Paul Clayton

Paul Clayton Worthington — March 3, 1931 – March 30, 1967

Paul Clayton sang The Turkish Revelee in 1956 on his Tradition album Whaling and Sailing Songs From the Days of Moby Dick. He noted:

This ballad, commonly called The Golden Vanity, was known more often to sailors as Lowlands Low. The song has often been connected with Sir Walter Raleigh because of an old broadside text which mentions him as the deceitful captain. The ballad probably originated about the middle of the 17th century when the Barbary pirates (known as Turks) raided shipping in the English Channel and even looted coastal towns. I learned The Turkish Revelee from Horton Barker, one of Virginia’s finest traditional singers. [Mainly Norfolk]

Clayton was widely recorded by Smithsonian Folkways.

This Boston Globe article features many details of Clayton’s life in and around the folk revival.  This comprehensive article about Clayton comes from the Pacific Northwest Folklore Society publication, The NW HOOT.