Rockin’ Through the Irish Rye

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When you think about Irish rockers, who comes to mind? Prickly, ginger-haired Van Morrison, in a near-transcendental state, wailing G.L.O.R.I.A? Bono in his wrap-around spaceman shades, righteously pouring out arena anthems with his U2 mates? Sinead O’Connor ripping up a picture of Pope John Paul II on “Saturday Night Live”? Well, there’s more to Ireland’s rock scene than that, boyo. On this St. Paddy’s Day, allow me to share a few of my favorite songs by several Irish artists who are lesser-known to American audiences.

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Miles Davis and Betty Mabry: One Fine Fusion Led to Another

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Jazz great Miles Davis experienced mixed reactions toward his role as a major architect of jazz/rock fusion. It was seen by some as a sellout of a master’s medium to a more “base” art form. Nevertheless, this new genre exploded in the mid-seventies, and is now considered essential music. What you may not know is that Davis’s one-time wife – a relatively unheralded singer/songwriter named Betty Mabry – introduced him to the rock/funk scene, and planted the seeds of fusion in his music. By contributor Mike Canton, host of The Soul Show on WYEP fm.

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Many Shades of Pale

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There have been more than 1,000 cover versions of "A Whiter Shade of Pale," the debut single by British progressive-rock band Procol Harum. The hauntingly beautiful song with its Bach-like melody and trippy lyrics was a perfect soundtrack for the Summer of Love. It hit the #1 one spot on the U.K. charts on June 8, 1967, and remained there for six weeks. In fact, it's one of fewer than 30 singles to have sold over 10 million copies worldwide.

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Sam Cooke: Calling on Cupid

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When you're looking for a last-chance miracle to draw a crush object close to your heart, who do you call upon but Cupid, the god of desire, erotic love, and affection. In 1961, silky-smoky-voiced Sam Cooke penned his soulful plea to the boy with the bow and arrow, asking him to work his magic. Combining Latin rhythms with jazz and R&B, Sam created a perfect pop song. How could Cupid not fulfill his desperate wish? Here's a man who's in distress, in danger of losing all his happiness. For he loves a girl who doesn't know he exists. And it's all up to Cupid to fix. This really hits home, doesn't it? How many of us have pined for someone - a person we probably saw every day at school or at work - who was barely aware of our existence?

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When The Band Pulled Into Nazareth

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In 1968, The Band sang about pulling into Nazareth, "feelin' 'bout half past dead." Robbie Robertson wrote that lyric for The Band's most enduring song, "The Weight," but he wasn't referring to the Holy Land. Rather, he was paying homage to Nazareth, Pennsylvania, home of guitar maker C.F. Martin & Company. Well, maybe it's a holy place, after all - at least to musicians.

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