NEWS
It
is with a sad heart that we must announce the passing of a legend. Tommy Makem
passed away on August 1st. Tommy was more than a musician to us. He was a friend.
The contibutions that he made to the Celtic cause cannot
be accounted. It has been said that we all stand on the shoulders of our ancestors.
Many musicians today can say they have stood on the shoulders of Tommy Makem.
Few people enjoy legend status during their lifetime. Tommy was one of those rare
few. He leaves a world of grieving fans and friends, but let us remember him for what he has given. Remember the stories, the
music, the songs, and the craic. He leaves us a legacy
of accomplishment, as well as fine children, who continue the work of their father.
The Makem brothers, along with the
Tommy Makem
Tommy Makem is the son and heir of the legendary source singer Sarah
Makem. He has also been known for many years as the
modern day Bard of Armagh and is regarded around the
world as "The Godfather" of Irish music.
Armed with his banjo, tinwhistle, poetry, stagecraft and his magnificent baritone
voice, Tommy has been mesmerizing audiences for more than four decades. He has
expanded and reshaped the boundaries of Irish culture, and infused a pride in
that culture in the Irish, and a quest for knowledge of that culture in countless
others.
Together with the Clancy
Brothers, Tommy appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show, the Tonight Show, the Morning
Show, PM East and PM West, and on every major television network show in the
A rare thing is Tommy Makem --- singer, storyteller, actor and bard. All of those
attributes can be enjoyed today, but it is as a songwriter that he will live for
ever. "The Rambles of Spring", "Farewell to Carlingford", "Gentle Annie", "The Winds
Are Singing Freedom" and of course, "Four Green Fields" are all
standards in the repertoire of folksingers around the world in the late twentieth
and early twenty-first centuries.
Asked recently if he had
any plans to retire, he replied "Yes, of course, I retire every night and
in the morning when I awake I realise just how lucky
and privileged I am to be able to continue doing the things I love to do."
A Little Road and a Stone to Roll
Remembering
Tommy Makem
He would have laughed, Tommy would, if he heard all of us calling
him the Bard of Armagh - such a windy title for an old singer from Keady! And
yet, in the oldest and truest sense of the word he was exactly so: musician, singer,
poet, songmaker, storyteller, traveler, historian…
Is difficult now to
remember a time when being Irish in the United States was not a positive thing.
And yet it was true. The Irish (and for that read Catholic Irish) were looked
on with some suspicion -- as being somehow different. When John F. Kennedy ran
for president, there were many who voiced concern that he would owe more allegiance
to the Pope than to the United States. What passed for Irish music was also different
-- sentimental songs that owed more to the music hall than to Ireland, brought
to us by well-known and well-intentioned artists: 'Danny Boy' and 'McNamara's
Band', Bing Crosby and Carmel Quinn
Then, as if out of the mists of Erin,
the Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem appeared. Arrayed in bulky Aran sweaters,
they brought us an entirely new kind of Irish music -- a music from the heart
of Ireland. There were songs that we had never heard before: bold songs, old songs,
songs to make us laugh and cry... and powerful songs of independence, rebellion
and insurrection. When I asked my father and his friends about these, the stories
began to pour out -- stories of Irish history and subjugation, stories of emigration
and stories of loss. Through Tommy's music, I discovered a part of my own history
of which I was completely unaware; and with that knowledge came a pride in my
own culture and identity coupled with an unfailing, lifelong love for our music.
Tommy was always at his best with an audience. When he was performing, the
room was charged with energy and his connection with the audience was powerful
and palpable… and the proof was in the singing. Tommy never failed to coax the
least likely singers into full voice. I remember sitting beside my brother (who,
to the best of my knowledge, never produced a recognizable note of song in his
life) and listening in amazement as he belted out the chorus to "Waltzing
with Bears". Every concert was an everlasting gift to his audience, to be
treasured and remembered always.
Throughout his long career, Tommy's music
was always evolving - reflecting a changing Ireland and a changing Keady. But
throughout his life, there was always the unwavering devotion to song and story,
and the magical Makem way of mixing the lighthearted and the profound into an
experience to be shared on a deep and personal level.
And now the Bard
is gone... but as with all great Bards he remains. The legacy of his music is
now in the capable hands of his sons. His songs are so entwined with the Irish
repertoire that most people think they are traditional. His words have become
the anthem and inspiration for freedom-loving people all over the world. And if
you listen closely, you will hear his gentle mark all across the incredible span
and diversity of Irish and Celtic music today, and for generations to come.
And for myself, I know exactly where to find Tommy Makem: having a nice, easy
walk somewhere in the hills and fields of his beloved Keady -- singing a song
and rolling a stone along the old boreen.
Slán abhaile Tommy! You
will be remembered and loved always…
Seán O'Meara
Music
in the Glen
WWOZ 90.7FM New Orleans
August, 2007