Roy Williamson (musician)

Roy Williamson (born June 25, 1936 in Edinburgh , † August 12, 1990 in Forres ) was a Scottish musician and instrument maker.

Roy Murdoch Buchanan Williamson was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, the son of a successful Morayshire lawyer and the musically gifted daughter of a hatter. After the early death of his father, he and his brother Robert were sent to private schools. At the Gordonstoun Elite School , Roy was successful, among other things, as an athlete, although he suffered from asthma for a lifetime. He later played rugby for the Edinburgh Wanderers . He came to music while studying at the Edinburgh College of Art , where he founded the very successful Corrie Folk Trio together with Bill Smith and later Ronnie Browne . The trio was complemented by the Northern Irish singer Paddy Bell . After the band broke up in 1965, Roy and Ronnie formed the duo The Corries , which ended with Williamson's death in 1990. This duo almost certainly became the most successful musical group to have ever existed in Scotland.

Roy Williamson is also the author of the unofficial Scottish national anthem, The Flower of Scotland , which was first performed in 1968. He also wrote other songs. In addition, he was the inventor of the two musical instruments known as combolin , some of which he also built himself. The instrument played by Williamson combines a guitar with the 12-string Spanish bandurria . Browne's instrument consists of a mix of guitar and mandolin with four additional bass strings. Similar to an Indian sitar , both combolins have sympathetic strings that resonate. The combolin is considered the forerunner of the multi-necked guitars (Williamson also built a 28-string guitar as a young musician). After his death, both instruments passed into the possession of a friend and instrument maker. Many of his other instruments were auctioned.

The subsequent Scottish legend was married twice, her first marriage to his fellow student at Edinburgh College of Art, Violet (Vi) Thomson. Shortly before his death, he married his long-time friend Nicky van Hurck. With Vi he had two daughters, Karen and Sheena. Karen, who became a successful dressage rider, died of cancer in 2005 at the age of 46.

Roy Williamson died of a brain tumor on August 12, 1990 in Forres, Scotland .