The Holly Bears the Crown by The Young Tradition

The Holly Bears The Crown is an album by The Young Tradition with Shirley and Dolly Collins and other guest musicians. The trio "The Young Tradition" (Peter Bellamy, Royston Wood and Heather Wood) sang a cappella folk songs in a style similar to the Copper Family. This album was recorded in London in 1969. A few weeks later musical and financial differences caused the break-up of The Young Tradition. Following the break-up, the record company refused to issue the album, which did not appear until 1995. By then Royston, Peter and Dolly were dead. Guest musicians Adam and Roderick Skeaping, here credited as 'The Skeapings', were members of "Musica Reservata" and had played on Shirley Collins albums. The only tracks on which everyone appears are the first song ("The Boar's Head Carol") and the last ("Bring Us in Good Ale"). Peter Bellamy later carved out a successful solo career; both Shirley and Dolly Collins also had successful careers both before and after (Shirley Collins has done more work in the folk music field than her sister). Two tracks are Shirley and Dolly Collins without the others. These later appeared on a compilation called The Classic Collection (ostensibly by Shirley Collins) in 2004.