Bringing Back Irish Music: 50 Years for The Chieftains

Fan video: shots of Ireland and "O'Sullivan's March" by The Chieftains.

Sometimes reading an encyclopedia isn’t so bad. Here’s the first sentence under the entry “The Chieftains” in Contemporary Musicians:

“In the early 1950’s, Irish music wasn’t even popular in Ireland

Irish folk music was for the old folks; all the hip dudes were learning to play American pop tunes.

But, a young Paddy Maloney started learning to play the old-time stuff, much to the puzzlement of his neighbors

Now, 50 years later, the Chieftains have been in the forefront of a revival and traveled the world, from Texas to China.

They’ve also collaborated with dozens of artists, including Jackson Bowne, Nancy Griffith, Elvis Costello, Rickie Lee Jones, and Burgess Meredith.

I count 22 Chieftains albums on Freegal, all available for free and legal download, from libraries that have access to the service.



I can't resist including some other pictures of Ireland I found on Wikimedia Commons.



Franciscan Friary, Clonmel, County Tipperary, Ireland   image credit 



 Old farm building at Gorticrum Irish.  image credit



Flowers blooming in Ireland in October  image credit



Kilkenny Castle in Ireland  image credit

"The House That Built Me" by Miranda Lambert

The first house that I lived in was a little 8 x 24 trailer, and this song captures the feeling of that little childhood home perfectly.

This meditative tune was originally meant for country singer Blake Shelton (now Miranda Lambert's husband.)

But when Lambert heard the song, she was so touched by it, that Shelton encouraged her to records it.

"The House That Built Me," became Lambert's first number one song on the country charts, and she won a Grammy for it in 2011.

When Lambert sings her slow songs, she reminds me a little of singer Nanci Griffith.


photo credti: Ellen Mackey c 2012

The song is available for a free and legal download from Freegal.

To read more about Miranda Lambert, click here.