WA sea shanty, chantey, or chanty is a genre of traditional folk song that was once commonly sung as a work song to accompany rhythmical labor aboard large merchant sailing vessels. They were found mostly on British and other European ships, and some had roots in lore and legend. The term shanty most accurately refers to a specific style of work song belonging to this historical repertoire. However, in recent, popular usage, the scope of its definition is sometimes expanded to admit a wider range of repertoire and characteristics, or to refer to a "maritime work song" in general.
W"Asleep in the Deep" is a song written by Arthur J. Lamb and composed by Henry W. Petrie in 1897. It is titled after a refrain at the end of the song. The phrase "asleep in the deep" refers to those who have drowned. The lyrics allude to those who have met such a fate, while at sea.
WBanana Boat is a Polish a cappella sextet, authoring and performing original songs representing the genre of neo-shanties. Being one of the pioneers of the new genre, the group retains its simultaneous focus on contemporary interpretations of traditional sea shanties and maritime music. Owing to its characteristic six-part, jazzy harmony, departing from the traditional sound of the music of the sea, the group has become one of the emblems of what the international artists of the maritime stage have informally come to dub as the Polish style maritime song. With maritime music constantly in the focus of its activity, since 2004, Banana Boat has also been experimenting with other musical genres, including popular and jazz compositions, inviting other artists to participate in individual projects. The group is a Member of International Seasong and Shanty Association (ISSA).
WBounding Main is an American a cappella quintet focusing on traditional sea shanties and maritime music.
WJerry Bryant is an American folksinger specializing in maritime music. In addition to performing traditional songs, he also has written songs in a traditional style. Of his original songs, The Ballad of Harbo and Samuelsen is among his best known and has been recorded by several other performers including William Pint and Felicia Dale, Forebitter, and Rick Lee.
WHarry Griffith Cramer III is an American folk singer from the Pacific Northwest. He was born an army brat at Fort Bragg, North Carolina where his father was one of the Army's original Green Berets. Hank's father, Harry Griffith Cramer Jr., was killed in Vietnam on October 21, 1957, the first Special Forces soldier to die in that conflict. Hank Cramer began singing professionally during his college days at the University of Arizona (1972-1976). After graduation he was commissioned as an officer in the United States Army, serving 14 years in the Regulars and 14 years in the Army Reserve. The highlight of his military career was a five-year tour with his father's Green Beret unit, the 1st Special Forces Group (Airborne). After 9/11, Hank served in Afghanistan as the Senior Signal Corps Advisor to the Afghan National Army. He retired as a lieutenant colonel in 2004.
W"The Downeaster 'Alexa'" is a song originally written, produced, and performed by Billy Joel for his eleventh studio album Storm Front. The album itself went to number one while the fourth single "The Downeaster 'Alexa'" placed at No. 57 in the Billboard Hot 100. The song was included on Billy Joel's Greatest Hits Vol. 3 album in 1997.
WEKT Gdynia - one of the most popular Polish shanty-bands, created by the guitarist and vocalist Jan Wydra in 1986. Ireneusz Wójcicki joined the group in 1987. From the first group the drummer, Jacek Fimiak, has also been playing. During the past 20 years of the existence EKT Gdynia has won many distinctions in sea shanties festivals in Poland and abroad, and hits like 24 February, The Beskid Pub or People don't sell your dreams have contributed to the sea shanty achievements.
WStanley James Hugill was a British folk music performer, artist and sea music historian, known as the "Last Working Shantyman" and described as the "20th century guardian of the tradition".
WJim Mageean is an English folk singer based in Cullercoats, Tyne and Wear, England, specialising in Sea Shanties, traditional maritime music and "Geordie" songs from his native North East of England.
WLa mer, trois esquisses symphoniques pour orchestre, or simply La mer, L. 109, CD. 111, is an orchestral composition by the French composer Claude Debussy.
WThe Mollusk is the sixth studio album by American rock band Ween, released by Elektra Records on June 24, 1997. It is a multi-genre concept album with a dark nautical theme, with most songs incorporating elements from psychedelia and/or sea shanties, while also featuring a heavy progressive rock influence. Dean Ween described the album as "the only record that I ever felt really confident about" and "my favorite record we've ever done." Gene Ween has echoed this sentiment, saying: "The Mollusk is probably my favorite, at the end of the day."
W"Nautical Disaster" is a song by Canadian rock band The Tragically Hip. It was released in February 1995 as the third single from the band's 1994 album, Day for Night. The song peaked at number 26 on the Canadian RPM Singles chart. The song was performed by the band on their 1995 appearance on Saturday Night Live, along with their previous single "Grace, Too".
WWilliam Pint and Felicia Dale, are folk musicians based in Seattle. Known primarily for nautical music and sea chanties, they are among the best-known performers in that genre in the United States. Their albums have been favorably reviewed in Dirty Linen magazine, Sing Out! magazine, and Folk Roots magazine. They tour regularly in the UK as well as the United States and have also performed in The Netherlands, Germany, Poland and Estonia. Between 1988 and 1991 they performed with Canadian performer Tom Lewis.
WFreddy Quinn is an Austrian singer and actor whose popularity in the German-speaking world soared in the late 1950s and 1960s. As Hans Albers had done two generations before him, Quinn adopted the persona of the rootless wanderer who goes to sea but longs for a home, family and friends. Quinn's Irish family name comes from his Irish-born salesman father, Johann Quinn. His mother, Edith Henriette Nidl, was an Austrian journalist. He is often associated with the Schlager scene.
WJohn Roberts is an English musician residing in Schenectady, New York.
WStanley Allison Rogers was a Canadian folk musician and songwriter.
WDavid B. Rowe, is a folk singer from Maine.
WSalty Walt & the Rattlin' Ratlines is a sea shanty performing group based in San Francisco, originally formed in 2003. The group consists of Walter "Salty Walt" Askew, Daniel Briggs, Griff Nelson, and Jon Richardson. On occasion, they also perform Celtic music and since at least 2005 have been performing a show of traditional carols and wassails on Boxing Day. They were voted San Francisco's "Best Sea Shanty Band" in 2006. The group appeared at the "Festival Maritim" in Vegesack, Germany in 2007.
WThe Sea Cabinet is a song cycle and musical theatre piece by British singer-songwriter Gwyneth Herbert about "memory, obsession, love, and the sea". It is also the title of her sixth album, featuring a studio performance of the song cycle, which was released on 20 May 2013 and was critically acclaimed, receiving four-starred reviews in The Financial Times and The Independent and a 4.5-starred review in All About Jazz. The music's sound has been described as a blend of "Weimar cabaret and English music-hall stylings, with disquieting touches of avant-garde jazz".
WSeaside, a studio album by English jazz pianist/vocalist Liane Carroll, was released on 18 September 2015 on Linn Records and received four-starred reviews in The Guardian, The Observer and Mojo magazine. The title track was written by Joe Stilgoe.
WSongs from the Shipyards, the seventh album by English folk group The Unthanks, was released on 5 November 2012. The album is designated Vol. 3 in The Unthanks' Diversions series and follows on from Vol. 1, released in November 2011 and Vol. 2, released in July 2012.
WStorm Weather Shanty Choir is a Norwegian sextet from Stord, Norway that performs mostly traditional Norwegian and English sea shanties. They were formed in 2000, by shantyman Haakon Steinar Vatle, and used to introduce themselves as "the roughest, toughest and youngest boy band in Norway, singing 150 years old cover songs".
W"The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald" is a 1976 hit song written, composed and performed by Canadian singer-songwriter Gordon Lightfoot to commemorate the sinking of the bulk carrier SS Edmund Fitzgerald on Lake Superior on November 10, 1975. Lightfoot drew his inspiration from Newsweek's article on the event, "The Cruelest Month", which it published in its November 24, 1975, issue. Lightfoot considers this song to be his finest work.