Louisa Jo (Louis) Killen
10 January 1934 – 9 August 2013

(A few years ago, Louis Killen decided to fulfill an almost lifelong desire and came out as a woman: Louisa Jo).

Lou was a Geordie, born and bred in Gateshead, Tyneside. The family sang at home – hymns, cowboy songs, ballads, music hall, opera, and everything in between. Getting involved in the skiffle craze of the early ‘sixties, she then went on to become one of the founders of the Bridge Folk Club, in Newcastle upon Tyne.

Unequaled as a singer of the “big” ballads, Lou also had a great repertoire of maritime songs, songs from her Irish ancestry, and of course the songs of Tyneside – mining, fox-hunting, etc. Plus a great appreciation of music in all its forms. She was a grand harmony singer too.

I first met Lou in 1965, and she and the Young Tradition immediately formed a mutual admiration society. The folk scene was booming: every town had its weekly folk club, some more than one. We would meet and sing together at clubs, concerts and festivals.

In 1966, she moved to America, living in New York, Massachusetts, San Francisco, and Washington State. For a few years, she sang with the Clancy Brothers. A few years back, she returned to her birth town of Gateshead, where she died of cancer on 9 August 2013.

One cannot overstate the influence of Lou’s singing on a whole generation of revival singers of English traditional folk songs. Her playing of the English concertina (she pioneered it as an accompanying instrument) was a prime example of how it should be done – never overpowering the song.

As well as being a terrific singer, she had a wealth of knowledge about the songs and the singers from whom they came, which she willingly shared with audiences and admirers. She would also tell some tales from the Pitman’s Bible (stories told in Pitmatic, the idiom of the Tyneside pits) which were hilarious.

The voice is silenced, but the legacy remains. I and many other revival singers owe her a debt that will be repaid as we continue to sing the old songs for new generations.

So from one of Louisa Jo’s signature songs, “The Parting Glass”:  Good night, and joy be with you all.

— Heather Wood

Here’s a classic recording of Lou singing “Pleasant and Delightful”: