Tributes paid to folk legend Makem

Tributes paid to folk legend Makem

President McAleese has added her voice to the tributes being paid to the musician, Tommy Makem, who died in the US yesterday.

Mrs McAleese said he had brought happiness and joy to hundreds of thousands of fans the world over.

She added that he was always the consummate musician, and described him as a superb ambassador for Ireland, and one of whom the country would always be proud.

Mr Makem, who was 74, passed away after a long illness.

A musician, artist, poet and storyteller, he was best known as a member of The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem. He was most associated with songs such as 'Four Green Fields', 'Gentle Annie' and 'Red is the Rose'.

Tommy Makem was born and raised in Keady in Co Armagh and emigrated to the United States in the 1950s.

There he teamed up with the Clancy brothers who were signed to Columbia Records.

He left the group in 1969 to pursue a solo career but later joined Liam Clancy to become Makem and Clancy. He went solo again in 1988.

Mr Makem visited his home in Northern Ireland just three weeks ago where he received an honorary degree in Belfast.

He died yesterday in Dover, New Hampshire following a long battle with lung cancer.

Tributes have described him as one of the key figures in bringing about the resurgence of traditional Irish music in the 20th century.

Liam Clancy described Tommy Makem as a man of high integrity, honesty, and, at the end, courage.

The Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism, Seamus Brennan, said: "Tommy was a wonderful ambassador for Ireland, its music, culture and traditions, through his appearances on TV, radio and concert halls throughout the world, including the United States, Canada, Australia and Europe."

He concluded: "Tommy was truly a music legend in his own lifetime. Now, with his passing, he has left behind a rich and enduring legacy of music, song and story to be enjoyed and appreciated by this generation and generations to come."

The Clancy Brothers

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Early Years

Oldest brother Paddy was born March 7, 1922. Tom followed on October
29, 1924, Bobby on May 14, 1927 and youngest brother Liam Clancy was
born September 2, 1935.

After serving in World War II, oldest brothers Paddy and Tom
emigrated from England to Toronto in 1947 on the S.S. Marine Flasher,
along with 400 returning G.I. brides. The only men on board were Paddy,
Tom, their friend Pa Casey and a few sailors. Once in Toronto, Paddy
and Tom worked various odd jobs before coming to the United States two
years later, through the sponsorship of two aunts. Residing for a time
in Cleveland, Ohio, the two brothers began to dabble in acting. They
decided to move to Hollywood. They didn't get too far, as their car
broke down soon after the trip began. They decided to move to New York
City instead.

Arriving in Greenwich Village, New York City in 1951, the acting bug
really hit. Tom and Paddy both established themselves as successful
Broadway actors, appearing in televised performances of their plays.
The two brothers established their own production company, Trio
Productions. It was here that the singing career began. To help raise
money for the company, Paddy and Tom organized 'Midnight Special'
concerts every Saturday night. Here they would sing some of the old
Irish songs that they knew from their childhood. At this time, younger
brother Bobby Clancy, among his many travels of Europe, immigrated in
New York City for a time, joining his brothers in Greenwich Village.
This was the little-known, first 'unofficial' lineup of a singing group
of Clancy brothers.

In 1955, Bobby returned home to Carrick-on-Suir to take over father
Robert J. Clancy's insurance business, freeing youngest brother Liam
Clancy to immigrate to New York City to pursue his dream of acting.
Liam arrived in New York in January 1956.

A month earlier, Tommy Makem immigrated to the United States from
his hometown of Keady, County Armagh in Northern Ireland. Tommy Makem,
born November 4, 1932, had met Liam Clancy months before they both
immigrated. Diane Hamilton, friend of Paddy Clancy in New York,
followed in the footsteps of her mentor, Jean Ritchie, came to Ireland
in search of rare Irish songs. Knowing Paddy Clancy, her first stop was
at the Clancy household, where she recorded several members of the
family, including the Clancys' mother, sister Peg and Joan, and
nineteen-year-old Liam Clancy. Hamilton asked Liam and recently
returned Bobby Clancy to join her on a trek through Ireland to locate
and record source singers.

One of those source singers was Sarah Makem who had been recorded by
Jean Ritchie in 1952 on a similar search of Irish song. Her son Tommy
Makem, then twenty-two, and the young Liam Clancy instantly became
friends. Said Liam, "Our interests were so similar: girls, theater and
music. He had told me he was going to America to try his luck at
acting. We agreed to keep in touch." Tommy was recorded for the first
time by Hamilton in that autumn of 1955, including "The Cobbler."

The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem: Early Recordings

In March 1956, Tommy Makem was out of work; he had landed himself in
Dover, New Hampshire, where many of his family members had immigrated
to, working in the mills. A two-ton iron printing press fell on Tommy's
hand, crushing it. His hand in a sling, and knowing the Clancy brothers
down in New York, he decided that the time time was right to record a
record. He told this to Paddy Clancy, who had founded a record company,
Tradition Records, to release Diane Hamilton's recorded material
through. Paddy agreed and brought in brothers Tom and Liam, as well as
Tommy Makem, to record an album of Irish rebel songs, The Rising of the
Moon.

Little thought was given to continuing as a singing group. They all
were busy establishing theatrical careers for themselves, the real
reason they were all there. But the album was a local success and
requests were often demanded for the brothers and Tommy makem to sing
some of their songs at parties and informal pub settings. Bit by bit,
that's how the singing career began. Slowly, the singing gigs began to
outweigh the acting gigs and by 1959, serious thought was given to a
new album. Three years of knowing each other, instead of two months as
had been the case in March 1956 with the original album's recording,
paid off. Liam had developed some guitar skills, Tommy's hand had
healed enough he was again able to play tin whistle and bag pipes, and
the times spent singing together had improved their style together. No
longer were they the rough, mostly unaccompanied group of actors
singing a couple Irish songs for an album to jumpstart a record label;
they were becoming a professional singing group.

The release of their second album, this one of Irish drinking songs
called Come Fill Your Glass with Us sealed their fate. The album was a
success, and the gigs grew along the pub circuit in New York, Chicago
and into Boston. It was at their first official gig after Come Fill
Your Glass With Us that the group finally found a name for themselves.
The owner begged the guys for a name to put on the marquee, but they
had none. Unable to agree on a name (which included suggestions like
The Beggermen, the Tinkers and even The Chieftains) the club owner
decided for them, simply posting "The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem".
The name stuck. The guys decided to try this singing thing fulltime for
six months, just singing, no theater work. If singing turned
successful, they'd stick with it; if not, then back to acting. The
Clancy brothers and Tommy Makem proved successful after all and in
early 1961, they attracted the attention of scouts from The Ed Sullivan
Show.

The Sweaters

Just before landing a spot on Ed Sullivan, by chance the Clancys'
mother sent four white Irish-knit Aran sweaters so that they wouldn't
catch their cold in the winters of North America. Their manager Marty
Erlichman desperately seeking a way to "package" his clients found
exactly what he was looking for when he saw the three brothers and
Tommy Makem wearing the sweaters. The sweaters became the Clancy
brothers and Tommy Makem's trademark.

The Big Time

On March 12, 1961, the Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem performed for
14 groundbreaking minutes in front of a televised audience of 80
million people on The Ed Sullivan Show. The televised performance
instantly attracted the attention of John Hammond of Columbia Records.
The guys were offered a five year contract with an advance of $100,000,
a huge sum in 1961. For their first album with Columbia, the now
nationwide stars in the Clancy brothers and Tommy Makem enlisted Pete
Seeger as backup banjo player for the live album A Spontaneous
Performance Recording It included songs that would soon become
classics, such as "Brennan on the Moor," "Jug of Punch," "Reilly's
Daughter," "Finnegan's Wake," "Haul Away Joe," "Roddy McCorley,"
"Portlairge" and "Moonshiner." The album was nominated for a Grammy
Award in 1961.

By the end of 1961, they had released two more albums, one final one
with Tradition Records, and another with Columbia, Hearty and Hellish:
A Live Nightclub Performance, and they were playing Carnegie Hall.
Additionally, they were making appearances on every major radio and
television talkshow in America.