Bobby Brown
by Karyn McCulloch
B&F January 2007
Bobby Brown and the Scottish Accent Band is a name well known in Scottish Country Dance circles. But how much do the Scottish people know about the man himself? Probably not a lot – since he lives in Canada! I met up with him during his recent visit over here to find out more…
Bobby was born in Dennyloanhead, near Falkirk, in 1941. Music was always a part of family life – Mum (Jean Day, originally from Monymusk in Aberdeenshire) was a well-known singer in the 1930’s and 40s. Dad, (John, from Slamannan) was a fiddler and all his uncles were involved in some way with the ‘Pipes and Drums’. Uncles John (who played the hammer dulcimer) had a band called ‘The D-Day Band’ which included two fiddles, bass, piano, drums and even the occasional appearance of a saxophone or trumpet. This was before the typical modern day band of two accordions, fiddle, piano, bass and drums.
Bobby and his two sisters (Jean and Christine) were “sent for piano lessons” to Mrs Spence in Bonnybridge. However, the young budding musician gave the woman a hard time – as he wasn’t very keen to learn to read music. So much so that he used to get “belted ower the fingers wi’ a pencil” when he played it wrong – she even complained to his father! However, he had a very good ear for music – in fact he cheated a wee bit in his first piano exam – he got his sister to read the music and play it for him, until he got the tunes into his head! And he would probably have got away with it if the music hadn’t slipped under another piece of paper while he continued to play what was written on it! Having a good ear for music has obviously paid off though, because Bobby doesn’t even remember learning the standard well-known tunes (such as The Fairy Dance, Mrs MacLeod of Raasay and Deil Amang the Tailors, etc, etc) “They were just always there”.
Sadly, when Bobby was only 13 his father died. After that he was sent to a private school in Dumbarton, but when he didn’t settle in there at all, he got on a train and ran away from home! In 1956, Bobby was working as an apprentice in a Grangemouth dockyard and he “absolutely hated every minute of it.” His sisters had already moved to Canada, so Bobby decided to move there too. In 1957 he emigrated to Winnipeg, at the age of 16, and a couple of years later he moved to Toronto.
It wasn’t until he was living in Canada that Bobby started playing the accordion. There was no piano in the house in Canada, so he had spotted a wee 12 bass Hohner accordion in a shop – and used the money he had saved up for his holidays to buy it. He decided to take a few lesson “just to confuse him even more”. He had the same problems with this teacher – mainly because he had eye problems, which made it more difficult for him to read music – which incidentally he can do. It was in Toronto that he met up with Stan Hamilton and Bobby Frew and after they got together to have a tune, Bobby was asked to join Stan’s band as second box player. Then, in 1975, he formed The Scottish Accent Band.
Bobby Brown has 15 recordings, including RSCDS Book 12, for which Bobby’s band was the first outside of Scotland to record for the Society in Edinburgh. In addition, Bobby has produced and arranged over 100 recordings for traditional musicians. BBC Scotland invited Bobby Brown and the Scottish Accent to participate in ‘TTF’ from Canada and he has also recorded twice for ‘TTF’ in Scotland – in Elgin and Aberdeen. The band also recorded broadcasts for Radio Forth hosted by Robin Brock.
So far, Bobby has composed approximately 30 tunes. And, although he does not consider himself to be a composer, he has been asked to write tunes for certain dances by the Hamilton Branch, the London Ontario Branch and the Toronto Branch of the RSCDS. In 2004 HQ in Edinburgh honoured Bobby with the prestigious award of the RSCDS Scroll.
So, how does the Canadian Scottish music scene differ from ours? Back in the 1950s and 60s it wasn’t much different – there were always people willing and able to take to the floor for a foxtrot or quickstep as well as the country dances. However, nowadays the country dances are pretty much on their own. And the dancers attending now are from all corners of the world, from ex-pat Scots, to New Zealanders, Australians, Japanese and many other cultures.
There are no Accordion Clubs in Canada and nowadays most concerts featuring Scottish music are poorly attended. Why? Possibly because the audiences no longer have any knowledge of the music the way our audiences do here in Scotland, so therefore they don’t appreciate this kind on music, unless it’s being played for a dance. However, if you go to certain places in America, such as Boston or San Francisco, you may well find a concert being held which features Scottish music – albeit “somewhat Americanised” Scottish music!
However, Pipe Bands and Highland Games still prove to be extremely popular – and indeed some Canadian Pipe Bands have competed in and won the World Championships. However, in America it’s a completely different story. A Scottish country Dance Band there could consist of a piano, a few fiddles, flute, cello, bodhran, guitar and even a banjo, but rarely an accordion. Bobby assures me that while many American musicians may be very good players, they don’t have the grounding in traditional pipe music that we have here in Scotland and they tend to over embellish. Their ‘Scottish’ music doesn’t have the lift or ‘the Dunt’ that we are used to hearing. As a close friend and fellow musician once said, “You need the Hee-Drum Ho-Drums”.
How does Bobby feel Scottish music evolved over the years? Well, nowadays the youngsters coming through can play just about any tune to perfection no matter how many notes there are in one bar of music. Bobby believes this is because they are being taught ‘properly’. It was possibly easier to be self-taught in the 1940s of 50s than it would be in this new Millennium, because many tunes being played then were not as technically demanding as the tunes being written today. However, although this technical prowess is vital – particularly for the more contemporary tunes – the music must have ‘soul’…”It needs to come from the heart”.
Maybe that’s why Bobby doesn’t agree with the competition scene. He feels music should be shared and enjoyed, without the fear of failure.
During his lifetime Bobby has only ever played in two bands – 20 great years with Stan Hamilton’s Flying Scotsmen and then his own Scottish Accent Band. The current line-up in The Scottish Accent is Bobby on lead accordion, Bobby’s son Laird on second accordion, Kathy Fraser-Collins on piano, Fred Collins on drums and bass duties are shared between Rob Wolanski and Don Wood. The band just celebrated its 30th anniversary by releasing a double CD set, Celtic Fire in the Music.
Gigs for the band can be anywhere from Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary, Montreal, Ottawa or Toronto to Washington, New York, Philadelphia, Halifax and Cape Breton to play for an RSCDS dance. In July they play in North Carolina at Thistle School – which involves a 16-hour drive there and a 16-hour drive back. (Of course, “if it’s Laird that’s driving, then it only takes about 4 hours – and it’s easier on the tyres that way, ‘cos they don’t hit the road that often!”)
Bobby was involved with a television show for 6 years called The John Allan Cameron Show – where he formed The Cape Breton Symphony Fiddlers as a regular part of the show.
Bobby and the Cape Breton Symphony Fiddlers with The Scottish Accent Band toured Scotland three times, including Orkney and Shetland, Aberdeen, Inverness, The Kings in Edinburgh, The Mitchell Theatre in Glasgow and even The Gaiety Theatre in Ayr with their ‘Variety Show’.
Other countries that Bobby has visited include Germany, Ireland, England and even the Bahamas. (It’s a hard job, but somebody’s got to do it!)
Andy Stewart, Moira Anderson, Dennis Clancy, Calum Kennedy, Alasdair Gillies and Will Starr were just a few of the famous Scottish names Bobby has shared the stage with over the years. Away from the Scottish scene, he has also worked with Anne Murray, Porter Wagner and Dolly Parton in Nashville.
Stuart Thomson (of The Wardlaw SDB) and his wife Audrey were looking after Bobby (and Lisa) during the first part of their holiday – and Stuart had planned various things for them to do, one of which was to visit an Accordion Club – and Bobby thoroughly enjoyed it. Just being able to sit and listen to Scottish music was great – after all, he can’t do that in Canada, since there are no Accordion Clubs over there. However, we shall leave the aforementioned Club nameless, to save any embarrassment! After they arrived and got themselves a seat and settled down to listen to the music, the boys were approached and asked if either of them were players. Bobby swiftly replied “Nope!” so that he could relax on vacation and listen.
Bobby enjoys most kinds of music – especially if it’s ‘harmonic’. Anything from traditional SDB, fiddle music, pipes and drums (his first love) to Frank Sinatra, from Gospel music to big bands – and he even likes to listen to Rod Stewart! Jack Emblow and Art Van Damme are amongst his favourite jazz accordionists, although there are many others.
When he’s not playing or listening to music, you’ll probably find Bobby somewhere on a golf course relaxing, although he seems to think he’s the worst golfer in the world. (He hasn’t seen me yet obviously!)
Although he has no specific plans for the future, Bobby Brown plans to continue playing (complete with his Hohner Morino IV) for as long as he possibly can – although he will probably eventually give more of the band’s responsibility to Laird, his son. He considers himself very fortunate to be able to do what he does in Canada for a living. It’s been a roller-coaster ride and he’s loved every minute of it – bur he wouldn’t advise anyone else to do it!
Words of advice to future dance bandleaders ; Be true to the music and keep it simple!
In November 2006, Bobby Brown and The Scottish Accent Band were one of 4 nominees for ‘Scottish Dance Band of the Year’ in the Scots Trad Music Awards.
Bobby was born in Dennyloanhead, near Falkirk, in 1941. Music was always a part of family life – Mum (Jean Day, originally from Monymusk in Aberdeenshire) was a well-known singer in the 1930’s and 40s. Dad, (John, from Slamannan) was a fiddler and all his uncles were involved in some way with the ‘Pipes and Drums’. Uncles John (who played the hammer dulcimer) had a band called ‘The D-Day Band’ which included two fiddles, bass, piano, drums and even the occasional appearance of a saxophone or trumpet. This was before the typical modern day band of two accordions, fiddle, piano, bass and drums.
Bobby and his two sisters (Jean and Christine) were “sent for piano lessons” to Mrs Spence in Bonnybridge. However, the young budding musician gave the woman a hard time – as he wasn’t very keen to learn to read music. So much so that he used to get “belted ower the fingers wi’ a pencil” when he played it wrong – she even complained to his father! However, he had a very good ear for music – in fact he cheated a wee bit in his first piano exam – he got his sister to read the music and play it for him, until he got the tunes into his head! And he would probably have got away with it if the music hadn’t slipped under another piece of paper while he continued to play what was written on it! Having a good ear for music has obviously paid off though, because Bobby doesn’t even remember learning the standard well-known tunes (such as The Fairy Dance, Mrs MacLeod of Raasay and Deil Amang the Tailors, etc, etc) “They were just always there”.
Sadly, when Bobby was only 13 his father died. After that he was sent to a private school in Dumbarton, but when he didn’t settle in there at all, he got on a train and ran away from home! In 1956, Bobby was working as an apprentice in a Grangemouth dockyard and he “absolutely hated every minute of it.” His sisters had already moved to Canada, so Bobby decided to move there too. In 1957 he emigrated to Winnipeg, at the age of 16, and a couple of years later he moved to Toronto.
It wasn’t until he was living in Canada that Bobby started playing the accordion. There was no piano in the house in Canada, so he had spotted a wee 12 bass Hohner accordion in a shop – and used the money he had saved up for his holidays to buy it. He decided to take a few lesson “just to confuse him even more”. He had the same problems with this teacher – mainly because he had eye problems, which made it more difficult for him to read music – which incidentally he can do. It was in Toronto that he met up with Stan Hamilton and Bobby Frew and after they got together to have a tune, Bobby was asked to join Stan’s band as second box player. Then, in 1975, he formed The Scottish Accent Band.
Bobby Brown has 15 recordings, including RSCDS Book 12, for which Bobby’s band was the first outside of Scotland to record for the Society in Edinburgh. In addition, Bobby has produced and arranged over 100 recordings for traditional musicians. BBC Scotland invited Bobby Brown and the Scottish Accent to participate in ‘TTF’ from Canada and he has also recorded twice for ‘TTF’ in Scotland – in Elgin and Aberdeen. The band also recorded broadcasts for Radio Forth hosted by Robin Brock.
So far, Bobby has composed approximately 30 tunes. And, although he does not consider himself to be a composer, he has been asked to write tunes for certain dances by the Hamilton Branch, the London Ontario Branch and the Toronto Branch of the RSCDS. In 2004 HQ in Edinburgh honoured Bobby with the prestigious award of the RSCDS Scroll.
So, how does the Canadian Scottish music scene differ from ours? Back in the 1950s and 60s it wasn’t much different – there were always people willing and able to take to the floor for a foxtrot or quickstep as well as the country dances. However, nowadays the country dances are pretty much on their own. And the dancers attending now are from all corners of the world, from ex-pat Scots, to New Zealanders, Australians, Japanese and many other cultures.
There are no Accordion Clubs in Canada and nowadays most concerts featuring Scottish music are poorly attended. Why? Possibly because the audiences no longer have any knowledge of the music the way our audiences do here in Scotland, so therefore they don’t appreciate this kind on music, unless it’s being played for a dance. However, if you go to certain places in America, such as Boston or San Francisco, you may well find a concert being held which features Scottish music – albeit “somewhat Americanised” Scottish music!
However, Pipe Bands and Highland Games still prove to be extremely popular – and indeed some Canadian Pipe Bands have competed in and won the World Championships. However, in America it’s a completely different story. A Scottish country Dance Band there could consist of a piano, a few fiddles, flute, cello, bodhran, guitar and even a banjo, but rarely an accordion. Bobby assures me that while many American musicians may be very good players, they don’t have the grounding in traditional pipe music that we have here in Scotland and they tend to over embellish. Their ‘Scottish’ music doesn’t have the lift or ‘the Dunt’ that we are used to hearing. As a close friend and fellow musician once said, “You need the Hee-Drum Ho-Drums”.
How does Bobby feel Scottish music evolved over the years? Well, nowadays the youngsters coming through can play just about any tune to perfection no matter how many notes there are in one bar of music. Bobby believes this is because they are being taught ‘properly’. It was possibly easier to be self-taught in the 1940s of 50s than it would be in this new Millennium, because many tunes being played then were not as technically demanding as the tunes being written today. However, although this technical prowess is vital – particularly for the more contemporary tunes – the music must have ‘soul’…”It needs to come from the heart”.
Maybe that’s why Bobby doesn’t agree with the competition scene. He feels music should be shared and enjoyed, without the fear of failure.
During his lifetime Bobby has only ever played in two bands – 20 great years with Stan Hamilton’s Flying Scotsmen and then his own Scottish Accent Band. The current line-up in The Scottish Accent is Bobby on lead accordion, Bobby’s son Laird on second accordion, Kathy Fraser-Collins on piano, Fred Collins on drums and bass duties are shared between Rob Wolanski and Don Wood. The band just celebrated its 30th anniversary by releasing a double CD set, Celtic Fire in the Music.
Gigs for the band can be anywhere from Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary, Montreal, Ottawa or Toronto to Washington, New York, Philadelphia, Halifax and Cape Breton to play for an RSCDS dance. In July they play in North Carolina at Thistle School – which involves a 16-hour drive there and a 16-hour drive back. (Of course, “if it’s Laird that’s driving, then it only takes about 4 hours – and it’s easier on the tyres that way, ‘cos they don’t hit the road that often!”)
Bobby was involved with a television show for 6 years called The John Allan Cameron Show – where he formed The Cape Breton Symphony Fiddlers as a regular part of the show.
Bobby and the Cape Breton Symphony Fiddlers with The Scottish Accent Band toured Scotland three times, including Orkney and Shetland, Aberdeen, Inverness, The Kings in Edinburgh, The Mitchell Theatre in Glasgow and even The Gaiety Theatre in Ayr with their ‘Variety Show’.
Other countries that Bobby has visited include Germany, Ireland, England and even the Bahamas. (It’s a hard job, but somebody’s got to do it!)
Andy Stewart, Moira Anderson, Dennis Clancy, Calum Kennedy, Alasdair Gillies and Will Starr were just a few of the famous Scottish names Bobby has shared the stage with over the years. Away from the Scottish scene, he has also worked with Anne Murray, Porter Wagner and Dolly Parton in Nashville.
Stuart Thomson (of The Wardlaw SDB) and his wife Audrey were looking after Bobby (and Lisa) during the first part of their holiday – and Stuart had planned various things for them to do, one of which was to visit an Accordion Club – and Bobby thoroughly enjoyed it. Just being able to sit and listen to Scottish music was great – after all, he can’t do that in Canada, since there are no Accordion Clubs over there. However, we shall leave the aforementioned Club nameless, to save any embarrassment! After they arrived and got themselves a seat and settled down to listen to the music, the boys were approached and asked if either of them were players. Bobby swiftly replied “Nope!” so that he could relax on vacation and listen.
Bobby enjoys most kinds of music – especially if it’s ‘harmonic’. Anything from traditional SDB, fiddle music, pipes and drums (his first love) to Frank Sinatra, from Gospel music to big bands – and he even likes to listen to Rod Stewart! Jack Emblow and Art Van Damme are amongst his favourite jazz accordionists, although there are many others.
When he’s not playing or listening to music, you’ll probably find Bobby somewhere on a golf course relaxing, although he seems to think he’s the worst golfer in the world. (He hasn’t seen me yet obviously!)
Although he has no specific plans for the future, Bobby Brown plans to continue playing (complete with his Hohner Morino IV) for as long as he possibly can – although he will probably eventually give more of the band’s responsibility to Laird, his son. He considers himself very fortunate to be able to do what he does in Canada for a living. It’s been a roller-coaster ride and he’s loved every minute of it – bur he wouldn’t advise anyone else to do it!
Words of advice to future dance bandleaders ; Be true to the music and keep it simple!
In November 2006, Bobby Brown and The Scottish Accent Band were one of 4 nominees for ‘Scottish Dance Band of the Year’ in the Scots Trad Music Awards.