Regina Christina Robertson (21 October 1908 – 13 March 1975) was a Scottish folk singer.

She is known for her version of the traditional song "I'm a Man You Don't Meet Every Day", otherwise known as "Jock Stewart", which was covered by Archie Fisher, The Dubliners, The McCalmans, The Tannahill Weavers and The Pogues. Other versions of the song are known from the US in the 1880s and Australia in the 1850s.

Early life and career

Regina Christina Robertson was born on 21 October 1908, in Aberdeen, Scotland. In her early life she sometimes lived at 90 Hilton Road, where a plaque now commemorates her.

Hamish Henderson wanted to track down the best singers in Blairgowrie. In 1953, he followed Robertson's reputation to her doorstep in Aberdeen. who later became controller of BBC Two television. In 1958, Hamish Henderson recorded her in Edinburgh. Those recordings were issued as Up the Dee and Doon The Don on the Lismor label. The Traditional Music and Song Association founded the Blairgowrie Festival in 1965, during the fruit picking. The first festival saw Robertson, plus Jimmy MacBeath and other valuable source singers, who learned folk songs without the influence of radios or books. Her 1968 appearance there was issued as part of an anthology on the Topic label. As well as classic ballads, she sang bawdy songs such as "Never Wed an Old Man".

Robertson's daughter Lizzie Higgins issued an album in 1975: Up and Awa' wi' the Laverock. Stanley Robertson, a storyteller, ballad singer and piper from Aberdeen, was Jeannie's nephew. Carmen Higgins, ex-fiddler with the Aberdeen folk band, Rock Salt and Nails who passed away on March 21, 2026, was also closely related to her. Carmen Higgins played with Old Blind Dogs, recorded a solo CD, and appeared regularly on television, radio and in the press. Joss Cameron, a folk singer from Edinburgh is related to her, and still performs Jeannie Robertson ballads.

Maggie Stewart (1902–1983), Robertson's aunt, was recorded singing many traditional ballads and telling stories which can be heard via the Tobar an Dualchais website. In the early 1960s, the folk-singer Andy Hunter learned songs and storytelling from Robertson and her family while studying French at the University of Aberdeen.

Personal life

Robertson was awarded the MBE in 1968, being the first folk singer and first traveller to receive the award.

See also

  • Scottish Travellers
  • Lizzie Higgins

References

Further reading

  • Jeannie Robertson: A Tribute, in Burnett, Ray (ed.), Calgacus 2, Summer 1975, pp. 44 & 45,
  • Kodish, Debra. "Absent Gender, Silent Encounter", The Journal of American Folklore; 100 (1987), 573–578; ; an article about the gender politics of Hamish Henderson's "discovery" of Jeannie Robertson
  • Pohle, Horst (1987) The Folk Record Source Book; 2nd ed. p. 398 (for discography)
  • Scottish Traditional Music - Hall of Fame