Folk songwriters

Folk songwriters of Britain and Ireland on Folk Calendar: 97 of them, with their dates, where they were born and died, and their recordings. Every artist, A to Z

A

© VARA CC BY-SA 3.0 Harvey Andrews Singer and songwriter; Hey Sandy

B

Dominic Behan 1928 to 1989 Songwriter and writer; The Patriot Game, Liverpool Lou
© XIIIfromTOKYO CC BY-SA 4.0 Eric Bogle Songwriter; And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda
© Bryan Ledgard CC BY 2.0 Paul Brady Singer, guitarist and songwriter; Planxty
© Ben Sutherland CC BY 2.0 Billy Bragg Singer and songwriter; Mermaid Avenue
© Graham Kolbeins CC BY 3.0 Vashti Bunyan Singer and songwriter; Just Another Diamond Day

C

Bill Caddick 1944 to 2018 Songwriter; John O' Dreams, Home Service
© Nick Barber CC BY-SA 4.0 Sam Carter Guitarist and singer; False Lights
Michael Chapman 1941 to 2021 Guitarist and songwriter; Fully Qualified Survivor
© p_a_h CC BY 4.0 Josienne Clarke Singer and songwriter
Pete Coe Singer and songwriter; Bandoggs, Ryburn 3 Step
© Lrheath CC BY-SA 3.0 Dave Cousins 1940 to 2025 Singer and songwriter; Strawbs

D

Sandy Denny 1947 to 1978 Singer and songwriter; Fairport Convention, Fotheringay
© CBS Television Public Domain Mark Donovan Singer and songwriter; Catch the Wind, Sunshine Superman
Nick Drake 1948 to 1974 Singer, songwriter and guitarist; Five Leaves Left, Pink Moon
© Bruce Baker CC BY 2.0 Blair Dunlop Singer, songwriter and guitarist

F

© Cindy Funk CC BY 2.0 Archie Fisher 1939 to 2025 Singer, guitarist and songwriter; Travelling Folk

G

© jeaneeem CC BY 2.0 Vin Garbutt 1947 to 2017 Singer, songwriter and whistle player; the Teesside Troubadour
Gwyneth Glyn Poet and singer songwriter in Welsh
© Mudbugclub CC BY-SA 4.0 Clive Gregson Songwriter and producer; Gregson and Collister
© Al Aumuller/New York World-Telegram and the Sun (uploaded by User:Urban)Public Domain Mark Woody Guthrie 1912 to 1967 Singer and songwriter; This Land Is Your Land

H

Johnny Handle Singer, songwriter and musician; High Level Ranters
© Scouse_and_Jules from UK CC BY 2.0 Mike Harding Singer, comedian and broadcaster
© Bryan Ledgard CC BY 2.0 Bella Hardy Singer and songwriter
© Trharp CC BY-SA 3.0 Roy Harper Singer and songwriter; Stormcock
© Own work Public Domain Mark Hamish Henderson 1919 to 2002 Poet and collector; School of Scottish Studies
Mike Heron Singer and songwriter; the Incredible String Band
© Bain News Service, publisher Public Domain Mark Joe Hill 1879 to 1915 Labour songwriter; Industrial Workers of the World
Alistair Hulett 1951 to 2010 Songwriter; Roaring Jack, Dance of the Underclass
© Rodhullandemu CC BY-SA 3.0 Alan Hull 1945 to 1995 Singer and songwriter; Lindisfarne

I

© Frank Schwichtenberg CC BY-SA 3.0 Andy Irvine Singer and bouzouki player; Planxty, Sweeney's Men
Dafydd Iwan Welsh language singer and songwriter; Yma o Hyd

J

© Chris Barber from Dartford, England CC BY-SA 2.0 Bert Jansch 1943 to 2011 Guitarist, singer and songwriter; Pentangle

K

© Rob Glover CC BY-SA 2.0 Rick Kemp Bass player and songwriter; Steeleye Span
© Bryn Pinzgauer CC BY 2.0 Nancy Kerr Fiddle player and singer; with James Fagan
Lisa Knapp Singer and songwriter
© Brian Marks CC BY 2.0 Steve Knightley Singer and songwriter; Show of Hands

L

© Leo Dezoysa CC BY 4.0 Seth Lakeman Singer, fiddler and songwriter; Kitty Jay
© Steve Knight from Halstead, United Kingdom CC BY 2.0 Chris Leslie Fiddler; Fairport Convention, Whippersnapper
Tom Lewis Singer and songwriter; sea songs and shanties
© candyschwartz CC BY 2.0 Jez Lowe Songwriter; Jez Lowe and the Bad Pennies

M

© Seattle Folklore Society Public Domain Mark Ewan MacColl 1915 to 1989 Singer, songwriter and activist; Dirty Old Town, Radio Ballads
© K8 fan at English Wikipedia Public Domain Mark Kirsty MacColl 1959 to 2000 Singer and songwriter; They Don't Know, Fairytale of New York
Calum MacDonald Percussionist and lyricist; Runrig
Rory MacDonald Bassist and songwriter; Runrig
Kitty Macfarlane Singer, songwriter and guitarist; Somerset
© Masao Nakagami CC BY-SA 2.0 Shane MacGowan 1957 to 2023 Lead Singer of The Pogues, general Hell raiser
© Palak Dudani CC BY-SA 4.0 Dougie MacLean Singer and songwriter; Caledonia
© Bastun CC BY-SA 4.0 Liam Ó Maonlaí Singer and bodhrán player; Hothouse Flowers
© PKimage CC BY 3.0 Michael Marra 1952 to 2012 Singer and songwriter; the bard of Lochee
© TimDuncan CC BY 3.0 John Martyn 1948 to 2009 Singer, songwriter and guitarist; Solid Air
© Dr Photo CC BY 2.0 Julie Matthews Singer and songwriter; While and Matthews
Shelagh McDonald Singer and songwriter; Stargazer
Matt McGinn 1928 to 1977 Songwriter; The Foreman O'Rourke
© Cindy Funk at CC BY 2.0 Brian McNeill Fiddler, songwriter and novelist; Battlefield Band
Ralph McTell Singer, songwriter and guitarist; Streets of London
Angeline Morrison Singer and songwriter; The Sorrow Songs
Pete Morton Singer and songwriter

N

© Findlay Napier CC BY-SA 4.0 Findlay Napier Singer and songwriter; Back of the Moon
© PKimage CC BY-SA 3.0 Rab Noakes 1947 to 2022 Singer and songwriter; Stealers Wheel

O

© Martinbassindale CC0 1.0 (Public Domain Dedication) Maz O’Connor Singer, songwriter and composer
Lisa O’Neill Singer and songwriter; Heard a Long Gone Song

P

© Kingkongphoto & www.celebrity-photos.com from Laurel Maryland, USA CC BY-SA 2.0 Tom Paxton Singer and songwriter; The Last Thing on My Mind, Ramblin' Boy
Bob Pegg Singer, songwriter and storyteller; Mr Fox
© AlasdhairJohnston CC BY-SA 4.0 Grace Petrie Singer and songwriter; protest songs
© Karine_Polwart_at_Tribute_to_Alistair_Hulett.jpg: Candy Schwartz derivative work: Qwfp (talk)CC BY 2.0 Karine Polwart Singer and songwriter; Faultlines, Malinky
© Harald Krichel CC BY-SA 4.0 Emily Portman Singer and songwriter; The Furrow Collective
© Ron Baker CC BY 3.0 John Prine 1946 to 2020 Singer and songwriter; Sam Stone, Paradise

R

Alan Reid Keyboards and songwriter; Battlefield Band
Jim Reid 1934 to 2009 Singer and songwriter; Foundry Bar Band
© Jssfrk CC BY-SA 3.0 Alasdair Roberts Singer and songwriter; traditional ballads
© Rathfelder CC BY-SA 4.0 Leon Rosselson Songwriter; satirical songs, The Galliards
© Bryan Ledgard CC BY 2.0 Kate Rusby Singer and songwriter; the Barnsley Nightingale
© The original uploader was IanMRichards at Welsh Wikipedia.CC BY-SA 3.0 Georgia Ruth Harpist and songwriter in Welsh and English

S

© Avner Fitterman CC BY-SA 3.0 Tommy Sands Singer and songwriter; The Sands Family
© University of Salford Press Office CC BY 2.0 Peggy Seeger Singer and songwriter; Radio Ballads, Gonna Be an Engineer
© Tim Packer CC BY-SA 4.0 Martin Simpson Singer and guitarist; English and American traditions
Davy Steele 1948 to 2001 Singer and songwriter; Ceolbeg, Clan Alba, Battlefield Band
© Vandonovan CC BY-SA 3.0 Al Stewart Singer and songwriter; Year of the Cat
Andy M. Stewart 1952 to 2015 Singer and songwriter; Silly Wizard
Belle Stewart 1906 to 1997 Traveller singer and songwriter; Blairgowrie

T

© Missgrumpy Public Domain Mark Heidi Talbot Singer and songwriter; formerly of Cherish the Ladies
© John Willis CC BY-SA 3.0 John Tams Singer, songwriter and actor; Home Service
Cyril Tawney 1930 to 2005 Singer and songwriter; Sally Free and Easy, The Grey Funnel Line
© Tony 1212 CC BY-SA 4.0 Allan Taylor Singer and songwriter; It's Good to See You
Jake Thackray 1938 to 2002 Singer and songwriter; witty, wordy songs
© Dxede5x CC BY-SA 3.0 Richard Thompson Guitarist and songwriter; Fairport Convention
Steve Tilston Songwriter and guitarist

W

© Bryan Ledgard CC BY 2.0 Lucy Ward Singer and songwriter
Lal Waterson 1943 to 1998 Singer and songwriter; The Watersons, Bright Phoebus
© candyschwartz CC BY 2.0 Mike Waterson 1941 to 2011 Singer and songwriter; The Watersons
John Watt 1933 to 2011 Songwriter and singer; Pittenweem Joe
© Filberthockey at English Wikipedia Public Domain Mark Gillian Welch Singer and songwriter; with David Rawlings
Liam Weldon 1933 to 1995 Singer and songwriter; Dark Horse on the Wind
Chris While Singer and songwriter; While and Matthews
Roy Williamson 1936 to 1990 Singer and songwriter; the Corries, Flower of Scotland
© Mike Garvey CC BY-SA 3.0 Chris Wood Songwriter, fiddler and singer