The Corries
In 1955 Williamson met Ronnie Browne at Edinburgh College of Art. This meeting started a 35 year long partnership.
Williamson joined Bill Smith and Ron Cockburn to form the "Corrie Folk Trio" in 1962. A corrie is a circular dip in a highland mountain. They chose it to evoke the Scottish landscape.
The trio's first performance was in the Waverley Bar in St Mary's Street, Edinburgh. After a few weeks Cockburn left. They had already accepted an engagement at the Edinburgh Festival so Williamson suggested that Ronnie Browne should be brought in to make up numbers. They also added female Irish singer Paddie Bell to become the "Corrie Folk Trio and Paddie Bell". The audience was only eight people for the debut of this line-up but by the end of the festival it was house full at every performance.
By 1965, Paddie Bell and Bill Smith left. Williamson was a talented multi-instrumentalist and Browne was the singer. They cancelled all engagements for a few months to practice intensively. Under the new name, "The Corries", they performed at the Jubilee Arms Hotel in Cortachy, Angus. The response encouraged them to continue as a duo.
Read more about this topic: Roy Williamson