Music for St. Patrick's Day - Beyond "O, Danny Boy"

If you think that Irish music starts and stops at "O Danny Boy," please think again. There is more out there than just traditional songs, there is Irish pop, rock and folk music.

Try listening to an assortment of artists with The Rough Guide to Irish Folk Music  or Women of the World: Celtic.

For more folk music try Cherish the Ladies and the Chieftains.

If contemporary pop or new age music is your interest, try Celtic Thunder, Clannad or Celtic Women for a try.


And for those who need something louder, try Gaelic Storm, U2,  the Corrs, Thin Lizzy or the the jazzier tones of Van Morrison.

For the traditionalist there is always the CD,
Come Fill your Glass With Us: Irish Songs of Drinking and Blackguarding by the Clancy Brothers.

Celtic music invaded many places, and traveled with it's people. You can feel its influence in Newfoundland and Spain, and well as in Bluegrass and American folk music. And many Irish artists combine all sorts of influences to have their own style. Expand your horizons at the library in the International Music section.

For more of the story and history of music and the Celts, try this book title The Rough Guide to Irish Music by Geoff Wallis or head up to Milwaukee's Irish Fest in August. You will have fun discovering new artists and new songs.

RIP - Mary Allin Travers (1936-2009)

Mary Allin Travers died on September 16, 2009, after a long battle with leukemia. She was an American singer-songwriter and member of the folk group Peter, Paul and Mary, along with Peter Yarrow and Noel "Paul" Stookey. This group was one of the most successful folk-singing groups of the 1960s.

She was born on November 9, 1936, in Louisville, Kentucky and song with The Song Swappers in high school, as a backup for Pete Seeger. Travers was also in the cast of the Broadway-theatre show, The Next President.The group Peter, Paul and Mary was formed in 1961. The group's first album, Peter, Paul and Mary came out in 1962 with their versions of "If I Had a Hammer" and "Lemon Tree." "If I Had a Hammer" won them Grammy's for best folk recording and best performance by a vocal group. It also became an anthem for racial equality. Other albums were Moving and In the Wind.

The group broke up in 1970 and Travers pursued a solo career and recorded five albums: Mary (1970), Morning Glory (1972), All My Choices (1973), Circles (1974) and It's in Everyone of Us.

In 1999, Peter, Paul and Mary were inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame.

Check out the tribute to her and Peter, Paul and Mary in Periodicals Room in the lower level of the library.