Overview
Overview
The Clancy Brothers were an influential Irish folk music group that developed initially as a part of the American folk music revival.
The Clancy Brothers – Paddy, Tom and Liam – are known best for their work with Tommy Makem, recording almost two dozen albums together as The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem. Makem left in 1969, the first of many changes in the group’s membership. The most notable subsequent member to join was the fourth Clancy brother, Bobby. The group continued in various formations until Paddy Clancy’s death in 1998.
“The Leaving of Liverpool” from their chart-topping album, “In Person at Carnegie Hall” was just one of many maritime-themed songs that the group brought to the public. In 1968 they released an album of sea songs, titled, “Sing of the Sea,” which featured the concertina backup of Louis Killen. In 1971 Killen joined the group as a touring member, playing banjo, concertina and spoons. The association of this group with so many maritime songs is no doubt a contributing factor in the confusion of the musical layman in differentiating between what is a “sea shanty” and an “Irish song”.