Thomas "Tom" Clancy | |
---|---|
Background information | |
Birth name | Thomas Joseph Clancy [1] |
Also known as | Tommy Clancy [2] [3] Thomas J. Clancy [4] |
Born | 29 October 1924 |
Origin | Carrick-on-Suir, County Tipperary, Ireland |
Died | 7 November 1990 66) Cork City, County Cork, Ireland | (aged
Genres | Folk, traditional Irish |
Occupation(s) | Singer, actor |
Years active | 1947–1990 |
Formerly of | The Clancy Brothers |
Thomas Joseph Clancy (29 October 1924 – 7 November 1990) was a member of the Irish folk group the Clancy Brothers. He had the most powerful voice of the brothers and had previously been an actor in numerous stage productions, appearing with Orson Welles in King Lear . He also performed often on television and occasionally in the movies.
Tom Clancy was one of eleven children born to Johanna McGrath and Bob Clancy in Carrick-on-Suir, County Tipperary. After being apprenticed as a baker, Clancy followed his older brother Patrick "Paddy" Clancy into the Royal Air Force (RAF) in 1943 during World War II, despite both having been members of the Irish Republican Army. [5] [6] In the RAF, Clancy worked as a radio operator on bombing runs over Germany. [7]
Discharged from the RAF at the war's end, Clancy toured with a British repertory company. In 1947 he and his brother Paddy emigrated to Canada. They then moved to New York where Tom met his first wife and his oldest daughter was born in 1950. They then soon moved to Cleveland, Ohio, to live with relatives. Tom worked for a while as a repertory actor at the Cleveland Playhouse, before returning temporarily to Ireland. While in Ireland, Clancy worked for the Shakespeareana Internationale company run by English actor and manager Geoffrey Kendal. [8] After Paddy sent him extra money, Tom Clancy returned to the United States. The brothers planned to move to California, but their car broke down. They decided to try New York City instead and found work as actors, both on and off Broadway. [9]
In 1956 their brother Liam Clancy joined them, accompanied by his friend Tommy Makem. Liam Clancy and Tommy Makem began singing together, and in 1959 were joined by the older Clancy brothers as The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem. [10] The group performed together until Liam left in 1976. Makem had left in 1969 to be replaced for a brief time by Bobby Clancy and later Louis Killen.
Tom Clancy continued singing with The Clancy Brothers until 1976, when the group was disbanded. The group reformed in 1977 with a new line-up. Clancy performed with his brothers Paddy and Bobby and their nephew Robbie O'Connell until his death. He also performed with Paddy, Liam, and Tommy Makem during their reunion tour from 1984 to 1985. [11]
Tom took the lead vocals on many of the group's songs, such as "The Rising of the Moon", "The Moonshiner", "Haul Away Joe", "Red Haired Mary", "The Barnyards of Delgaty", "Carrickfergus", "I Once Loved a Lass", and "The Bold Fenian Men", among others.
Clancy continued to act during his singing career, appearing in the movies The Killer Elite (1975) and Swashbuckler (1976). He also appeared on episodes of Little House on the Prairie , Starsky and Hutch , and The Incredible Hulk , among others. He acted in several TV movies as well. [12]
After an absence of fifteen years, Clancy returned to Broadway in May 1974 in Eugene O'Neill's A Moon for the Misbegotten . The Irish Times reviewed his performance of Phil Hogan: "In 'Moon' he deftly measures up to the formidable company in which he finds himself – a wily, sly rogue with a whimsical humour and a genuine concern for his daughter". The play was a hit and won three Tony Awards. [13] [14]
Clancy died from stomach cancer at the age of 66 in 1990 at Mercy Hospital in Cork City, County Cork. [15]
He was survived by his wife Joan and their three daughters, Rayleen, Blawneen and Rosie, who was only two years old (at the time of his death, it was incorrectly reported that he and wife Joan had four daughters). Before his marriage to his wife Joan, he had had two children, Eileen and Thomas, with Yvonne Marcus, in Cleveland, Ohio. He also had a daughter, Cait, with his second wife Laine, in the mid-1950s.
His last recording was made in 1988 with Robbie O'Connell, Bobby Clancy, and Paddy Clancy at St. Anselm College in Goffstown, New Hampshire. Unfortunately, the recording is marred by unevenly mixed instruments and voices. After Tom's death, Liam returned to the Clancy Brothers to fill in his place.
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1975 | The Killer Elite | O'Leary | |
1976 | Swashbuckler | Mr. Moonbeam | |
1980 | The Incredible Hulk | Edgar Tucker | Episode "Deep Shock" |
1981 | Full Moon High | Priest | |
1984 | The House of God | Police Commissioner | (final film role) |
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 jumpers 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".
The Girls Won't Leave the Boys Alone is an album by Cherish the Ladies released in 2001 on the Windham Hill label. The title reverses the lyrics "the boys won't leave the girls alone" from the Irish song "Belle of Belfast City/I'll Tell Me Ma", popularized in the album Irish Heartbeat by Van Morrison and The Chieftains. The Boys Won't Leave the Girls Alone is also the title of a 1962 album by The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem.
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."
Makem and Spain was an Irish-American folk music band. The band was founded as "The Makem Brothers" in February 1989 by Rory, Shane, and Conor Makem, the three sons of "The Godfather of Irish Music" Tommy Makem, and grandsons of Irish source singer Sarah Makem.
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.
Diane Hamilton was the pseudonym of Diane Guggenheim, an American mining heiress, folksong patron and founder of Tradition Records.
The Lark in the Morning is an album by Liam Clancy, Tommy Makem, family and friends.
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.
Robbie O'Connell is an Irish singer songwriter who performs solo, as well as with The Green Fields of America. He also appears with Dónal Clancy (cousin), Dan Milner, and fiddler Rose Clancy. O'Connell has also toured and recorded with The Clancy Brothers, being their nephew. For over 20 years, he has conducted small cultural tours to Ireland with Celtica Music & Tours and, for more than ten years, WGBH Learning Tours. Married with four grown children, he now spends his time between Bristol, Rhode Island and Waterford.
Finbarr Clancy is an Irish folk singer and multi-instrumentalist. Early in his career he performed with The Clancy Brothers. He later became a member of the group The High Kings.
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.
A Spontaneous Performance Recording!: The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem, sometimes simply called A Spontaneous Performance, is a 1961 collection of traditional Irish folk songs performed by The Clancy Brothers with frequent collaborator Tommy Makem. It was their first album for Columbia Records. The group would continue to record for Columbia for the remainder of the 1960s. The album was nominated for a Grammy Award in 1962 for Best Folk Recording.
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.
Isn't It Grand Boys is a 1966 studio album by the Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem. It was the Irish folk group's seventh album for Columbia Records and their tenth album over all. Tommy Makem wrote the liner notes.
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.