In Memory of a Legend:
Tommy Makem - 1932 - 2007
By CATHOLINE BUTLER
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TOMMY MAKEM: [1932-2007] The world of Irish traditional music mourned the passing of 'the Bard of Armagh.' He had a huge impact on how the Irish viewed their own cultural heritage by successfully putting the Irish ballad on the world stage. |
Legendary Irish folk singer Tommy Makem was born on November 4, 1932. He died on August 1, 2007, aged 74, at his home in Dover, New Hampshire after a brave battle with lung cancer.
In Ireland, President, Mary McAleese paid tribute to Makem and said, "He was a superb ambassador for the country, and one of whom we will always be proud."
When I heard that Tommy Makem, who was known as "the Godfather" of Irish music and "the Bard of Armagh," had passed away, it brought back a flood of memories as I recalled the first time that I saw and heard him sing.
At the time our family was living in the Gatineau Hills in Western Quebec and I can recall the night that we were watching the Ed Sullivan Show. Ed Sullivan said, "we have a really big 'shoe' tonight, right here on our stage," that's how he pronounced show. And he announced the Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem from Ireland.
The three Clancy brothers and Tommy Makem bounded out onto the stage wearing what would became their trademark Aran sweaters, and immediately launched into raucous and rousing song.
They sang and played at a furious pace and there and then they changed the way Irish folk music and song was presented. They sang with a passion and gusto that captured the hearts of Irish-America, Canada, Australia and whatever other parts of the world they visited.
We bought all their albums and my children knew all the words by heart. Maura, my daughter, used to listen and play the songs over and over again to learn the words. At that time Maura and Liam were taking Irish dance lessons in Ottawa, which was 40 mile drive every Saturday.
So when we heard that the Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem were coming to the Capital Theatre in Ottawa, we just had to go and see them.
At that time Highway 11, which we travelled to Ottawa, was a challenging 40-mile hour-long journey over roads which twisted and turned as it followed the original path of the settlers down Gatineau River to the city.
After our journey, we arrived at the box office only to learn that the concert was sold out. We pleaded our case about the distance we had travelled and, of course, it helped that Maura and Liam were in their Irish dancing costumes. It was finally agreed to let us in to the standing room only section - which ended up giving us a brilliant view of the stage.
We waited with baited breath for the Clancy's and Tommy Makem to run onto the stage, and when they did, we couldn't believe that we were finally getting to see them live!
The Clancy's and Makem immediately launched into Johnson's Motor Car, followed by Brennan on the Moor, The Wild Colonial Bay, The Jug of Punch, all the favourite songs and finally their parting song, The Parting Glass.
Tommy Makem will be remembered for the many songs he sang, Four Green Fields, Gentle Annie, and The Cobbler, which he performed and sang alone onstage in his rich baritone voice. While singing The Cobbler, he spit on his hand and mimed the cobbler pulling the thread through the shoe.
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A YOUTHFUL Tommy Makem (far right) with The Clancy Brothers in their early days. |
Tommy would reach into his back pocket, take out the tin whistle to play and when he was finished, he would throw it onto the floor behind him, never missing a beat while picking up his banjo to carry on.
No one wanted the concert to end and they were called back for several encores.
During the show Maura and Liam knew all the words to the songs and they sang along doing jigs and reels in the aisle during the concert. At intermission, Harvey Glatt, the promoter who brought the Clancy Brothers and Makem to Ottawa came up to me and said he was really impressed that the children knew all the songs.
He asked if he could take the children backstage to meet the Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem....unfortunately, he didn't ask the mother....so I waited with great anticipation to hear what they would tell me when they came back.
Maura said that Liam Clancy picked her up in his arms and she just gazed adoringly into his eyes, hardly able to believe that she was looking into the eyes of her hero.
The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem had a vigorous and earthy approach that made them the favourites on the emerging folk scene. It was an exciting time for folk music with such names as Judy Collins, Joan Baez, Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell, and Pete Seeger to name a few.
Tommy Makem was born in Keady, County Armagh, the son and heir of the legendary source singer Sarah Makem, who was reputed to have a repertoire of more than 500 songs.
Such a background meant, as Tommy Makem later put it, that he learned to sing before he could talk. Tommy Makem was a rare combination of singer, storyteller, actor and bard.
In 2000, Tommy Makem started the Tommy Makem International Festival of Song in South Armagh. His sons, Shane, Conor and Rory, continue the family tradition and are a popular fixture on the Irish-American folk scene, where they tour as The Makem Brothers.
The Tommy Makem tradition continues....!
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