Arthur Argo (1935–1981) was a Scottish traditional folk musician, promoter and collector[1] and the great grandson of Gavin Greig.

Arthur Argo
Born1935
Died1981
NationalityScottish
Known forTraditional folk musician and collector

Argo came from a family with a rich traditional song heritage. Argo worked alongside Hamish Henderson collecting field recordings from the North East of Scotland[2] and beyond. Argo, was a promoter of the work of Scottish folk artists and their music. After working as a journalist in the North East, from 1966 he worked for BBC Scotland, from 1973 as a producer with Radio Scotland. He produced the long-running radio series 'Fit Like Folk?', and 'The Reel Blend', a Scottish music series. He was the founder and president of the Aberdeen Folksong Club and published a series of folk song booklets in the 1960s called 'Chapbook'.[3] Many musicians such as Aly Bain,[4] Barbara Dickson, Jean Redpath and Billy Connolly cite Argo as a major influence and stepping stone in their early careers.[5] Argo visited the United States twice in the early 1960s and met many of the established and rising stars of the American folk scene including Pete Seeger and Bob Dylan.

References

edit
  1. ^ "gb231-ms3088etc - Papers of Arthur Argo and Arthur Barron". Archives Hub. Archived from the original on 14 July 2012. Retrieved 24 April 2014.
  2. ^ "index". Tobar an Dualchais. Archived from the original on 31 May 2010. Retrieved 24 April 2014.
  3. ^ "Ballad Of John Maclean". Marxists.org. Retrieved 24 April 2014.
  4. ^ "FolkFire Articles Archive, v6,n1". Folkfire.org. 13 February 1999. Retrieved 24 April 2014.
  5. ^ Smith, Aidan (3 January 2012). "Right down the line: Remembering Gerry Rafferty". The Scotsman. Retrieved 24 April 2014.