Harry Fred Cox (27 March 1885 – 6 May 1971), was a Norfolk farmworker and one of the most important singers of traditional English music of the twentieth century, on account of his large repertoire and fine singing style.
He served in the Royal Navy in the First World War,[1] worked at various farms in the local area and sang in pubs in Sutton, Potter Heigham and Ludham.
The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography concludes:He is admired for the breadth and variety of his repertory, some 140 items ranging from rough bawdry to high balladry, but above all for his technique, based, according to the BBC producer Francis Dillon, on 'a carefully placed decoration, a beautifully judged phrasing, an exact control of highly complex rhythm and a singing tone which requires no accompaniment'.Sarah Lifton, in The Listener's Guide to Folk Music (1983; p. 13), writes:Cox's singing style was very straightforward and at first may seem colorless when compared with the vibrant style of, say Sam Larner, but its subtleties require repeated listenings to appreciate.
[1] Harry Cox was amongst the most important traditional singers to have been discovered by folk song collectors in the twentieth century,[6] along with others who include fellow Norfolk residents Sam Larner and Walter Pardon.
[1] Many folk revival songs were based on Harry Cox's traditional versions, including Steeleye Span's "The Spotted Cow" on Below the Salt (1972)[12] and The Dubliners' international hit single "The Black Velvet Band" (1967).
She later said the following:A year or so later I listened to all of Peter Kennedy’s recordings of Harry, and the more I heard, the more convinced I was of his absolute greatness, how melodious and graceful was his singing and how perfectly paced.
He could make you smile with The Maid of Australia or move you with Polly Vaughan and his Death of Nelson is one of the most touchingly mournful songs I ever heard and does that great hero honour.