BBC Radio 4 Extra

Once in a Blue Moon: The Songs of Lal Waterson

Factual: Life Stories

Music: Folk

09/11/2010

BBC Radio 4 Extra - Once in a Blue Moon: The Songs of Lal Waterson

The story of one of the great folk singers and writers of our time, Lal Waterson.

Robin Denselow explores the life, and legacy, of folk singer and writer Lal Waterson who died in 1998. From 2010.

Lal Waterson's voice was stark but captivating and it's been said that the songs she wrote were close to German cabaret or chanson. They were lyrically ambitious and melodically powerful. 

Since her death in 1998, her reputation has grown and now she is placed alongside the great singer song-writers like Nick Drake and Richard Thompson.  She was a member of the famous Waterson family and numbered among other relatives the folk singer Martin Carthy and his daughter Eliza.

In this feature, Robin Denselow explores the life and legacy of Lal Waterson and assesses her impact on song-writers today.  

Producer: Emma Kingsley

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in November 2010.

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