Alex Beaton
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Alexander Macleod Beaton is guitar-playing folksinger who currently makes more than 20 concert appearances annually at various events across the United States. These are primarily highland games, Scottish clan reunions, and other Celtic events. Beaton appears annually at the Grandfather Mountain Highland Games in North Carolina, and the Stone Mountain Highland Games in Atlanta, Georgia, two of the largest highland games events in the United States.
At many events, Beaton not only serves as a key entertainer, but as the event emcee. Beaton is known for his powerful stage presence and sense of humor. He frequently interacts and jokes with audiences while performing and in-between songs. One of his albums, Daft Ditties, is comprised entirely of comedic songs. Beaton is also known for his keen knowledge of Scotland's history.
Largely unknown outside of highland games circles, Beaton has released 18 albums on CD and one DVD musical travelogue of Scotland that pulls together three titles that were previously released on VHS tape. Along with his concert appearances, Beaton usually hosts two trips to Scotland per year where he serves as the host and tour guide. Reservations are currently being accepted for two tours in 2007; both will include an evening performance at the Edinburgh Military Tattoo.
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[edit] Biography
Born in Glasgow, Scotland, Beaton began his career as a member of The Cumberland Three, one of Britain's top folk groups in the early 1960s. Beaton immigrated to the United States in 1965. He served in the U.S. Army, entertaining troops in the Third Army Soldiers' Show and the Seventh U.S. Army Chorus in Germany. He launched his solo career in New York in 1968. During the 1970s, he re-directed his career toward writing and performing American country music. He had songs of that genre that won the International American Song Festival Awards in 1974. In the intervening years, Beaton has focused on folk music that is primarily Scottish in origin or subject, although his repertoire includes songs in the folk music genre that are not purely Scottish (Stan Rogers music for example). Little is known about his personal life other than he is a cancer survivor and he currently resides in southern California.
[edit] Discography
Beaton has released 18 albums on his own record label, Glenfinnan Music Ltd. All titles are available on CD. The letters and numbers listed after each title in parentheses are the Glenfinnan Music product numbers, and are listed in chronological order (i.e., GR 120 CD was released prior to GR 121 CD, etc.).
- Alex Beaton Sings of Scotland Forever (GR 101 CD)
- Los Angeles Police Pipe Band, Featuring Vocals, Alex Beaton (GR 102 CD)
- The Scotsman (GR 103 CD)
- I Have Seen the Highlands (GR 104 CD)
- On the Beaton Path (GR 105 CD)
- Alex Beaton's Daft Ditties, A Collection of Humorous and Tastefully Offensive Songs (GR 106 CD)
- Halfway Home (GR 107 CD)
- A Dream of Arran (GR 108 CD)
- Songs of Praise, Pipes of Peace (GR 110 CD)
- The Road to the Isles (GR 112 CD)
- Beaton's Best (GR 113 CD)
- In The Scottish Tradition (GR 115 CD)
- Alex Beaton's Christmas Classics (GR 116 CD)
- The Water is Wide (GR 117 CD)
- Kidding Around (GR 118 CD)
- Over the Border (GR 119 CD)
- Lover's Heart (GR 120 CD)
- Beaton's Personal Favorites (GR 121 CD)
[edit] Filmography
- Alex Beaton's Scotland, A Musical Travelogue of Scotland in Three Films (GR DVD 101), includes three films previously released on VHS tape:
- Going Home
- I Belong to Glasgow
- On The Castle Trail
[edit] Guitar
Beaton uses a Tony Rice model guitar made by the Santa Cruz Guitar Company, located in Santa Cruz, California. That model is based on Tony Rice's D-28 (circa 1930s), formerly owned by Clarence White.
