Through the 1950s and 1960s
popular music in Ireland was represented by the showbands, whose fusion of
genres as rock-and-roll, country, etc., filled all the dance halls. Even in the
1970s but only some of them like Joe
Dolan1, continued being on the crest of the wave. I chose these
two videos because they are very different one from each other but
representative of his style:
From the 1960s ballad
singers and groups prospered because of the growing interest in traditional
Irish music and the general proliferation of folk singers in occidental
society. The Chieftains traveled widely with their
instrument-based renditions of traditional music, and The Dubliners enjoyed
similar success with a more ballad-based approach. Christy Moore2, played irreverent, socially aware narratives,
and was one of the preeminent musicians who began playing traditional music
before popular music. The group Enya3 was also very
popular.
In the late 1960s the
arrival of Van Morrison4 with the album “Astral Weeks” recognized as a
classic among classics, Rory Gallagher5, and Phil Lynnott6 place
Ireland on the top of the rock scene. U27 is
known all around the world as one of the bests rock bands from the 1980s. (I
will dedicate a new entry for them to see it in detail). Shane MacGowan, is the
singer of the group The Pogues8, a London-Irish
rock band with celtic influences from The Horslips to The Corrs and also cultivating genres like punk
or ballad. In the 1990s there were stage shows (Riverdance; Lord of the Dance), but also boybands such as Boyzone9 and Westlife10, with a great success among children and
teenagers.
Note: As in my previous entries I have already
mentioned some of the bands of this very entry, I am not posting videos for the
following groups: The
Chieftains, The Dubliners, The Horslips, The Corrs, Riverdance, Lord of the
Dance.
Source: Encyclopedia
of Irish History and Culture, vol. 1./ James S. Donnelly, Jr. (editor in
chief) Macmillan Reference USA. Thomson Gale.
Wow Alba!I love the way you are showing us the linkage between Ireland and music,it's undoubtedly the best way to know the culture of the country .
ReplyDeleteI'm sure everybody will enjoy with such prodigious list of bands...there's always time for music!
I personally love Enya songs, for instance 'The Celts' which is sung in Irish Gaelic.
Great post!:)
Thank you Marta! :) I also think that knowing and learning about music and culture in general is one of the best ways to define what Ireland is. I have enjoyed working on this field and I have learnt many things that I didn't know previously.
ReplyDeleteEnjoy them! :)