Tony Barrand
Anthony Grant Barrand (April 3, 1945 – January 29, 2022) was a British-born American folk singer and academic. He was a Professor of Anthropology, College of Arts and Sciences, Boston University, where his courses included "Stalking the Wild Mind: The Psychology and Folklore of Extra-Sensory Perception and Psychic Phenomena", "English Ritual Dance and Drama", and "Folk Songs as Social History". Early life and education. Barrand was born in Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, England. His parents were active in a Salvation Army brass band. His family moved to Bletchley when he was 10 years old, and became active Methodists. Barrand  completed a Bachelor of Arts at The University of Keele, and moved to the United States, where the glass ceiling for scholars from working class backgrounds was less pronounced. He earned his Ph.D. from Cornell University, where he also formed his ongoing music partnership with John Roberts. Music career. He is best known for his musical collaborations with John Roberts. As Roberts and Barrand, they performed a cappella and accompanied performances of traditional English folk music. They also performed and recorded fare such as sea shanties of the North Atlantic, and an album of traditional drinking songs. The duo was  also half of the related act Nowell Sing We Clear, which, in addition to a number of albums, performs an annual yuletide concert series. Barrand was also an expert morris and clog dancer, having taught across the United States, and written several books on the subject. He edited the journal "Country Dance and Song" and founded the "Marlboro Morris Ale", an annual national gathering of Morris dancers in Vermont. In 2008 he was the recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award of the Country Dance and Song Society for his pivotal role in teaching, researching, and videotaping Morris dance, as well  as for his work as a traditional singer and musician. Barrand's collection of film and video of morris, sword, and clog dancing was deposited in 2003, by invitation, to the American Folklife Center, as the "Anthony Grant Barrand Collection of Morris, Sword, and Clog Dancing at the Library of Congress" (catalog number AFC2003/5). By the collection was digitized and is available online at Boston University. Personal life. Since the late 1990s, multiple sclerosis limited Barrand's mobility, but not his academic work or musical performances.