During Rory’s career he released 12 studio albums with sales exceeding 30 million copies worldwide. In 1971 he beat out Eric Clapton as Melody Maker International’s Top Musician of the Year. In fact, Clapton has said that Rory was responsible for “getting me back into the blues.” The Rolling Stones once considered hiring him to replace guitarist Mick Taylor, who quit the band in 1974. The only reason he’s not better known in America is because – to quote the name of one of Rory’s famous albums – he went against the grain when it came to self-promotion, studio gimmicks, groupie baiting, and rock star posturing.

Born in Ballyshannon and raised in Cork, Rory was a self-taught guitarist. His parents didn’t own a record player. Like many future musicians growing up in the bland land of U.K. radio, he received his early blues-rock education by listening to R&B greats on that premiere music school of the airways, Radio Luxembourg. He started touring as a young teen with a cheap guitar, hitting the clubs of Ireland and England – even Hamburg, Germany, where The Beatles cut their teeth. He used the money he made from gigging to make payments on a 1961 Sunburst Fender Stratocaster. He worked that guitar so hard during his marathon performances that the alkaline from his sweat stripped the instrument of its paint. That guitar became his trademark.

In 1966 he formed a critically acclaimed power trio called Taste. They released several LPs, played regular gigs at London’s home of the blues, The Marquee Club, and opened for supergroups like Cream and Blind Faith. John Lennon praised the band, telling New Musical Express that Taste was a “bright spot” among the copycat guitar acts of 1969. Rory’s popularity rose during his solo career in the 1970s. He was one of the few artists with the balls to regularly perform in Northern Ireland’s capital of Belfast during the troubled days of street warfare with British troops. A true virtuoso, he influenced guitarists like Queen’s Brian May, U2’s The Edge, and Slash of Guns N’Roses. In fact, Slash has appealed to his fans, via Twitter, urging them to sign an online petition to help get Rory inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

To me, his most endearing quality was his total devotion to his craft and dislike of celebrity. In an era of rock star flamboyance, his stage uniform consisted of simple denim jackets and plaid shirts. He had no interest in hit singles, and stood up to his record label bosses who insisted he release the powerful “Edged in Blue” from his 1976 “Calling Card” LP. Performing was his pure passion. Rory told Rolling Stone magazine in 1972, “It seems a waste to me to work and work for years, really gettin’ your music together; then to make it big, as some people do, and just turn into some sort of personality.”

It’s a pity Rory died so young – at age 47 in 1995 – from an infection (MRSA) following liver transplant surgery. He left behind no wife or children, but lives on through a legion of dedicated fans and followers. In 2010 the people of Ballyshannon unveiled a life-size bronze statue of him. Rory memorials can also be found in Cork and Dublin. And in 2002 his country featured him on a postage stamp. The Irish will always refer to him as “the people’s guitarist.”

Below are some great clips of the beautiful, phenomenal Rory. Click here to sign an online petition to help get him inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

© Dana Spiardi, March 2, 2014

Been in a palace, been in a jail / I just don’t want to be reborn a snail / Just want to spend eternity / On the sunnyside of the street. Those are the words of Shane McGowan, the founder and growling singer of the Celtic folk-punk band The Pogues. They combine electric guitars with traditional instruments like tin whistles, concertinas and hurdy-gurdys to create both original music and punk versions of standard Celtic ballads. The group was formed in London in 1982 as Pogue Mahone — an Anglicized version of “póg mo thóin,” meaning “kiss my arse” in Gaelic.

Their 1987 song “Fairytale of New York,” featuring the late Kirsty MacColl, is the most popular Christmas song in Ireland. I mean, how can you not fall in love with a lad and a lass hurling words of endearment – slut, maggot, scum bag – at each other on the day of Christ’s birth?

McGowan’s mates booted his boozy butt from the band in 1991, and within a few years the entire ensemble dissolved. But many original members, including the frontman, reconciled in 2001 and they’ve been touring ever since. Now, here’s a lively version of one of my favorite Pogues songs. Yes, ol’ Shane was obviously soused during this performance — but then, this is how he USUALLY sounds, with or without his pals, Messrs. Jameson and Guinness. (Click here for the lyrics.)

Irish rockers Thin Lizzy are best remembered in America for their two big ’70s hits, “Jailbreak” and “The Boys are Back in Town.” But they’re considered much more than mere two-hit wonders in their native land. With their powerful double lead guitar harmony sound, they’re revered as the best hard rock band to emerge from Ireland. Formed in Dublin in 1969 by bassist/vocalist Phil Lynott and drummer Brian Downey, Thin Lizzy was unique in two ways: they were the first Irish or English band to feature a bi-racial artist (Lynott) as frontman; and they employed both Catholic and Protestant musicians from both sides of the Irish border during the height of the ethnic/nationalist conflicts of the 1970s. The now deceased Lynott, of Irish/Afro-Guyanese descent, was an inspired singer/songwriter and a published poet. A life-size bronze statue of him stands in Dublin. Here’s Thin Lizzy’s great electric version of the famous traditional Irish ballad “Whiskey in the Jar.” The single reached the #6 spot on the U.K. charts in February 1973.

I never miss a chance to sing the praises of Rory Gallagher, known in Ireland as “The People’s Guitarist.” He was one of the greatest blues-rock musicians of all time and is a national folk hero in his native land. During Rory’s career he released 12 studio albums with sales exceeding 30 million copies worldwide. In 1971 he beat out Eric Clapton as Melody Maker International’s Top Musician of the Year. In fact, Clapton has said that Rory was responsible for “getting me back into the blues.” The Rolling Stones once considered hiring him to replace guitarist Mick Taylor, who quit the band in 1974.

The only reason he’s not better known in America is because – to quote the name of one of Rory’s famous albums – he went against the grain when it came to self-promotion, studio gimmicks, groupie baiting, and rock star posturing. Click here to read my March 2, 2014, tribute to the guitar virtuoso, on what would have been his 66th birthday. Now, be prepared to be blasted out of your seat when Rory kicks into “Bull Frog Blues.”

Okay, I said I wasn’t going to feature any high-profile giants of the Irish music scene in this article. But how can I possibly end this piece without a little gem from Van Morrison? This is the closing number from the Belfast bluesman’s timeless 1970 LP “Moondance.” Van wishes all of you Glad Tidings. And so does yer blogger, on this 2014 St. Paddy’s Day. Erin go Bragh!

© Dana Spiardi, March 17, 2014