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.
The Men of the West
The Clancy Brothers And Tommy Makem Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
(William Rooney)
When you honor in song and in story
The names of the patriot men,
Whose valor has covered with glory
Full many a mountain and glen,
Forget not the boys of the heather
Who rallied their bravest and best
And looked for revenge to the West.
Cho: I give you the gallant old West, boys,
Where rallied our bravest and best
When Ireland lay broken and bleeding;
Hurrah for the men of the West!
The hilltops with glory were glowing
'Twas the eve of a bright harvest day,
When the ship we'd been wearily waiting
Sailed into Killala's broad bay.
And over the hills went the slogan
To awaken in every breast
The fire that has never been quenched, boys,
Among the true hearts of the West.
Cho:
Killala was ours ere the midnight,
And high over Ballina town
Our banners in triumph were waving
Before the next sun had gone down.
We gathered to speed the good work, boys
The true men from near and afar;
And history can tell how we routed
The redcoats through old Castlebar.
Cho:
And pledge me the stout sons of France, boys,
Bold Humbert and all his brave men,
Whose tramp, like the trumpet of battle,
Brought hope to the drooping again.
Since Ireland has caught to her bosom
On many a mountain and hill
The gallants who fell, so they're here, boys,
To cheer us to victory still.
Cho:
Though all the bright dreamings we cherished
Went down in disaster and woe,
The spirit of old is still with us
That never would bend to the foe.
And Connaught is ready whenever
The loud rolling tuck of the drum
Rings out to awaken the echoes
And tell us the morning has come.
Cho:
Recorded by Clancys, Patrick Galvin
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===DOCUMENT BOUNDARY===
The Clancy Brothers's song The Men of the West, composed by William Rooney, is a tribute to the Irish patriots who fought for their country's freedom from the oppression of the British rule. The song describes the valor and courage of the men of the West, specifically the area of Killala, County Mayo, Ireland. The song speaks of the historical events that took place during the uprising in Wexford and the subsequent rebellion in 1798. The lyrics urge people not to forget the contribution of the men from the West of Ireland who rallied and fought for their country's freedom.
The song recounts the events of the rebellion in 1798, where the Irish patriots struggled for their independence against the British oppressors. The song highlights the victory of the patriots who gathered in Killala, County Mayo, and routed the British redcoats out of old Castlebar. The lyrics also pay tribute to the brave and gallant men of France, led by Bold Humbert, who arrived in Ireland to support the rebellion and offer hope to the drooping Irish patriots.
The song The Men of the West is a moving tribute to the Irish patriots who fought for their country's independence. The night when the ship arrived in Killala Bay and the hills were glowing with glory, as the patriots gathered to fight the oppressors, is a powerful image of the unquenched spirit of the Irish people. The song speaks of the significant role played by the men of the West in the rebellion, and how they never bent to the foe. The Men of the West is an ode to the indomitable spirit of the Irish people who fought for their independence and is a stirring reminder of their sacrifice and courage.
Line by Line Meaning
When you honor in song and in story
The names of the patriot men,
Whose valor has covered with glory
Full many a mountain and glen,
Don't forget to also honor the brave men who fought for Ireland but are not as well-known, yet their courage was just as great in fighting for freedom in the mountains and valleys.
Forget not the boys of the heather
Who rallied their bravest and best
When Ireland was broken in Wexford
And looked for revenge to the West.
Remember the courageous boys from the country who came together to fight their hardest for Ireland when it was weak and wounded in Wexford, looking to the West for support.
I give you the gallant old West, boys,
Where rallied our bravest and best
When Ireland lay broken and bleeding;
Hurrah for the men of the West!
Here's to the heroic and gallant men of the West who bravely fought for a bleeding and wounded Ireland, and provided support to help heal and stand strong once again.
The hilltops with glory were glowing
'Twas the eve of a bright harvest day,
When the ship we'd been wearily waiting
Sailed into Killala's broad bay.
On a beautiful harvest eve, the exact ship that we had been eagerly anticipating finally arrived at Killala's bay, bringing hope and strength to our cause.
And over the hills went the slogan
To awaken in every breast
The fire that has never been quenched, boys,
Among the true hearts of the West.
The slogan spread across the hills, igniting a passion in every heart that has never been extinguished, among the loyal and brave people of the West.
Killala was ours ere the midnight,
And high over Ballina town
Our banners in triumph were waving
Before the next sun had gone down.
We successfully captured Killala before midnight, and proudly waved our banners in triumph over Ballina before the sunset of the next day.
We gathered to speed the good work, boys
The true men from near and afar;
And history can tell how we routed
The redcoats through old Castlebar.
Good and true men gathered from all around to assist the cause, and history recounts how we successfully defeated the redcoats in old Castlebar.
And pledge me the stout sons of France, boys,
Bold Humbert and all his brave men,
Whose tramp, like the trumpet of battle,
Brought hope to the drooping again.
We also honor the brave men of France, led by the courageous and bold Humbert, whose arrival and strength brought hope for a brighter future during a time of great struggle.
Since Ireland has caught to her bosom
On many a mountain and hill
The gallants who fell, so they're here, boys,
To cheer us to victory still.
Ireland has mourned and honored the brave men who fell on the mountains and hills, but their memory and spirit remains to give us strength and encouragement towards victory.
Though all the bright dreamings we cherished
Went down in disaster and woe,
The spirit of old is still with us
That never would bend to the foe.
Despite the hardships and failures we experienced, the enduring spirit of the people of Ireland remains unbroken, refusing to yield to any opposing force.
And Connaught is ready whenever
The loud rolling tuck of the drum
Rings out to awaken the echoes
And tell us the morning has come.
The people of Connaught are always ready to heed the call for action when the powerful drumbeat sounds, signaling that the morning of victory has arrived.
Lyrics © THE ROYALTY NETWORK INC.
Written by: LIAM CLANCY, PAT CLANCY, TOM CLANCY, TOMMY MAKEM
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
harsishava
Now this is Tommy Makem and the Clancy Brothers!
TomRooney
by William Rooney "and he spoke in Irish"