Clancy Brothers, David Hammond & Families Biography
Tom (29 October 1924, Carrick-on-Suir, Co. Tipperary, Eire, d. 7 November 1990, Cork, Co. Cork, Eire), Paddy (b. Patrick Clancy, 7 March 1922, d. 11 November 1998, Carrick-on-Suir, Co. Tipperary, Eire) and Liam Clancy (b. 2 September 1935, Carrick-on-Suir, Co. Tipperary, Eire) were among the founders of the New York folk revival during the 50s. From a musical family, Tom and Paddy left for Toronto, Canada in 1947, but soon crossed (illegally) over the American border. Tom enjoyed success as an actor, playing on Broadway with Orson Welles (King Lear) and Helen Hayes (Touch Of The Poet), while together the brothers staged Irish plays at the Cherry Lane Theatre in Greenwich Village. With money scarce they began performing concerts, and were soon attracting a bigger following for their music rather than their plays. Paddy was soon assisting the Folkways Records and Elektra Records labels in recording Irish material and in 1956 he set up his own small label, Tradition Records. This released material by Josh White and Odetta and By now, the younger brother Liam had also moved to America, and was collecting songs in the Appalachian mountains. He encouraged whistle player Tommy Makem (b. 4 November 1932, Keady, Co. Armagh, Northern Ireland, d. 1 August 2007, Dover, New Hampshire, USA) to move to New York. In the late 50s, the quartet began to perform in clubs and at hootenannies, recording a collection of Irish rebel songs in 1959 (it was a re-recorded version of an earlier release in 1956). The Clancys attracted a large following with their boisterous approach and gained national prominence through an appearance on Ed Sullivan's television show on 12 March 1961, wearing the white Aran sweaters that would become their trademark image. The group recorded frequently for Columbia Records throughout the 60s, popularising traditional songs such as "Jug Of Punch", "The Moonshiner" "Tim Finnegan's Wake", "Haul Away Joe" and "The Leaving Of Liverpool", that became widely sung in folk clubs on both sides of the Atlantic. Their sister, Peg Clancy Power made a solo album of Irish songs in the late 60s. Makem left to follow a solo career in 1969, later recording with producer Dónal Lunny for Polydor Records in Ireland. The Clancys continued to make occasional appearances, notably their annual St. Patrick's Day concerts in New York, with another brother Bobby (b. 14 May 1927, Carrick-on-Suir, Co. Tipperary, Eire, d. 6 September 2002, Carrick-on-Suir, Co. Tipperary, Eire) and Finbar and Eddie Furey filling in. Louis Killen (b. January 1934, Gateshead, Co. Durham, England), a traditional singer and concertina player from north-east England joined for three albums on the Audio Fidelity label and one for Vanguard Records in the early 70s. The Clancy Brothers broke-up in 1975 with Tom going on to establish an acting career in Hollywood. Liam and Tommy Makem initiated a successful recording career as a duo and when Paddy, Tom and Bobby reunited in 1977 he chose not to rejoin. The brothers recruited their nephew Robbie O'Connell and resumed touring and recording, although the original group re-formed for a 1984 concert at the Lincoln Center in New York City. A live album and a reunion tour followed before Liam and Tommy Makem left and Paddy, Tom and Bobby resumed working with O'Connell. Although Tom Clancy died in November 1990, the remaining brothers continued to perform together occasionally in the early 90s, appearing in October 1992 at Bob Dylan's 30th Anniversary Concert at Madison Square Garden. Paddy Clancy died of cancer in November 1998, having worked as a dairy farmer since the group's partial retirement in the mid-70s, and brother Bobby followed four years later.
Source: The Encyclopedia of Popular Music by Colin Larkin. Licensed from Muze.
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