John Strachan (singer)

John Strachan (1875 - 1958) was a Scottish farmer and singer of Bothy Ballads.

John Strachan was born on a farm, Crichie, near St. Katherines in Aberdeenshire. His father had made his fortune by trading in horses, and had rented the farm. From 1886 John attended Robert Gordon's College as a boarder in Aberdeen. In 1888 he moved with his father to Craigies in Tarves. In 1895 he moved back to Crichie, which became his own farm in 1897. It was still rented, but he bought it in 1918. By 1939 he was successful enough to own five farms. He became president of the Turriff Agricultural Association. He died in Crichie.

John Strachan was a "tradition bearer". He was part of the last generation to sing traditional songs in bothies, along with Davie Stewart, Jimmy MacBeath and Willie Scott, though he never met them, as far as we know. A dancing master visited the farms. The farm labourers would learn to dance the highland fling and sword dances, at that time performed in hard shoes. John was dismissive of the modern fashion to perform Highland dancing in soft shoes, or "Patent slippers" as he called them. He learned songs from his mother and from the servants on his father's farm. His social status was higher than almost all other recorded singers of ballads. He was refused entry to a fraternity called "The Horseman's Word", intended for farmservants who looked after horses. They claimed to be able to control horses through whispering special words in a horse's ear.

In 1930 the American collector James Madison Carpenter came from Harvard with a wax cylinder recorder. He reached Crichie about midnight. Strachan sang "Dark and Shallow Water" for Carpenter. Strachan had learned the song from Jimmy Smith. Later they both travelled over 50 miles to find him, only to discover that he had forgotten the song. Carpenter was sufficiently impressed by Strachan to invite him to return to the States with him, but he refused. In 1935 a radio program "The Farm Year" was broadcast live from Crichie. Using songs, stories and authentic sound effects such as bagpipes and revving cars, they dramatised farm work. John Strachan and another singer, Willie Kemp, took part. John Mearns sang "The Bonnie Lass o' Fyvie" on the broadcast.

...
Wikipedia