Although she travelled widely in the 1960s and early 1970s, appearing at folk clubs and venues in Britain and Ireland, she never aspired to commercial success or to achieve widespread public acknowledgment of her music.
However, she was an influential figure in the British folk revival, being a source of songs and musical inspiration for others such as A. L. Lloyd, Bert Jansch, Jimmy Page, The Watersons, June Tabor, Sandy Denny, Richard Thompson, and Maddy Prior.
[2] They stayed overnight with Archie Fisher, who was at that time prominent in the revival of folk music in Scotland, and through him she met Bert Jansch, who had just begun to compose his own songs.
To implement this resolution, playwright Arnold Wesker was appointed as the leader, with Ewan MacColl and A. L. "Bert" Lloyd heavily involved, and Charles Parker on production.
[2] At Nottingham, MacColl heard Briggs singing "Let No Man Steal Your Thyme" and "She Moves Through the Fair" and promptly invited her to perform on stage that night.
Briggs visited the main British folk clubs which were then becoming well known such as the Troubadour and the Scots Hoose, as well as various Irish music venues.
[3] She was rescued from this relationship by Hamish Henderson, who accidentally met her and invited her to join Louis Killen, Dave Swarbrick and Frankie Armstrong for a recording project.
There are many stories from this period about her, such as pushing Moynihan and Andy Irvine out of a hay loft and, on another occasion, jumping into the sea at Malin Head, Donegal to chase seals.
Briggs joined them on tours and learned to play the bouzouki, at that time a rare instrument in Britain and Ireland.
Briggs performed along with the folk-rock group COB (Clive's Original Band) at the Royal Festival Hall in 1971.
Early in 1973 she recorded a third solo album Sing a Song for You with instrumental support from Ragged Robin, a folk-rock band led by Steve Ashley.
Jansch's instrumental accompaniment to this song was later copied and adapted by Led Zeppelin's Jimmy Page,[citation needed] who recorded it as "Black Mountain Side" and credited himself as the writer.
Briggs has been cited as a favourite by Eliza Carthy, Kate Rusby, June Tabor and Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh (lead singer of Altan).
[citation needed] Charlotte Greig and the Scottish band James Yorkston and the Athletes have said Briggs was an influence on them.
[citation needed] She inspired several songs, including Richard Thompson's "Beeswing" and Sandy Denny's "The Pond and the Stream.
[13][14] In 2009, Topic Records issued a 70th anniversary boxed set, Three Score and Ten, including "Blackwater Side" from her eponymous album.