Tommy Makem

Folk singer Tommy Makem combined storytelling, musicianship, vocal delivery, and acting skills in his energetic stage presentations, the result of more than five decades immersed in folk music. A standard concert mixed traditional and modern Irish songs played on banjo and tin whistle, accompanied by historical commentary on each number.

Born and raised in Keady, County Armagh, Ireland, Makem received much of his musical grounding from his mother, Sarah Makem, a legendary folk singer and ethnomusicologist before the term existed. The material he absorbed from her formed the basis for his later work with the Clancy Brothers and his duo performances with Liam Clancy.

As a young man intent on an acting career, Makem relocated to New York in the mid-'50s. He began singing professionally in 1956 after being invited to perform at Greenwich Village's Circle in the Square Theater; the thirty dollars he earned for several folk songs convinced him to continue. That same year he started associating with Pete Seeger and the other members of the Weavers after first seeing them play.

During the late '50s he joined Tom, Liam, and Paddy (Patrick) Clancy to create the Clancy Brothers with Tommy Makem. The ensemble made its professional debut at the Circle in the Square Theater and was signed to Columbia Records in 1961 by talent scout John Hammond. Folk music's widespread popularity at the time placed Makem on festival bills alongside Seeger, Bob Dylan, and other leading figures of the acoustic movement. At the 1961 Newport Folk Festival, Makem and Joan Baez were selected as the two most promising newcomers to the American folk scene. After sell-out engagements at Carnegie Hall in the early '60s, the Clancy Brothers with Tommy Makem appeared on major television programs throughout the decade, among them Ed Sullivan, The Tonight Show, and Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts. Makem's originals "Four Green Fields," "Gentle Annie," "The Rambles of Spring," "The Winds Are Singing Freedom," and "Farewell to Carlingford" have since become Irish folk standards performed worldwide.

In 1975, after repeatedly encountering his former partner Liam Clancy while touring, the two decided to perform together in Cleveland, OH. Strong audience response led them to continue collaborating for the next twelve years, during which they earned platinum and gold records in Ireland.

Makem's solo albums, separate from his Clancy Brothers releases, appear on his own Red Biddy label. His sons, the Makem Brothers, maintain the Irish folk tradition by operating the label and appearing at festivals throughout the U.S. and Ireland. Solo recordings from the late '60s and early '70s include Tommy Makem and Love Is Lord of All on GWP Records. Later releases from the '90s comprise From the Archives for Shanachie Records and Ancient Pulsing, a collection of his poetry. He participated in numerous television projects that introduced Irish traditional music to broad audiences, chiefly on public television. Based in Dover, NH, Makem continued recording and performing until his death from lung cancer on August 1, 2007.