A True Hearted Woman

Passionate voice of folk song, Norma Waterson left us on January 30.

Her majesty: Norma Waterson, the queen of British folk’s first family.

Tom Howard

HER HUSBAND MARTIN Carthy described Norma Waterson as “an extraordinary balance of timidity and fearlessness”, while Billy Bragg called her “one of the defining voices of the English traditional music.” With the all-consuming passion with which she threw herself into every vocal, and her masterful powers of storytelling, she was also, undoubtedly, a pivotal driving force of the modern folk revival.

Yet, as offhandedly unassuming off-stage as she was full-bloodedly committed on it, she insisted she did just what came naturally. “I’m basically a shy person,” she said, “but when I’m singing I don’t give a shit.”

Her unique singing style – described by daughter Eliza Carthy as “barrel-aged richness” – was forged by a tight-knit musical upbringing in Hull with her younger siblings Mike and Elaine (Lal). Her father played guitar, her mother was a pianist and all her aunts and uncles played music in some form. Yet, orphaned at eight, it was her part-Irish, part-Gypsy grandmother Eliza Ward who largely raised the siblings and became their strongest musical influence, singing to them everything from music hall to jazz and opera.

“I’m basically a shy person, but when I’m singing I don’t give a shit.”

NORMA WATERSON

They went on to form a skiffle group with second cousin John Harrison, becoming The Watersons when they jettisoned American material to seek out the English tradition. Their thrilling unison singing with powerful Yorkshire accents gave the tradition a vibrancy not heard before and, kick-started by classic 1965 debut album Frost & Fire, electrified the British folk club movement.

Exhausted by constant touring and deeply unimpressed by such descriptions as “the folk Beatles”, they split in 1968, Norma disappearing to Montserrat, where she remained for four years, working as a DJ on Radio Antilles.

THE LEGACY

The Album: Norma Waterson (Hannibal, 1996)

The Sound: Known for unaccompanied singing of traditional song, Norma’s debut solo album was an extraordinary tour de force. Assisted by Richard Thompson, Danny Thompson and others, she roared into everything from 1920s Tin Pan Alley (There Ain’t No Sweet Man That’s Worth The Salt Of My Tears) and the Grateful Dead (Black Muddy River) and made them her own.

Her return to the UK coincided with the recording of 1972’s landmark Bright Phoebus album, which showcased the songwriting of brother Mike and sister Lal. It led to a rebirth of the unaccompanied Watersons, with Norma’s new husband Carthy slotting in alongside. Her biggest statement, however, came at the age of 57, with her astonishingly versatile solo debut Norma Waterson coming within one vote of winning the 1996 Mercury Music Prize. She left the ceremony raving about winners Pulp and saying she wanted to adopt singer Jarvis Cocker.

She went on to make two more outstanding and varied solo albums, The Very Thought Of You (1999) and Bright Shiny Morning (2001), followed by six albums and regular tours with husband and daughter in Waterson:Carthy and two duo albums Gift (2010) and Anchor (2018) with Eliza, the latter recorded in a local church when, despite her physical frailty, her voice was as passionate, yet intimate, as ever.

“I don’t mind that I’m getting to the end of my life,” she told this writer two years ago. “I’ve had a wonderful life. I couldn’t have asked for anything more.”