Kenneth McKellar

1927 - 2010

Singer. Born in Paisley, the son of a grocer, Kenneth McKellar gave his first concert at the age of 13. He read science at the University of Aberdeen and won a scholarship to train at the Royal College of Music in London in 1946 and went on to sing opera. McKellar grew to become one of the most popular of Scotland's singers, recording both classical and popular music, but is best known for his traditional renditions of popular Scottish songs, including the works of Robert Burns (1759-96). He sang the British entry for the Eurovision Song Contest in 1966 and regularly performed on radio and television. He was also noted as a script-writer.

For many years McKellar kept a holiday home on Seil (Argyll & Bute), but later moved to Australia. He died at Lake Tahoe (California, USA), with a memorial service in Paisley Abbey.

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