Irish Rovers, The
The Irish Rovers is a group of Irish musicians that originated in Toronto, Canada. Formed in 1963 and named after the traditional song "The Irish Rover" they are best known for their international television series, contributing to the popularization of Irish Music in North America, and for the songs "The Unicorn", "Drunken Sailor", "Wasn't That a Party", "The Orange and the Green", "Whiskey on a Sunday", "Lily the Pink", "Finnegan's Wake" and "The Black Velvet Band". The primary voices heard in the group's early songs were Will Millar (tenor), Jimmy Ferguson (baritone), George Millar and Joe Millar, and in the last twenty years, also John Reynolds and Ian Millar. Wilcil McDowell's accordion has been a signature sound of the band throughout their more than fifty years. Founding member George Millar and his cousin Ian are both from Ballymena, Davey Walker from Armagh, Sean O'Driscoll from Cork, Gerry O'Connor from Dundalk, with Morris Crum from Carnlough and percussionist Fred Graham from Belfast. Flute and whistle player Geoffrey Kelly was born in Dumfries, Scotland. In the 1980s, the group briefly renamed itself The Rovers. During this period, their "Wasn't That a Party" led to crossover success in the country rock genre. The Irish Rovers have represented Canada at five World Expos, and in 2018 were honoured as one of Ireland's greatest exports at Dublin, Ireland's EPIC The Irish Emigration Museum. In 2023, they sang their 50th Anniversary, which featured a two-disc CD. |
Birth and Death Data: Born Founded 1963
Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1959 - 1971
Roles Represented in DAHR: Musical group
= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.
Recordings (Results 51-75 of 79 records)
Company | Matrix No. | Size | First Recording Date | Title | Primary Performer | Description | Role | Audio |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Decca | L 14939 | 5/28/1968 | Does your chewing gum lose its flavor on the bedpost over night? | Irish Rovers, The | Musical group | |||
Decca | L 14940 | 5/28/1968 | Goodnight Irene | Irish Rovers, The | Musical group | |||
Decca | L 14941 | 5/28/1968 | The shores of America | Irish Rovers, The | Musical group | |||
Decca | L 14942 | 5/28/1968 | Rovers fancy | Irish Rovers, The | Musical group | |||
Decca | L 14943 | 5/28/1968 | Shamrock shore | Irish Rovers, The | Musical group | |||
Decca | L 14944 | 5/28/1968 | Up among the heather | Irish Rovers, The | Musical group | |||
Decca | L 14986 | 8/9/1968 | Oh you Mucky kid | Irish Rovers, The | Musical group | |||
Decca | L 14987 | 8/9/1968 | The Rovers Street song medley | Irish Rovers, The | Musical group | |||
Decca | L 15031 | 11/5/1968 | The minstrel of Cranberry Lane | Irish Rovers, The | Musical group | |||
Decca | L 15032 | 11/5/1968 | Mrs. Crandall's boardinghouse | Irish Rovers, The | Musical group | |||
Decca | L 15033 | 11/5/1968 | The stolen child | Irish Rovers, The | Musical group | |||
Decca | L 15034 | 11/5/1968 | Pennywhistle peddlers | Irish Rovers, The | Musical group | |||
Decca | L 15035 | 11/5/1968 | Pigs can't fly | Irish Rovers, The | Musical group | |||
Decca | L 15165 | 5/1/1969 | Orange nickelodeon | Irish Rovers, The | Musical group | |||
Decca | L 15166 | 5/19/1969 | Peter Knight | Irish Rovers, The | Musical group | |||
Decca | L 15199 | 5/1/1969 | Fifi O'Toole | Irish Rovers, The | Musical group | |||
Decca | L 15200 | 5/1/1969 | Make believe days | Irish Rovers, The | Musical group | |||
Decca | L 15201 | 5/2/1969 | Sullivan's John | Irish Rovers, The | Musical group | |||
Decca | L 15202 | 5/2/1969 | Did she mention my name? | Irish Rovers, The | Musical group | |||
Decca | L 15265 | 7/29/1969 | Shanksbridge | Irish Rovers, The | Musical group | |||
Decca | L 15266 | 7/29/1969 | The life of the Rover | Irish Rovers, The | Musical group | |||
Decca | L 15267 | 7/29/1969 | King of the fairies | Irish Rovers, The | Musical group | |||
Decca | L 15268 | 7/29/1969 | Pleasant and delightful | Irish Rovers, The | Musical group | |||
Decca | L 15269 | 7/29/1969 | Banks of Newfoundland | Irish Rovers, The | Musical group | |||
Decca | L 15270 | 7/29/1969 | Farewell to Nova Scotia | Irish Rovers, The | Musical group |
Citation
Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Irish Rovers, The," accessed November 23, 2024, https://adpprod2.library.ucsb.edu/names/322571.
Irish Rovers, The. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved November 23, 2024, from https://adpprod2.library.ucsb.edu/names/322571.
"Irish Rovers, The." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 23 November 2024.
DAHR Persistent Identifier
External Sources
Wikipedia: The Irish Rovers
Discogs: Irish Rovers, The
Apple Music: Irish Rovers, The
IMDb: Irish Rovers, The
Linked Open Data Sources
LCNAR: Irish Rovers (Musical group) - http://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n80159756
Wikidata: The Irish Rovers - http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q2119325
VIAF: http://viaf.org/viaf/128617086
MusicBrainz: The Irish Rovers - https://musicbrainz.org/artist/500d2b10-b0fb-4615-a1a6-fa226a620d32
ISNI: 0000 0001 1892 0276 - http://www.isni.org/isni/0000000118920276
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