The Foc'sle Singers

The Foc'sle Singers: Dave Van Ronk, Bob Brill, Roger Abrahams, and Bob Yellin, joined Paul Clayton on a number of BBC field recordings. From the Folkways Records FA 2429 liner notes:

PAUL CLAYTON is already vell known to lovers of sea songs, having recorded several albums of such songs for various companies. Born and raised in the old whaling port of New Bedford, Massachusetts, he has always been interested in these songs, and in the way they were sung by sailors themselves. In an attempt to capture the feeling that these songs carry within themselves and to grasp the way they may have sounded in the day of full sail, Clayton brought together THE FOC'SLE SINGERS in the fall of 1958. Each of the members of this group went to the standard books in the field trying to figure out in his own mind how the songs actually sounded. During their meetings they would discuss each of the songs and its function aboard ship.

At first, their sound was too dry and brittle. Further research turned up indications that sailors did use harmony and, in the case of the foc'sle songs, occasionally had instrumental accompaniments. This resulted in their decision to use spare harmonies and an occasional instrumental break. At all times they have tried to keep away from the overly rich, commercial, choral harmonies that have marred so much of the sea material currently being presented to the public.

DAVE VAN RONK grew up in the jazz tradition and his contact with folk music has been in the field of the Negro jazz and street singing traditions. The lessons he has learned from conscientious listening to these traditions has shown itself in the great talents he displays...

BOB BRILL, too, came to folk music through a love of jazz. He plays a fine trumpet and kazoo as well as guitar, and likes to sing the blues of Bessie Smith and other classic blues singers. As with all of the other members of the group, he is interested in finding the authentic sound in music, whether it be blues, jazz, or in this case, sea songs.

ROGER ABRAHAMS is a talented folksinger who came to folk music through a love of old ballads and lyrics. He is presently working hard at becoming a sometime scholar, pursuing his PhD. in folklore at the University of Pennsylvania, where he also teaches in the English department.

BOB YELLIN supplies the banjo accompaniments for this album, and is mainly interested in "Bluegrass" music. He is presently a member of the 'Greenbrier Boys', and plays a whole lot of banjo for them.

• Roger Abrahams (1933-2017) would go on to produce the small but important tome on shanteying in the West Carribean: Deep the Water, Shallow the Shore. He became a professor the University of Pennsylvania, studying folklore with an emphasis on African-American traditions.
• Dave Van Ronk was an instrumental figure in the American folk music revival, playing and mentoring in Greenwich Village. He had a long and distinguished folk music career.

The word "foc'sle" comes from the pronunciation of forecastle.