The Corries were a Scottish folk group that emerged from the Scottish folk revival of the early 1960s. The group was a trio from their formation until 1966 when founder Bill Smith left the band, but Roy Williamson and Ronnie Browne continued as a duo until Williamson's death in 1990.
They are particularly known for the song "Flower of Scotland", written by Williamson, which has become an unofficial national anthem of Scotland.
History
Early years
In the early 1960s, Bill Smith (born in 1936 in Edinburgh - died March 1, 2025), Ron Cruikshank and Andy Turner had formed a trio called The Corrie Voices. The trio was named after Smith's daughter, Corrie Smith, but because a corrie is a deep bowl in a mountain, the name was particularly appropriate as it evokes imagery of the Scottish landscape. After Turner dropped out in 1962, Roy Williamson teamed up with Smith and Cruikshank to form the Corrie Folk Trio.
Television
Within a year of formation, they appeared on television. The BBC began a television series set in a folk club. The resident group on the Hoot'nanny Show was the Corrie Folk Trio. Another BBC series, The White Heather Club, began in 1958. It featured Andy Stewart, Jimmy Shand and his Band, Robin Hall and Jimmie Macgregor, and the Corries. While the rest of the show was set in a studio, the Corries were filmed in location: sea songs were sung in a harbour, and "The Braes o' Killiecrankie" was sung at the Pass of Killiecrankie.
As The Corries
In 1965, Paddie Bell departed, followed by Bill Smith in 1966. In the duo left behind, Williamson was a multi-instrumentalist while Browne handled lead vocals. They cancelled all engagements for a few months to practise intensely and, emerging under the new name, The Corries,
The Combolins
In 1969, Williamson invented the "combolins", two complementary instruments that combined several into one single instrument. One combined a mandolin and a guitar (along with four bass strings operated with slides), the other combining guitar and the Spanish bandurria. The latter was an instrument Williamson had played since the early days of the Corrie Folk Trio.
Originally conceived as a way to combine several of the many instruments they carried around on tour the combolins in fact became an additional two instruments for the tour van. Most often, Browne played the guitar/mandolin instrument with bass strings, and Williamson the other, which also had 13 sympathetic strings designed to resonate like the Indian sitar. The wood for the instruments was obtained from antique hardwood furniture as well as premium grade Tyrolean spruce, and featured Williamson's embellishments in silver and mother of pearl.
The Corries' album, Strings and Things (1970), was specifically designed to showcase these instruments and featured detailed descriptions of them on the rear sleeve. Usually the combolins were played to accompany long ballads such as "The Silkie of Sule Skerry" and "The Gartan Mother's Lullaby", as well as a number of the compositions of Peebles baker George Weir, including "Lord Yester" and "Weep ye Weel by Atholl".
Legacy
Gotye cites The Corries as the inspiration behind his music.
The Scottish Traditional Hall of Music describes the Corries as “the godfathers of the modern folk-music scene in Scotland.”
Discography
{| class='wikitable'
! rowspan=2| Year
! rowspan=2| Album
! colspan=1| Chart Position
|- style=font-size:smaller;
!UK Albums Chart
|-
| 1964
|The Corrie Folk Trio and Paddie Bell
|align="center"| –
|-
| 1965
|The Promise of the Day
|align="center"| –
|-
| 1966
|Those Wild Corries
|align="center"| –
|-
| 1967
|Bonnet, Belt and Sword
|align="center"| –
|-
| 1968
|Kishmul's Galley
|align="center"| –
|-
| 1969
|Scottish Love Songs
|align="center"| 46
|-
| 1969
|The Corries In Concert
|align="center"| –
|-
| 1970
|Strings and Things
|align="center"| –
|-
| 1970
|In Retrospect
|align="center"| –
|-
| 1972
|Sound The Pibroch