The Clancy Brothers were an influential Irish folk music group that developed initially as a part of the American folk music revival. Most popular during the 1960s, they were famed for their Aran jumper sweaters and are widely credited with popularising Irish traditional music in the United States and revitalising it in Ireland, contributing to an Irish folk boom with groups like the Dubliners and the Wolfe Tones.
Patrick Michael Clancy, usually called Paddy Clancy or Pat Clancy, was an Irish folk singer best known as a member of the Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem. In addition to singing and storytelling, Clancy played the harmonica with the group, which is widely credited with popularizing Irish traditional music in the United States and revitalizing it in Ireland. He also started and ran the folk music label Tradition Records, which recorded many of the key figures of the American folk music revival.
Liam Clancy was an Irish folk singer from Carrick-on-Suir, County Tipperary. He was the youngest member of the influential folk group the Clancy Brothers, regarded as Ireland's first pop stars. They achieved global sales of millions and appeared in sold-out concerts at such prominent venues as Carnegie Hall and the Royal Albert Hall.
Thomas Makem was an Irish folk musician, artist, poet and storyteller. He was best known as a member of the Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem. He played the long-necked 5-string banjo, tin whistle, low whistle, guitar, bodhrán and bagpipes, and sang in a distinctive baritone. He was sometimes known as "The Bard of Armagh" and "The Godfather of Irish Music".
"Mrs. McGrath" is an Irish folk song set during the Peninsular War of the early 19th century. The song tells the story of a woman whose son enters the British Army and returns seven years later having lost his legs to a cannonball while fighting against Napoleon presumably at the Battle of Fuentes de Oñoro. The general theme of the song is one of opposition to war. Along with "Johnny I Hardly Knew Ye", it is one of the most graphic of all Irish folk songs that deal with sickness and injuries caused by warfare. Irish folk song collector Colm Ó Lochlainn described "Mrs. Grath" as "known to every true born citizen of Dublin". It was very popular among the Irish Volunteers in the years leading up to the 1916 Rising and has been recorded by many singers and folk groups.
Makem and Clancy was an Irish folk duo popular in the 1970s and 1980s. The group consisted of Tommy Makem and Liam Clancy, who had originally achieved fame as a part of the trailblazing folk group The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem in the 1960s. Makem and Clancy sang a combination of traditional Irish music, folks songs from a variety of countries, and newly written pieces, including compositions that Tommy Makem himself wrote. One reporter described their music as "more polished and varied than that used by the Clancy Brothers."
The Rising of the Moon: Irish Songs of Rebellion is a collection of traditional Irish folk songs performed by The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem. It was the group's first album and was initially recorded in 1956. For the original recording, the only instrument used was Paddy Clancy's harmonica, since Tommy Makem had damaged his hand and Liam Clancy was still learning how to play the guitar. The group had yet to develop its distinctive musical sound, so there was little ensemble singing.
Come Fill Your Glass with Us: Irish Songs of Drinking & Blackguarding is a collection of traditional Irish drinking songs that first brought The Clancy Brothers and their frequent collaborator Tommy Makem to prominence. It was their second album and was released in 1959 by Tradition Records, a small music label run by one of the Clancy Brothers, Paddy Clancy. A reviewer for the folk and world music magazine, Dirty Linen, later called this the album that "launched the Clancy Brothers to fame in the Americas and helped launch a revival of interest in traditional Irish music."
The American folk music revival began during the 1940s and peaked in popularity in the mid-1960s. Its roots went earlier, and performers like Josh White, Burl Ives, Woody Guthrie, Lead Belly, Big Bill Broonzy, Richard Dyer-Bennet, Oscar Brand, Jean Ritchie, John Jacob Niles, Susan Reed, Paul Robeson, Bessie Smith, Ma Rainey and Cisco Houston had enjoyed a limited general popularity in the 1930s and 1940s. The revival brought forward styles of American folk music that had in earlier times contributed to the development of country and western, blues, jazz, and rock and roll music.
Tradition Records was an American record label from 1955 to 1966 that specialized in folk music. The label was founded and financed by Guggenheim heiress Diane Hamilton in 1956. Its president and director was Patrick "Paddy" Clancy, who was soon to join his brothers Liam and Tom Clancy and Tommy Makem, as part of the new Irish folk group, The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem. Liam Clancy designed the company's maple leaf logo. Columbia University Professor of Folklore Kenneth Goldstein was also involved in the early creation of the company, which operated out of Greenwich Village, New York, United States.
Robert Joseph 'Bobby' Clancy Jr was an Irish singer and musician best known as a member of The Clancy Brothers, one of the most successful and influential Irish folk groups. He accompanied his songs on five-string banjo, guitar, bodhrán, and harmonica.
The Boys Won't Leave the Girls Alone is a collection of mostly traditional Irish folk songs performed by The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem. It also includes several songs from other countries, such as the Scottish folk song, "Marie's Wedding". It was their third album for Columbia Records and was released in 1962. It was also their first studio album for the label. Its title is taken from the song, "I'll Tell My Ma". The original LP featured liner notes by Tom Clancy.
The First Hurrah! is a collection of traditional Irish folk songs performed by The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem. It was their fifth album for Columbia Records and was released in 1964. The album's title is likely a play on Edwin O'Connor's 1956 novel The Last Hurrah. The original LP featured liner notes by critic Robert Sherman. The album appeared on the Billboard charts and its single, "The Leaving of Liverpool," on the Irish Top 10 charts.
In Person at Carnegie Hall was the seminal Irish folk group The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem's most successful album. It was recorded in Carnegie Hall on 17 March 1963 at their annual St. Patrick's Day concert. In the documentary, The Story of the Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem, Paddy Clancy said that this was the best album the group recorded. The album spent months on the American Top LPs chart and broke the top fifty albums in December 1963, an unprecedented occurrence for an Irish folk music recording at that time. It has never been out of print since its initial release.
Louisa "Lou" Jo Killen was an English folk singer from Gateshead, Tyneside, who also played the English concertina.
The Clancy Brothers & Tommy Makem is a collection of traditional Irish songs performed by The Clancy Brothers with frequent collaborator Tommy Makem. It was their third album and their final one for Tradition Records, the small label that the eldest Clancy brother Paddy Clancy ran. After this, the group recorded exclusively for Columbia Records until 1970. This was the first album for which they used the group name, The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem. Their prior recordings had simply listed their individual names on the cover.
Hearty and Hellish! is a live album of traditional Irish folk songs performed by the Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem, recorded live at the Gate of Horn in Chicago. It was their second album for Columbia Records. In a January 1963 article, Time magazine selected Hearty and Hellish! as one of the top 10 albums of 1962.
Ain't It Grand Boys: A Collection of Unissued Gems is a 1995 two-disc compilation of previously unreleased recordings by the Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem. All the tracks were taken from various live performances from the early to mid-1960s.
Older But No Wiser is a 1995 album by the Irish folk group, The Clancy Brothers and Robbie O'Connell. This was the Clancy Brothers' final album, released almost four decades after the group's first album, The Rising of the Moon. It was also their third album for Vanguard Records. The songs on Older But No Wiser are notable for their thicker musical accompaniment than was typical of Clancy recordings, as well their first use of female back-up singers.
Recorded Live in Ireland is a 1965 album of Irish folk songs performed by The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem. It was the first live album to be recorded in stereo in Ireland. It was their sixth LP for Columbia Records and, unusually for the group, included two newly composed songs in the folk style. Music critic Joe Goldberg wrote the liner notes.
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