted into the Scottish Traditional Music Hall of Fame in 2006.[1] In 2000, Duncan was given a Herald Angel award from the Edinburgh Festival for his long work with ballad singing.[2]

Early life

Duncan was born on the farm of Gelliebrae, New Deer, Aberdeenshire in 1925. In 1928, the family moved to South Faddenhill, to a farm owned by Duncan's grandfather that his father had taken over. Duncan left school at 14 years old to work on the farm as an orra loon or apprentice.

Family

He was the husband of Frances Duncan and father of Gordon Duncan and Ian Duncan,[3] both well known for piping, as well as Moria and Frances Duncan.[4] He learnt bothy ballads from his uncle Charlie Duncan.[5] Jock's mother was a pianist and his sister Marion was a singer.[6] His brother Jimmy was a fiddler.

Both of his sons as well as his grandson, Alex Duncan, were pipers.[7]

Work

Duncan joined the Royal Air Force when he turned 18 in 1943, spending two years in France during World War II. After the war, he returned to farming. In the 1960s, Duncan worked for the Hydro Board, moving first to Thurso then to Pitlochry.

Music

In 1960, Duncan featured on the Grampian TV programme Bothy Nichts, as a member of the Fyvie Loons and Quines.[8]

In 1975, Duncan entered and won his first bothy ballad singing contest in Kinross, while in 2004 he came fourth in a contest in Moray. In 2000, he was awarded the Herald Angel award for services to ballad singing,[9] and was inducted into the Scottish Traditional Music Hall of Fame in 2006.

Iona Fyfe credits Duncan as an influence on her own singing, describing him as an "uncle". They met while Duncan was judging the Turra Bothy Ballad competition.[10]

Other

Over fifty years, from the 1930s, Duncan interviewed Scottish soldiers that fought in World War I, recording all they could remember about country life in the Northeast of Scotland before the war. The 59 soldiers were mostly Scots speakers and Duncan transcribed the soldiers' stories in Scots. After giving all his recordings and transcripts to the University of Edinburgh, an edited book Jock's Jocks: Voices of Scottish Soldiers from the First World War was published in 2019.[11] In April 2019, Jock's Jocks was made into a single-act play and a Scots-language radio programme.[12]

Death

Duncan died on 25 March 2021 in Dundee at the age of 95.[13] [14]

Discography

1996: Ye Shine Whaur Ye Stan!
2001: Tae The Green Woods Gaen[15]

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Jock Duncan . Scottish Culture Online . Hands Up For Trad . 22 January 2021 . 2021-01-29 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210129055125/https://www.scottishcultureonline.com/projects_subdomain/hall-of-fame/jock-duncan/ . dead .
  2. Web site: Jock Duncan . Scottish Traditional Music Hall of Fame . 25 January 2021 . 1 November 2012 . 2021-03-25 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210325235344/https://projects.handsupfortrad.scot/hall-of-fame/jock-duncan/ . dead .
  3. News: Gilchrist . Jim . Obituary: Gordon Duncan . The Scotsman . 33 . 20 December 2005 . 13 April 2013 . 2018-07-09 . https://web.archive.org/web/20180709094517/https://www.scotsman.com/news/obituaries/gordon-duncan-1-686722 . dead .
  4. News: West . Gary . Jock Duncan - 1925-2021 . 7 January 2023 . www.livingtradition.co.uk . 1 June 2021.
  5. Book: The singer and the scribe : European ballad traditions and European ballad cultures . Rodopi . Amsterdam . 9789042018518 . 198 . 22 January 2021.
  6. Web site: Shepheard . Peter . About Jock Duncan . Electric Scotland . 22 January 2021.
  7. News: Bonn . Melanie . Tributes paid to Scottish cultural icon Jock Duncan after death at the age of 95 . 1 February 2023 . Daily Record . 12 April 2021 . en.
  8. Russell . Ian . Competing with Ballads (And Whisky?): The Construction, Celebration, and Commercialization of North-East Scottish Identity . Folk Music Journal . 2007 . 9 . 2 . 170ā€“191 . 4522806 . 1 February 2023 . 0531-9684.
  9. News: Angels speed the plough From Doric song to Das Rheingold, The Herald salutes the outstanding artists of the Festival . 1 February 2023 . HeraldScotland . 28 August 2000 . en.
  10. Web site: Guise of Tough by Iona Fyfe . FolkWaves . 25 January 2021 . 10 April 2018.
  11. Web site: Robertson . James . Scottish Review: Essential Reads . www.scottishreview.net.
  12. Web site: Jock's Jocks . The Gordon Duncan Memorial Trust . 25 January 2021.
  13. News: Drysdale . Neil . Folk music legend Jock Duncan ensured the voices of Great War troops will never be forgotten . 30 March 2021 . Press and Journal . DC Thomson Media . Aberdeen Journals Ltd . 29 March 2021.
  14. News: Letford . Stuart . Jock Duncan, 1925-2021 . 30 September 2022 . Bagpipe News . 26 March 2021.
  15. Web site: Brown . Alan McIntosh . Living Tradition CD review of Jock Duncan, Tae the Greenwoods Gaen . www.livingtradition.co.uk . 23 January 2023.