Jack was born in Dunfermline in Fife and lived
there until 1998 when he moved to the St Andrews area (still in
From
1964 till 1967 he partnered the well-known singer Barbara Dickson and
throughout the 1960s he was part of the circle which included Archie Fisher,
John Watt, Rab Noakes,
Jimmy Hutchison, The MacCalmans, The Corries, The
Incredible String Band etc.
In 1976
he co-founded the acclaimed folk-band ‘Heritage’, which went on to make a
number of recordings, broadcast on radio and TV, played most of the Scottish
festivals and clubs and toured Europe frequently.
In 1989
he visited the US for the first time, and has returned regularly most years
since then, performing in Maine and E Tennessee, where he has lectured on the
Appalachian Studies program of ETSU and at the Swannanoa Gathering in N.
Carolina. Around the same time he began broadcasting a live interview
programme, monthly, on Heartland fm in Pitlochry,
which was recorded and then re-broadcast by WETS fm from the campus of ETSU in
Johnson City. Since July 2007 Jack has been presenting a new weekly show on
WETS fm on Sundays at 10 am called Celtic Clanjamphry
www.wets.org
During
the 1990s he performed more frequently as a solo singer or in tandem with his
‘Heritage’ colleague George Haig. He also revived a
long-standing partnership with the singer/songwriter John Watt and more
recently with ace guitarist Sandy Stanage - they
perform regularly as a duo at clubs and festivals.
His
most recent venture is a presentation/workshop/concert called ‘A Stranger in
this Country’ involving Sara Grey, Anne Neilson and Jack, which examines Scots
and American versions of the same songs and ballads. This has been performed
both in Scotland (Celtic Connections Festival) and, in the US, from S. Carolina
to New York (and all points between).
In 1990
Jack was made an honorary life member of the Traditional Music and Song
Association of Scotland and since 1999 he has been external examiner in Scots
Song for the Degree programme in Scots Music Performance at the prestigious
RSAMD in Glasgow.
Jack’s ‘day job’ till 2001 was head of
department in a community college in Dunfermline. Since then he has been an
education and training consultant.
They say:
'His delivery of the classic Scottish ballads
is outstanding' - Ian Green
(Greentrax Records)
'I can certainly vouch for the quality of his
presentations - very definitely
worth hearing' - Sandy Ives (Dept of Folklore
- University of Maine)
'A fine singer, with a uniquely compelling
quality of delivery' - Hamish
Henderson (School of Scottish Studies)
'The song is the thing with Jack - - - -one of
the last of the singers that
form the bridge between the old rural
tradition and the urban revival' -
Archie Fisher (singer and broadcaster)
Click here for a history of the folk band ‘Heritage’
Click
here for an old videos of ‘Heritage’