Joseph Taylor (folk singer)

Joseph Taylor
Facsimile of the insert from the 1908 HMV release 'Percy Grainger's Collection of English Folk-Songs sung by Genuine Peasant Performers'
Background information
Born10 September 1833
Binbrook, Lincolnshire
OriginSaxby-All-Saints, Lincolnshire, England
Died4 May 1910(1910-05-04) (aged 76)
Saxby-All-Saints, Lincolnshire
GenresEnglish folk music
Occupation(s)Farm bailiff, carpenter, singer
LabelsHMV

Joseph Taylor (10 September 1833 – 4 May 1910),[1] was a folk singer from Saxby-All-Saints, Lincolnshire, England, who became the first English folk singer to be commercially recorded[1] after coming to the attention of the composer and musicologist Percy Grainger.[2]

He popularised obscure and unique songs including "Brigg Fair", "Rufford Park Poachers" and "The White Hare", and sang influential versions of well-known songs and ballads such as "Lord Bateman" and "The Sprig of Thyme". His songs were arranged by classical composers including Grainger and Frederick Delius, and recorded by folk revival musicians beginning in the British folk revival of the 1960s.

His singing was recorded by Grainger onto wax cylinders, which have been digitised and made available online by the British Library Sound Archive as part of the Percy Grainger Collection.[3]

  1. ^ a b Greig, Ruairidh (2004). Atkinson, David; Russell, Ian (eds.). "Joseph Taylor from Lincolnshire: a biography of a singer". Folk Song Tradition, Revival, and Re-Creation. Occasional Publications (3). The Elphinstone Institute, University of Aberdeen: 386–392. ISBN 0-9545682-0-6 – via White Rose Research.
  2. ^ "Percy Grainger's collection of ethnographic wax cylinders". British Library. 20 February 2018. Retrieved 22 February 2018.
  3. ^ "Percy Grainger ethnographic wax cylinders - World and traditional music | British Library - Sounds". sounds.bl.uk. Retrieved 20 December 2021.