Rory Gallagher
 

 

 

[Home]
[Up]
[History]
[Pictures]
[Somodi Family]
[Gormanston]
[Links]
[Search]

 

Rory Gallagher the Celtic Blues Master was a gentle genius.

Tributes:

The Rory Gallagher Tribute Stratocaster: http://www.stratcollector.com/newsdesk/archives/000248.html

 

Hammersmith Tribute & Pictures - November 2003

Tribute: Sunday Times - May 17, 1998 - by Michael Ross with additional reporting by Mick Heaney

The day Rory broke a string (or six)

Win a Rory Gallagher custom shop Fender Strat replica

 

Rory Gallagher 

Tribute by Richardt Skelly

   
For a career that was cut short by illness and a premature death, guitarist, singer and songwriter Rory Gallagher sure accomplished a lot in the blues music world. Although Gallagher didn't tour the U.S. nearly enough, spending most of his time in Europe, he was known for his no-holds-barred, marathon live shows at clubs and theaters around the United States.
Gallagher was born in Ballyshannon, County Donegal, Irish Republic on March 2, 1949. He passed away from complications owing to liver transplant surgery on June 14, 1995, at age 46. Shortly after his birth, his family moved to Cork City in the south, and at age nine, he became fascinated with American blues and folk singers he heard on the radio. An avid record collector, he had a wide range of influences including Leadbelly, Buddy Guy, Freddie King, Albert King, Muddy Waters and John Lee Hooker. Gallagher would always try to mix some simple country blues songs onto his recordings.  
Gallagher began his recording career after moving to London, when he formed a trio called Taste. The group's self-titled debut album was released in 1969 in England and later picked up for U.S. distribution by Atco/Atlantic. Between 1969 and 1971, with producer Tony Colton behind the board, Gallagher recorded three albums with the group before they split up. Gallagher began performing under his own name in 1971, after recording his 1970 debut, Rory Gallagher for Polydor Records in the UK. The album was picked up for U.S. distribution by Atlantic Records, and later that year he recorded Deuce, also released by Atlantic in the U.S.
His prolific output continued, as he followed up Deuce with Live in Europe (1972) and Blueprint and Tatoo, both in 1973. Irish Tour 1974, like Live in Europe, did a good job of capturing the excitement of his live shows on tape, and he followed that with Calling Card for Chrysalis in 1976, and Photo Finish and Jinx for the same label in 1978 and 1982. By this point Gallagher had made several world tours, and he took a few years rest from the road. He got back into recording and performing live again with the 1987 release (in the U.K.) of Defender. His last album, Fresh Evidence, was released in 1991 on the Capo/I.R.S. label. Capo was his own record and publishing company that he set up in the hopes of eventually exposing other great blues talents.

 

Some of Gallagher's best work on record wasn't under his own name, it's stuff he recorded with Muddy Waters on The London Sessions (Chess, 1972) and with Albert King on Live (RCA/Utopia). Gallagher made his last U.S. tours in 1985 and 1991, and admitted in interviews that he'd always been a guitarist who fed off the instant reaction and feedback a live audience can provide.

In a 1991 interview, he told this writer: "I try to sit down and write a Rory Gallagher song, which generally happens to be quite bluesy. I try to find different issues, different themes and different topics that haven't been covered before...I've done songs in all the different styles...train blues, drinking blues, economic blues. But I try to find a slightly different angle on all these things. The music can be very traditional, but you can sort of creep into the future with the lyrics."

For a good introduction to Gallagher's unparalleled prowess as a guitarist, singer and songwriter, pick up Irish Tour 1974, Calling Card or Fresh Evidence, all available on compact disc. Richard Skelly

 

Tributes    http://www.roryon.com/trib.html

 

Recorded Music

Year Title Label
2000 Against the Grain [Import Bonus Tracks]
1999 The BBC Sessions
1996 Live in Europe Buddha
1995 Blue Day for the Blues IRS
1992 The Bullfrog Interlude Castle
1988 Defender IRS
1988 Fresh Evidence IRS
1982 Jinx Buddha
1980 Stage Struck Buddha
1970's Story of Rory Gallagher
1979 Top Priority Capitol
1978 Photo-Finish BMG International
1976 Calling Card Buddha
1976 Take It Easy Baby  
1975 Against the Grain Buddha
1975 In the Beginning  
1975 Sinner...and Saint Polydor
1974 Irish Tour '74 Buddha
1974 The Story So Far  
1973 Blueprint Buddha
1973 Tattoo Buddha
1972 Live in Europe/Stage Struck IRS
1971 Deuce Atco
1971 Rory Gallagher  
1994 G. Men Import
1992 Tattoo/Blueprint Castle
1992 Calling Hard (Pts. 1 & 2) Castle
1992 Edged in Blue Demon
1988 Best of Rory Gallagher  
1970's First & Best  
1976 Best Years
1994 Live in Cork  

 

Rory Gallagher Links

TABs

TAB Heaven
Rory Tabs
As The Crow flies

Blues/Rock Music

Electric Blues - blues CD ratings, CD reviews ...
Radio Meppel - the Blues Train
Blues Access: The Distinctive Blues Magazine Online
Artists/Musicians
THE GRIM REAPER
Blues News, Reviews, and Views
The Rockmine Archive
The BLUE List
Blues Index
Blues Links
Irish Music Box
Blues Legends Gallery
SOUTH FLORIDA BLUES NEWS
The Blue Highway
The Blues Foundation
TBH, Blues News
The Blue Highway
Coot`s Complete and Utter 70s Rock Archive

Music Magazines

Guitar Player
Gitarre & Bass (german)
ElectricVillage
Guitar Techiques
THE SONICS WORLD WIDE WEBSITE
Collection of Interviews
COSMIC DEBRIS MUSICIAN`S MAGAZINE
Neill Madden
Musical Web Connections
HOT PRESS Home Page
MDI Magazine
The Irish Times
merican Recordings Home Page
VH-1derland
Yahoo - Business and Economy:Products and Services:Magazines:Music
Dan`s Den
Patrics Musician’s Page
Web Guitar Resoures
Guitar
MusicBase
Goldmine
The 606 Club home Page , Jazz in London

Ireland

Cork Guide Home Page
Cork City, Ireland
Dublin
Dublin Live Music Guide
Music Base News
Irish Musician Support Network
Dublin Blues Home Page
RTE Cork Homepage
IRTC Homepage
Trinity College Dublin - Home Page

Trading

John Murphy - Tape List
Jeff`s Rory Gallagher shows
Thomas Eckstein's Tape List
.. two great new videos available from Rory
Video Trading
Video Trading
LET`S TRADE VIDEOS
 

[Home] [Up] [Led Zepplin] [Thin Lizzy] [Rory Gallagher] [Savoy Brown]