Tommy Makem
Encyclopedia
Thomas "Tommy" Makem was an internationally celebrated Irish
folk
musician, artist, poet and storyteller. He was best known as a member of The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem. He played the long-necked 5-string banjo
, guitar
, tin whistle
, and bagpipes
, and sang in a distinctive baritone
. He was sometimes known as "The Bard of Armagh
" (taken from a traditional song of the same name) and "The Godfather of Irish Music".
, County Armagh
(the "Hub of the Universe" as Makem always said), in Northern Ireland
. His mother, Sarah Makem
, was an important source of traditional Irish music, who was visited and recorded by, among others, Diane Guggenheim Hamilton
, Jean Ritchie
, Peter Kennedy and Sean O'Boyle. His father, Peter Makem, was a fiddler who also played the bass drum in a local pipe band named "Oliver Plunkett", after a martyr of the Cromwell age. His brother and sister were folk musicians also. Young Tommy Makem, from the age of 8, was member of the St. Patrick's church choir for 15 years where he sang Gregorian chant and motets. He didn't learn to read music but he made it in his "own way".
He started to work at 14 as a clerk in a garage and later he worked for a while as a barman at Mone's Bar, a local pub and as a local correspondent for The Armagh Observer.
He emigrated to the United States in 1955, carrying his few possessions and a set of bagpipes (from his time in a pipe band). Arriving in Dover, New Hampshire
, he worked at Kidder Press, where in 1956 his hand was accidentally crushed by a press. With his arm in a sling, he left Dover for New York to pursue an acting career.
The Clancys and Makem were signed to Columbia Records
in 1961. The same year, at the Newport Folk Festival
, Makem and Joan Baez
were named the most promising newcomers on the American folk scene. During the 1960s, The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem performed sellout concerts at such venues as Carnegie Hall
, and made television appearances on shows like The Ed Sullivan Show
and The Tonight Show
. The group performed at The White House for President Kennedy. They also played in smaller venues such as Gate of Horn
in Chicago.
Makem left the group in 1969 to pursue a solo career. In 1975, he and Liam Clancy
were both booked to play a folk festival in Cleveland, Ohio
, and were persuaded to do a set together. Thereafter they often performed as Makem and Clancy, recording several albums together. At a concert in 1977, Tommy noticed an audience member having a good time and exclaimed, "What have you been smoking? Good whatever you have, pass it around to the rest of them we'll all get goin'!" He once again went solo in 1988.
In the 1980-90s, Makem was a principal in a well-known Irish music venue in New York City
, "Tommy Makem's Irish Pavilion." This East 57th Street club was a prominent and well-loved performance spot for a wide range of musicians. Among the performers and visitors were Paddy Reilly
, Joe Burke
, and Ronnie Gilbert
. Makem was a regular performer, often solo and often as part of Makem & Clancy, particularly in the late fall and holiday season. The club was also used for warm-up performances in the weeks before the 1984 reunion concert of The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem at Lincoln Center.
In 1997 he wrote a book, Tommy Makem's Secret Ireland, and in 1999 premiered his own one-man theatre show, Invasions and Legacies, in New York. His career includes various other acting, video, composition, and writing credits. He also established the Tommy Makem International Festival of Song in South Armagh
in 2000.
, for 37 years, and had four children - daughter Katie Makem-Boucher, and sons Shane, Conor and Rory. They also had two grandchildren, Molly (Dickerman) Makem and Robert Boucher. Mary died in 2001.
Makem's three sons (who perform as "The Makem Brothers
") and nephew Tom Sweeney continue the family folk music tradition.
on August 1, 2007, following a lengthy battle with lung cancer
. He continued to record and perform until very close to the end. Paying tribute to him after his death, Liam Clancy said, "He was my brother in every way" He is buried next to his wife at New Saint Mary Cemetery in Dover.
", became so well known that they were sometimes described as anonymous folk songs. During the fall of the Iron Curtain, Makem often proudly told the story that his song "The Winds Are Singing Freedom" had become a sort of folk anthem among Eastern Europeans seeing a new future opening before them.
Makem's best-known songs include "Four Green Fields
", "Gentle Annie", "The Rambles of Spring", "The Winds Are Singing Freedom", "The Town of Ballybay", "Winds of the Morning", "Mary Mack", and "Farewell to Carlingford". Even though many people mistakenly believe that Makem wrote "Red is the Rose", it is a traditional Irish folk song.
in 1998, one from University of Limerick in 2001, and one from the University Of Ulster in 2007; as well as the World Folk Music Association's Lifetime Achievement Award in 1999. With the Clancy Brothers he was listed among the top 100 Irish-Americans of the 20th century in 1999.
A bridge over the Cocheco River on Washington Street in Makem's long-time home of Dover, New Hampshire
, was named the Tommy and Mary Makem Memorial Bridge in 2010.
Specific examples follow (solo recordings only).
Following releases all available on Shanachie CD unless noted otherwise
Guest recordings
Posthumous releases
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
folk
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
musician, artist, poet and storyteller. He was best known as a member of The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem. He played the long-necked 5-string banjo
Banjo
In the 1830s Sweeney became the first white man to play the banjo on stage. His version of the instrument replaced the gourd with a drum-like sound box and included four full-length strings alongside a short fifth-string. There is no proof, however, that Sweeney invented either innovation. This new...
, guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
, tin whistle
Tin whistle
The tin whistle, also called the penny whistle, English Flageolet, Scottish penny whistle, Tin Flageolet, Irish whistle and Clarke London Flageolet is a simple six-holed woodwind instrument. It is an end blown fipple flute, putting it in the same category as the recorder, American Indian flute, and...
, and bagpipes
Bagpipes
Bagpipes are a class of musical instrument, aerophones, using enclosed reeds fed from a constant reservoir of air in the form of a bag. Though the Scottish Great Highland Bagpipe and Irish uilleann pipes have the greatest international visibility, bagpipes of many different types come from...
, and sang in a distinctive baritone
Baritone
Baritone is a type of male singing voice that lies between the bass and tenor voices. It is the most common male voice. Originally from the Greek , meaning deep sounding, music for this voice is typically written in the range from the second F below middle C to the F above middle C Baritone (or...
. He was sometimes known as "The Bard of Armagh
The Bard of Armagh
The Bard of Armagh is an Irish ballad. It is often attributed to Patrick Donnelly. He was made Bishop of Dromore in 1697, the same year as the enactment of the Bishops Banishment Act...
" (taken from a traditional song of the same name) and "The Godfather of Irish Music".
Life and work
Makem was born and raised in KeadyKeady
Keady is a town in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. It is situated south of Armagh city and very close to the border with the Republic of Ireland. The town had a population of 2,960 people in the 2001 Census....
, County Armagh
County Armagh
-History:Ancient Armagh was the territory of the Ulaid before the fourth century AD. It was ruled by the Red Branch, whose capital was Emain Macha near Armagh. The site, and subsequently the city, were named after the goddess Macha...
(the "Hub of the Universe" as Makem always said), in Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
. His mother, Sarah Makem
Sarah Makem
Sarah Makem a native of Keady, County Armagh, Northern Ireland, was a traditional Irish singer.She was the wife of fiddler Peter Makem, mother of musicians Tommy Makem and Jack Makem, and grandmother of musicians Shane Makem, Conor Makem and Rory Makem...
, was an important source of traditional Irish music, who was visited and recorded by, among others, Diane Guggenheim Hamilton
Diane Hamilton
Diane Hamilton was the pseudonym of Diane Guggenheim , an American mining heiress, folksong patron and founder of "Tradition Records".-Personal life:...
, Jean Ritchie
Jean Ritchie
Jean Ritchie is an American folk singer, songwriter, and Appalachian dulcimer player.- Out of Kentucky :Abigail and Balis Ritchie of Viper, Kentucky had 14 children, and Jean was the youngest...
, Peter Kennedy and Sean O'Boyle. His father, Peter Makem, was a fiddler who also played the bass drum in a local pipe band named "Oliver Plunkett", after a martyr of the Cromwell age. His brother and sister were folk musicians also. Young Tommy Makem, from the age of 8, was member of the St. Patrick's church choir for 15 years where he sang Gregorian chant and motets. He didn't learn to read music but he made it in his "own way".
He started to work at 14 as a clerk in a garage and later he worked for a while as a barman at Mone's Bar, a local pub and as a local correspondent for The Armagh Observer.
He emigrated to the United States in 1955, carrying his few possessions and a set of bagpipes (from his time in a pipe band). Arriving in Dover, New Hampshire
Dover, New Hampshire
Dover is a city in Strafford County, New Hampshire, in the United States of America. The population was 29,987 at the 2010 census, the largest in the New Hampshire Seacoast region...
, he worked at Kidder Press, where in 1956 his hand was accidentally crushed by a press. With his arm in a sling, he left Dover for New York to pursue an acting career.
The Clancys and Makem were signed to Columbia Records
Columbia Records
Columbia Records is an American record label, owned by Japan's Sony Music Entertainment, operating under the Columbia Music Group with Aware Records. It was founded in 1888, evolving from an earlier enterprise, the American Graphophone Company — successor to the Volta Graphophone Company...
in 1961. The same year, at the Newport Folk Festival
Newport Folk Festival
The Newport Folk Festival is an American annual folk-oriented music festival in Newport, Rhode Island, which began in 1959 as a counterpart to the previously established Newport Jazz Festival...
, Makem and Joan Baez
Joan Baez
Joan Chandos Baez is an American folk singer, songwriter, musician and a prominent activist in the fields of human rights, peace and environmental justice....
were named the most promising newcomers on the American folk scene. During the 1960s, The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem performed sellout concerts at such venues as Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, United States, located at 881 Seventh Avenue, occupying the east stretch of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street and West 57th Street, two blocks south of Central Park....
, and made television appearances on shows like The Ed Sullivan Show
The Ed Sullivan Show
The Ed Sullivan Show is an American TV variety show that originally ran on CBS from Sunday June 20, 1948 to Sunday June 6, 1971, and was hosted by New York entertainment columnist Ed Sullivan....
and The Tonight Show
The Tonight Show
The Tonight Show is an American late-night talk show that has aired on NBC since 1954. It is the longest currently running regularly scheduled entertainment program in the United States, and the third longest-running show on NBC, after Meet the Press and Today.The Tonight Show has been hosted by...
. The group performed at The White House for President Kennedy. They also played in smaller venues such as Gate of Horn
Gate of Horn
For writings, including the Greek myth involving a "Gate of horn", see Gates of horn and ivory.The Gate of Horn was a 100-seatfolk music club, located in the basement of the Rice Hotel on the southeast corner of Chicago Avenue and Dearborn Street, on the near north side of Chicago, Illinois, in the...
in Chicago.
Makem left the group in 1969 to pursue a solo career. In 1975, he and Liam Clancy
Liam Clancy
William "Liam" Clancy was an Irish folk singer and actor from Carrick-on-Suir, County Tipperary. He was the youngest and last surviving member of performing group The Clancy Brothers. The group were regarded as Ireland's first pop stars...
were both booked to play a folk festival in Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state. The city is located in northeastern Ohio on the southern shore of Lake Erie, approximately west of the Pennsylvania border...
, and were persuaded to do a set together. Thereafter they often performed as Makem and Clancy, recording several albums together. At a concert in 1977, Tommy noticed an audience member having a good time and exclaimed, "What have you been smoking? Good whatever you have, pass it around to the rest of them we'll all get goin'!" He once again went solo in 1988.
In the 1980-90s, Makem was a principal in a well-known Irish music venue in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, "Tommy Makem's Irish Pavilion." This East 57th Street club was a prominent and well-loved performance spot for a wide range of musicians. Among the performers and visitors were Paddy Reilly
Paddy Reilly
Patrick 'Paddy' Reilly is an Irish folk singer and guitarist. He is one of Ireland's most famous balladeers and is best known for his renditions of "The Fields of Athenry" and "The Town I Loved So Well"....
, Joe Burke
Joe Burke
Joe Burke is a noted Irish accordion player.Joe Burke was born in Kilnadeema, south of Loughrea in Co Galway. He reportedly began playing at age four. In the fifties he bought an accordion in Waltons of Dublin for £5. He still owns it...
, and Ronnie Gilbert
Ronnie Gilbert
Ronnie Gilbert is an American folk-singer. She is one of the original members of the Weavers with Pete Seeger, Lee Hays, and Fred Hellerman.-Career:...
. Makem was a regular performer, often solo and often as part of Makem & Clancy, particularly in the late fall and holiday season. The club was also used for warm-up performances in the weeks before the 1984 reunion concert of The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem at Lincoln Center.
In 1997 he wrote a book, Tommy Makem's Secret Ireland, and in 1999 premiered his own one-man theatre show, Invasions and Legacies, in New York. His career includes various other acting, video, composition, and writing credits. He also established the Tommy Makem International Festival of Song in South Armagh
County Armagh
-History:Ancient Armagh was the territory of the Ulaid before the fourth century AD. It was ruled by the Red Branch, whose capital was Emain Macha near Armagh. The site, and subsequently the city, were named after the goddess Macha...
in 2000.
Family
Makem was married to Mary Shanahan, a native of ChicagoChicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, for 37 years, and had four children - daughter Katie Makem-Boucher, and sons Shane, Conor and Rory. They also had two grandchildren, Molly (Dickerman) Makem and Robert Boucher. Mary died in 2001.
Makem's three sons (who perform as "The Makem Brothers
The Makem Brothers
The Makem Brothers — Shane Makem, Conor Makem and Rory Makem — are Irish musicians who live in the United States and perform together with two other brothers. They are the three sons of "The Godfather of Irish Music" Tommy Makem, and grandsons of Irish source singer Sarah Makem.-Biography:The...
") and nephew Tom Sweeney continue the family folk music tradition.
Death
Makem died in Dover, New HampshireDover, New Hampshire
Dover is a city in Strafford County, New Hampshire, in the United States of America. The population was 29,987 at the 2010 census, the largest in the New Hampshire Seacoast region...
on August 1, 2007, following a lengthy battle with lung cancer
Lung cancer
Lung cancer is a disease characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissues of the lung. If left untreated, this growth can spread beyond the lung in a process called metastasis into nearby tissue and, eventually, into other parts of the body. Most cancers that start in lung, known as primary...
. He continued to record and perform until very close to the end. Paying tribute to him after his death, Liam Clancy said, "He was my brother in every way" He is buried next to his wife at New Saint Mary Cemetery in Dover.
Compositions
Makem was a prolific composer/songwriter. His performances were always full of his compositions, many of which became standards in the repertoire. Some, notably "Four Green FieldsFour Green Fields
Four Green Fields is a 1967 folk song by Irish musician Tommy Makem, described in the New York Times as a "hallowed Irish leave-us-alone-with-our-beauty ballad." Of Makem's many compositions, it has become the most familiar, and is part of the common repertoire of Irish folk musicians.-Content and...
", became so well known that they were sometimes described as anonymous folk songs. During the fall of the Iron Curtain, Makem often proudly told the story that his song "The Winds Are Singing Freedom" had become a sort of folk anthem among Eastern Europeans seeing a new future opening before them.
Makem's best-known songs include "Four Green Fields
Four Green Fields
Four Green Fields is a 1967 folk song by Irish musician Tommy Makem, described in the New York Times as a "hallowed Irish leave-us-alone-with-our-beauty ballad." Of Makem's many compositions, it has become the most familiar, and is part of the common repertoire of Irish folk musicians.-Content and...
", "Gentle Annie", "The Rambles of Spring", "The Winds Are Singing Freedom", "The Town of Ballybay", "Winds of the Morning", "Mary Mack", and "Farewell to Carlingford". Even though many people mistakenly believe that Makem wrote "Red is the Rose", it is a traditional Irish folk song.
Performance notes
Makem had a gripping stage presence – the result of years of public performance, a charismatic personality, and a bard's voice. An army of friends and fans attended his frequent concerts, many recognizing each other at far-flung venues. Performances frequently included the following familiar elements:- Original Makem compositions; the first set often began with "The Rambles of Spring"
- The standard repertoire of folk and Irish music, both well-known and little-known (but never "Danny Boy", "When Irish Eyes are Smiling", "Toorah Loorah Looral", or other forbidden requests)
- Oddball songs, such as "Bridie Murphy and the Kamikaze Pilot" (Colm GallagherColm GallagherColm Gallagher was an Irish Fianna Fáil Party politician who was elected twice as TD for Dublin North Central, in 1951 and in 1957....
) or "William Bloat" (Raymond Calvert) - Poetic recitations, often as introductions to songs; a frequent source was William Butler YeatsWilliam Butler YeatsWilliam Butler Yeats was an Irish poet and playwright, and one of the foremost figures of 20th century literature. A pillar of both the Irish and British literary establishments, in his later years he served as an Irish Senator for two terms...
. (Thus "Gentle Annie" usually began with "When You Are Old and Grey", and Four Green FieldsFour Green FieldsFour Green Fields is a 1967 folk song by Irish musician Tommy Makem, described in the New York Times as a "hallowed Irish leave-us-alone-with-our-beauty ballad." Of Makem's many compositions, it has become the most familiar, and is part of the common repertoire of Irish folk musicians.-Content and...
usually began with Seamus HeaneySeamus HeaneySeamus Heaney is an Irish poet, writer and lecturer. He lives in Dublin. Heaney has received the Nobel Prize in Literature , the Golden Wreath of Poetry , T. S. Eliot Prize and two Whitbread prizes...
's "Requiem for the Croppies".) - Jokes, often silly, made funnier through repetition:
-
- "If your nose is running and your feet smell, you're upside down."
- Rarely: monologues, such as Marriott EdgarMarriott EdgarMarriott Edgar , born George Marriot Edgar in Kirkcudbright, Scotland, was a poet, scriptwriter and comedian best known for writing many of the monologues performed by Stanley Holloway, particularly the 'Albert' series....
's "The Lion and Albert" - Exhortations, nearly always successful, for the audience to join in the singing
- Rarely: monologues, such as Marriott Edgar
- "If your nose is running and your feet smell, you're upside down."
Awards and honours
He received many awards and honours, including three honorary doctorates: one from the University of New HampshireUniversity of New Hampshire
The University of New Hampshire is a public university in the University System of New Hampshire , United States. The main campus is in Durham, New Hampshire. An additional campus is located in Manchester. With over 15,000 students, UNH is the largest university in New Hampshire. The university is...
in 1998, one from University of Limerick in 2001, and one from the University Of Ulster in 2007; as well as the World Folk Music Association's Lifetime Achievement Award in 1999. With the Clancy Brothers he was listed among the top 100 Irish-Americans of the 20th century in 1999.
A bridge over the Cocheco River on Washington Street in Makem's long-time home of Dover, New Hampshire
Dover, New Hampshire
Dover is a city in Strafford County, New Hampshire, in the United States of America. The population was 29,987 at the 2010 census, the largest in the New Hampshire Seacoast region...
, was named the Tommy and Mary Makem Memorial Bridge in 2010.
Discography
Makem made dozens of recordings.Specific examples follow (solo recordings only).
- Songs of Tommy Makem (1961) - Tradition (also on CD)
- Tommy Makem Sings Tommy Makem (1968) - Columbia
- In the Dark Green Wood (1969) - Columbia
- The Bard of Armagh (1970) - GWP
- Love Is Lord of All (1971) - GWP
- Listen...for the rafters are ringing (1972) - Bard (US) / Columbia (overseas)
- Recorded Live - A Roomfull of Song (1973) - Bard/Columbia (as above)
- In the Dark Green Woods (1974) - Polydor (Ireland Only)
- Ever the Winds (1975) - Polydor (Ireland Only)
- 4 Green Fields (1975) - HAWK
- Lord of the Dance (exclusive live version) / Winds are Singing Freedom - HAWK
Following releases all available on Shanachie CD unless noted otherwise
- Lonesome Waters (1985)
- Rolling Home (1989)
- Songbag (1990) - reissued on 'Red Biddy'
- Live at the Irish Pavilion (1993)
- Christmas (1995)
- Ancient Pulsing Poetry With Music (1996) - Red Biddy
- The Song Tradition (1998)
Guest recordings
- The Lark in the MorningThe Lark in the Morning (album)The Lark in the Morning is an album by Liam Clancy, Tommy Makem, family and friends.It has the distinction of being the first album-length recording of Irish music to be recorded in Ireland. It was recorded by Diane Hamilton and Catherine Wright on portable equipment, between August and December...
by Liam Clancy, Tommy Makem, Family and Friends (1955) - Tradition (also on CD) - Folk Festival at Newport, Volume 1 (1959) - Vanguard
- The Newport Folk Festival, Volume 1 (1960) - Vanguard
- Songs for a Better Tomorrow (1963) - UAW
- Songs of the Working People (1988) - Flying Fish
- The Makem Brothers - On the Rocks (1995) - Red Biddy
- Where Have All The Flowers Gone?: The Songs of Pete Seeger (1998) - Appleseed
- Schooner Fare - A 20th Anniversary Party (1999) - Outer Green
- Barra MacNeils - The Christmas Album (1999) - label unknown
- Cherish the Ladies - The Girls Won't Leave the Boys Alone (2000) - Windham Hill
- Roger McGuinn - Treasures from the Folk DenFolk DenFolk Den is a folk music website founded in 1995 by Roger McGuinn, former front man of The Byrds. Hosted at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill's ibiblio, the site is intended to preserve and promote folk music and offers a new folk song on a monthly basis...
(2001) - Appleseed - 25th Annual Sea Music Festival (2004) - Independent release
- Barra MacNeils - The Christmas Album II (2006) - unknown label
Posthumous releases
- Legendary Tommy Makem Collection (2007) - Emerald
Videos
- The Story of the Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem (1984) - Shanachie
- Reunion Concert: Belfast (1984) - Shanachie
- Pete Seeger's Rainbow Quest (1965) (circa 1985) - Central Sun / reissued on Shanachie
- Tommy Makem and Friends in Concert (1992) - WMHT/PBS
- Bob Dylan: The 30th Anniversary Concert Celebration (1993) - Sony
- Tommy Makem in Concert With Pete Seeger and the Egan-Ivers Band (1994) - WMHT/PBS
- Tommy Makem in Concert With Odetta and The Barra MacNeils (1994) - WMHT/PBS
- Tommy Makem's Ireland (1994) - WMHT/PBS
- A Christmas Tradition (1995) - WMHT/PBS
- The Road Taken With Tommy Makem (2001) - WMHT/PBS
- The Makem and Spain Brothers In Concert (2006) - WMHT/PBS
- The Best of 'Hootenanny (2007) - Shout! (Clancy Brothers featured in 3 performances)
- Come West Along the Road (2007) - RTÉ (completion video, featured in one performance)