Dougie MacLean, born 27 September 1954 in the Perthshire countryside of the United Kingdom, is a Scottish singer‑songwriter, composer, multi‑instrumentalist, and record producer whose early exposure to folk music came from a mother who played melodeon and a father who played fiddle. His first professional engagement was touring as a driver for Doc Watson and Merle Watson in the 1970s, after which he joined the folk band The Tannahill Weavers in 1976 and later spent six months with Silly Wizard; his breakthrough came with the 1978 album Caledonia released with Alan Roberts, which would become an unofficial national anthem for Scotland. MacLean’s solo career launched in 1981 with the album On A Wing and a Prayer, followed by a steady stream of releases such as Craigie Dhu (1983), Whitewash (1990), and Till Tomorrow (2014) in collaboration with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra; his composition "The Gael" (1990) served as the main theme for the 1992 film The Last of the Mohicans. He founded Dunkeld Records and a recording studio with his wife Jennifer in 1983, and his work has been recorded by artists including Ronan Keating and Amy Macdonald. In 2011 MacLean was appointed Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, and in 2013 he received the BBC Radio 2 Folk Award for Lifetime Achievement for Contribution to Songwriting, presented by First Minister Alex Salmond at Glasgow Royal Concert Hall.
