Ewan MacColl

Archivist, playwright, and songwriter Ewan MacColl is one of the most important figures in the revival of traditional Irish and English folk songs. Like his mentor and associate, Alan Lomax, MacColl approached traditional folk from an academic standpoint as well as a musical one. He had a long-standing creative and romantic relationship with folksinger Peggy Seeger, and is nearly synonymous with her career. While MacColl was a prolific songwriter, his two most well-known numbers are certainly "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" and the modern standard "Dirty Old Town." MacColl died in 1989; his musical legacy was kept alive by his daughter, singer Kirsty MacColl, until her tragic death in 2000.