The Yetties

One of England's longest enduring folk groups, the Yetties — Bonny Sartin, Pete Shulter, and Mac McCulloch — all originally hailed from the village of Yetminster, near Sherborne, in Dorset; hence their name. West Country natives, the threesome (originally a quartet with Bob Common, who left in 1979) steeped their music and stage banter in the songs, tales, and humor of their home. The trio turned professional in 1967, and made its first appearance on record the following year, with the release of Festival at Towersea on the Zeus label, which featured two tracks by the group, "The Leaf" and "The Thrashin' Machine."

They cut their first LP, Fifty Stone of Loveliness, in 1969, for the Acorn label. They released two LPs in 1970, Who's A-fear'd: Songs and Music from Dorset and Keep A'Runnin' — It's the Yetties! on Acorn and Argo, respectively (the latter a classical imprint of English Decca). They remained on Argo for seven more albums, through 1975, including Dorset Is Beautiful, which included one of their best-known interpretations of a folk song, "The Nutting Girl"; the album's title track also became their first single, in 1974. They remained on Decca until the end of the 1970s, when the label was sold and folded into the Polygram organization, periodically recording with guest artist Toni Arthur — their final Decca LP was a live album. They've also had a long-running BBC radio show, called Cider and Song.

The group has performed on four continents, and served not only as musical ambassadors for England but also played a key role in keeping various musical traditions alive — among numerous other recordings, they've assembled books and recorded albums of folk music collected by the Dorset author Thomas Hardy and his family, and also recorded those songs on instruments belonging to Hardy and members of his family. They remain active in the 21st century, now one of the longest continuing folk music outfits in England.