Frank Kidson© James Henry HoggPublic Domain Mark

Frank Kidson

Leeds song scholar; Traditional Tunes

Born
15 November 1855, Leeds, Yorkshire
Died
7 November 1926, Chapeltown, Leeds

A Leeds man all his life, he collected songs across Yorkshire with his niece Emma and became the leading authority of his day on old printed ballads and tunes. His book Traditional Tunes was a founding work of the first folk song revival, and he sat on the Folk-Song Society’s first committee in 1898. Colleagues called him the musical Sherlock Holmes for his skill in tracing a song’s origins.

Further reading: Wikipedia · English Folk Dance and Song Society