Formed while the members were working in America, the initial impetus was to record an album of Irish rebel songs (released as "The Rising of the Moon") as one of the first releases in 1956 of new folk label, Tradition Records. Paddy Clancy's harmonica provided the only musical accompaniment for this debut album.
Little thought was given at that point to continuing as a singing group. The four were all were busy establishing careers (in the theatre) for themselves, in addition to their work at Tradition Records. With the album being a local success, requests were often demanded for the brothers and Makem to sing some of their songs at parties and informal pub settings. Slowly, the singing gigs began to outweigh the acting gigs and by 1959, serious thought was given to a new album. Liam had developed some guitar skills, Tommy's hand, which hasd been injured, had healed enough that he was again able to play tin whistle and Uilleann pipes, and the times spent singing together had improved their style. No longer were they the rough, mostly unaccompanied group of actors singing for an album to jump-start a record label; they were becoming a professional singing group.
The Clancy Brothers were an influential Irish folk music singing group. Most popular in the 1960s, they were famed for their woolly Aran jumpers and are widely credited with popularizing Irish traditional music in the United States. The brothers were Patrick "Paddy" Clancy, Tom Clancy, Bobby Clancy and Liam Clancy. Paddy, Tom, Bob, and Liam are best known for their work with Tommy Makem, recording dozens of albums together as The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem. They were a primary influence on a young Bob Dylan and on many other emerging artists.
The release of their second album, this one of Irish drinking songs called "Come Fill Your Glass with Us", solidified their new careers as singers. The album was a success, and they made many appearances on the pub circuit in New York, Chicago, and 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 nightclub owner asked for a name to put on the marquee, but they had not decided on one yet. Unable to agree on a name (which included suggestions like "The Beggermen", "The Tinkers", and even "The Chieftains") the owner decided for them, simply billing them as "The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem". The name stuck. They decided to try singing full-time for six months. If their singing was successful, they would continue with it; if not, then they would return to acting. The Clancy brothers and Tommy Makem proved successful as a singing group and in early 1961, they attracted the attention of scouts from The Ed Sullivan Show.
The Clancy Brothers' mother read news of the terrible ice and snow storms in New York City so she sent Aran sweaters for her sons and Tommy Makem to keep them warm. Paddy and Liam Clancy stated they wore the sweaters for the first time in the Blue Angel club. When Marty Erlichman, their manager, saw the sweaters, he was beside himself! "That's it!" he exclaimed. I've been looking for a special costume for the group. It was also the night that Barbra Streisand sang in the Blue Angel for the first time. The sweaters became the Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem's trademark. When back in their hometown, the band purchased their Aran jumpers from Babington, on the main street. Babington had a local woman by the name of Betty McGillivray née Duggan knit the jumpers and supply the shop on regular occasions.
On 12 March 1961, the Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem performed for 16 minutes in front of a televised audience of 80 million people on The Ed Sullivan Show. As Pearl Bailey did not show that night, the Clancy Brothers & Tommy Makem were given her time. The televised performance instantly attracted the attention of John Hammond of Columbia Records. The group was offered a five-year contract with an advance of $100,000, a huge sum in 1961. For their first album with Columbia, they 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 major radio and television talk-shows in America.
1962 proved to be an even better year. Ciarán MacMathuna, a popular radio personality in Ireland, was visiting America when he heard of the group. He collected the few albums they had out at the time, brought them back home to Ireland and played them on his radio show. The broadcasts skyrocketed the Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem to fame in Ireland, where they were still unknown. In Ireland, songs like "Roddy McCorley," "Kevin Barry" and "Brennan on the Moor" were slow, depressing songs full of melancholy, but the Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem had transformed those songs (the disgruntled purists in Ireland said "commercialized") and made them lively. For generations the songs had been a reminder of the troubles in Ireland and therefore they weren't anything anybody sang proudly. The Clancy Brothers changed all that, and the transformed songs reinvigorated Ireland's pride in her music. The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem were brought over for a sold-out tour of Ireland in late 1962. Popularity in England and other parts of Europe soon followed, as well as Australia and Canada. By 1963, appearing on major talk-shows in America, Canada, England, Australia and Ireland, as well as their own TV specials, the Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem were "the most famous four Irishmen in the world" as said by Ireland's Late Late Show host, Gay Byrne, in a retrospective interview in 1984. In 1964, one third of all the albums sold in Ireland were Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem records.
The 1960s continued to be a successful decade with the release of approximately two albums per year, all of which sold millions of copies. They continued to peak with television appearances in front of President John F. Kennedy in 1963.
Their popularity is the result of several factors. There was already an American folk revival beginning in the United States, and men such as Ewan MacColl popularizing old songs on the other side of the Atlantic. But it was the Clancys' boisterous performances that set them apart, taking placid classics and giving them a boost of energy and spirit (not that they took this approach with all their songs; they would still sing the true mournful ballads with due reverence).
But by the late 1960s, rock music had taken full swing, and the ballad and folk boom was waning. To keep the band at the top, Teo Macero began producing their records for Columbia. Macero introduced new instrumentation to their music, including Louis Killen coming in to play concertina on backup, particularly on their 1968 album of sea songs, Sing of the Sea. But their last three albums for Columbia Record in 1969 and 1970 are considered by many to be overproduced, with a multitude of string instruments and synthesizers added to the simpler traditional Clancy mix of guitar, banjo, tin whistle and harmonica.
In 1969, the group recorded a song for a two-minute-long TV ad for Gulf Oil: "Bringin' Home the Oil". They adapted a traditional Scottish tune they had recorded, "The Gallant Forty Twa," with new words about large-capacity supertankers. The song and commercial featured the then-largest supertanker in the world, the Universe Ireland, which operated with sister ships Universe Kuwait, Universe Japan and Universe Portugal, all mentioned in the song and which operated from the seaport at Bantry Bay.
1969 marked the amicable departure of Tommy Makem from the group. Giving them a year's notice, Makem left in April 1969 to pursue a solo career armed with such recent compositions as "Four Green Fields", debuted on 1968's Clancy Brothers album, Home Boys Home.
The "other brother", Bobby Clancy, filled Tommy Makem's vacancy and the band became The Clancy Brothers.
Jennifer Gentle
The Clancy Brothers And Tommy Makem Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
There were three sisters, fair and bright,
Jennifer gentle, fair Rosie Marie,
Wanted to wed with a valiant Knight
As the dew flies over the mulberry tree.
The eldest sister took him in,
Also bolted the silver pin.
The second sister made his bed,'
But the youngest sister, fair and bright,
Wanted to wed with the valiant knight.
Well, if you will answer my questions three,
Then, fair maid, I would marry thee.
Oh, what is whiter than the milk?
What is softer than the silk?
Oh, snow is whiter than the silk;
Down is softer than the silk.
And what is sharper than the thorn?
What is louder than the horn?
Oh, hunger is sharper than the thorn,
Thunder's louder than the horn.
And what is broader than the way?
What is deeper than the sea.
Oh, love is broader than the way;
Hell is deeper than the sea.
Well, now you've answered my questions three;
Now, fair maid, I would marry thee.
Thisversion comes from Cornwall England. It was first printed in
Gilbert's Christmas Carols in 1893. From BTM FSI-96.
Recorded by Redpath - Lowlands, Clancys- Flowers in the Valley
Child number one
Filename[ JNFRGNTL
SF
===DOCUMENT BOUNDARY===
The Clancy Brothers' song Jennifer Gentle tells the story of three sisters who each try to win the heart of a valiant knight. The eldest sister takes him in and bolts the silver pin, while the second sister makes his bed and places the pillow right under his head. But it is the youngest sister, Jennifer Gentle, who truly wants to marry him. The knight tells her that if she answers his questions three, he will marry her. The questions are: what is whiter than milk, what is softer than silk, and what is broader than the way and deeper than the sea. Jennifer answers each of the questions correctly, and the knight agrees to marry her.
The song paints a romantic picture of courtship, where a woman must prove herself by showing intelligence and wit. Each of the sisters attempts to win the knight's heart with acts of service, but it is Jennifer who ultimately wins his affection with her clever answers. The song is also a testament to the enduring power of love, which is said to be broader than the way and deeper than the sea.
Overall, Jennifer Gentle is a charming folk ballad that captures the whimsical spirit of medieval courtship. The song celebrates the virtues of intelligence, wit, and perseverance, and affirms the power of love to overcome all obstacles.
Line by Line Meaning
There were three sisters, fair and bright,
The story features three sisters who are beautiful and charming.
Jennifer gentle, fair Rosie Marie,
Two of the sisters are named Jennifer and Rosie Marie.
Wanted to wed with a valiant Knight
The sisters want to marry a brave and honorable knight.
As the dew flies over the mulberry tree.
This line serves to set the scene and create imagery in the listener's mind.
The eldest sister took him in,
The oldest sister offered the knight hospitality.
Also bolted the silver pin.
To secure the door, she fastened a silver latch.
The second sister made his bed,'
The middle sister prepared a comfortable place for the knight to sleep.
Placed the pillow right under his head.
She put a soft pillow under his head for added comfort.
But the youngest sister, fair and bright,
The youngest sister is also beautiful and charming.
Wanted to wed with the valiant knight.
She desires to marry the brave knight as well.
Well, if you will answer my questions three,
The knight must answer three questions posed by the youngest sister in order to prove himself worthy of her hand in marriage.
Then, fair maid, I would marry thee.
If he answers the questions correctly, the knight declares that he will marry the young woman.
Oh, what is whiter than the milk?
The first question asks what object is whiter than milk.
What is softer than the silk?
The second question poses the challenge of identifying an object softer than silk.
Oh, snow is whiter than the silk;
The first answer is that snow is whiter than milk.
Down is softer than the silk.
The appropriate response to the second question is that down is softer than silk.
And what is sharper than the thorn?
The final question asks the knight to identify an object sharper than a thorn.
What is louder than the horn?
The final challenge requires the knight to find an object louder than a horn.
Oh, hunger is sharper than the thorn,
The third answer is that nothing is sharper than hunger.
Thunder's louder than the horn.
The correct answer to the final question is that thunder is louder than a horn.
And what is broader than the way?
The poem poses a curious rhetorical question that touches on the infinite nature of love.
What is deeper than the sea.
Continuing the theme of infinite qualities, the question asks what is deeper than the vast and mysterious sea.
Oh, love is broader than the way;
The answer to the first question is that love exceeds any path or journey.
Hell is deeper than the sea.
This striking response to the second question highlights the unknown depths of the underworld.
Well, now you've answered my questions three;
Having satisfied the young woman's test, the knight is deemed worthy of marriage.
Now, fair maid, I would marry thee.
The poem concludes with the knight reiterating his commitment to wed the young woman.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
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