Norma Waterson

Traditional English folk singer and musician Norma Waterson was born on August 15, 1939, in Hull, England. She was orphaned very early in her life and she and her brother Mike and sister Elaine (Lal) were raised by her maternal grandmother. The three siblings – along with their cousin John Harrison - formed a skiffle group in the early 1960s. They moved toward a more traditional English folk style, originally calling themselves The Folksons. By the time the group signed with Topic Records, they were known as The Watersons and they released their debut album, Frost and Fire, in 1965. Although they were extremely successful in the UK, The Watersons broke up in 1968 when Norma Waterson took a job as a radio DJ in Montserrat. The Watersons reformed in 1972 and continued to perform and record. With some changes in the line-up, Norma Waterson’s husband Martin Carthy and their daughter Eliza Carthy passed through the group’s ranks. In 1994, Norma Waterson, her husband, and her daughter formed the group Waterson:Carthy. They released their self-titled debut in 1994, which was followed by Common Tongue in 1996. The same year, at the age of 57, Norma Waterson released her self-titled debut solo album. She continued to release solo material as well as recordings with Waterson:Carthy and several albums with her daughter Eliza including Gift (2010) and Anchor (2018). In 2003, Norma Waterson was honored with the Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) for her services to folk music. During the course of her career, Norma Watson became one of English folk music’s most iconic voices and was celebrated on several compilations including 2006’s The Definitive Collection and 2018’s An Introduction to Norma Waterson. On January 30, 2022, Norma Watson died at the age of 82.

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