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- Singer Intro
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.
In the summer of 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'.
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