Shirley Collins

A pivotal figure in Britain's early-'60s folk revival and subsequent folk-rock heyday, Shirley Collins' influence on these movements, and folk music at large, cannot be understated. With her pure, unaffected vocal tone and Sussex accent, she first launched her recording career in the late '50s, adapting the pastoral folk songs of her rural upbringing for simple banjo accompaniment before partnering with famed musicologist Alan Lomax on his song-collecting journey through the American South, a trip that produced a now-legendary collection of blues and folk field recordings. Col...