Frankie Armstrong

by Craig HarrisWhether singing a cappella or with minimal accompaniment, Frankie Armstrong uses her powerful soprano vocals to breathe new life into centuries-old British balladry. Best known for her rendition of Peggy Seegers feminist anthem, Im Gonna Be an Engineer, Armstrong has been an influential presence in England since 1962. A longtime member of the late Ewan MacColls Critics Group, Armstrong has been a frequent performer at folk festivals throughout Great Britain and the United States. While Armstrongs early albums focused on traditional ballads, shes branched out in recent years. In 1989, she collaborated with Greenwich Village-based folk singer Dave Van Ronk for an duo album, Let No One Deceive You, featuring songs by Bertolt Brecht. Armstrongs most prolific year came in 1997. In addition to reissuing a live concert recording, Ways of Seeing, she released an album of child ballads, Till the Grass Oergrown the Corn, and a solo album, The Fair Moon Rejoices, which includes original songs, Leon Rosselson compositions and a series of William Blake poems set to the saxophone and bagpipe playing of Peter Stacey.