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The Chieftains are a Grammy-winning Irish
Ireland

Ireland is the List of islands by area in Europe, and the twentieth-largest island in the world. It lies to the north-west of continental Europe and is surrounded by hundreds of islands and islet....
 musical group founded in 1962, best known for being one of the first bands to make Irish traditional music
Folk music of Ireland

The folk music of Ireland is the generic term for music that has been created in various genres on the entire Ireland, North and South of the Border....
 popular around the world.

The band's name came from the book Death of a Chieftain by Irish author John Montague
John Montague

John Montague may refer to:*John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich , British statesman*John Montague , Irish poet and writer*John Montague , baseball relief pitcher...
. The word chieftain itself derives from the English language translation of the Irish language
Irish language

Irish , also known as Irish Gaelic, is a Goidelic languages of the Indo-European language family, originating in Ireland and historically spoken by the Irish people....
 word taoiseach
Taoiseach

The Taoiseach The Taoiseach is appointed by the President of Ireland upon the nomination of D?il ?ireann , and must, while he remains in office, retain the support of a majority in the D?il....
, meaning a clan chief or leader. Some historians suggest that in ancient Ireland (whence these terms originate), a taoiseach was a minor king.






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The Chieftains are a Grammy-winning Irish
Ireland

Ireland is the List of islands by area in Europe, and the twentieth-largest island in the world. It lies to the north-west of continental Europe and is surrounded by hundreds of islands and islet....
 musical group founded in 1962, best known for being one of the first bands to make Irish traditional music
Folk music of Ireland

The folk music of Ireland is the generic term for music that has been created in various genres on the entire Ireland, North and South of the Border....
 popular around the world.

The band's name came from the book Death of a Chieftain by Irish author John Montague
John Montague

John Montague may refer to:*John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich , British statesman*John Montague , Irish poet and writer*John Montague , baseball relief pitcher...
. The word chieftain itself derives from the English language translation of the Irish language
Irish language

Irish , also known as Irish Gaelic, is a Goidelic languages of the Indo-European language family, originating in Ireland and historically spoken by the Irish people....
 word taoiseach
Taoiseach

The Taoiseach The Taoiseach is appointed by the President of Ireland upon the nomination of D?il ?ireann , and must, while he remains in office, retain the support of a majority in the D?il....
, meaning a clan chief or leader. Some historians suggest that in ancient Ireland (whence these terms originate), a taoiseach was a minor king. Assisted early on by Garech Browne
Garech Browne

The Hon. Garech Domnagh Browne, born 25 June, 1939, is a member of the titled family of Oranmore and Browne in the West of Ireland and is a wealthy patron of Irish arts, notably traditional Irish music....
, they signed with his company Claddagh Records
Claddagh Records

Claddagh Records is a record label which was founded in 1959 in music by Garech Browne and Ivor Browne. It specialises in Irish traditional music and spoken word....
. They needed financial success abroad, and succeeded in this, as within a few years their third album's sleeve note section was printed in three languages.

The band has recorded many albums of instrumental Irish folk music, as well as multiple collaborations with popular musicians of many genres, including Country music
Country music

Country music is a blend of popular American music forms originally found in the Southern United States and the Appalachian Mountains. It has roots in Traditional music, Celtic music, gospel music, and old-time music and evolved rapidly in the 1920s....
, Galician traditional music, Cape Breton
Cape Breton fiddling

Cape Breton fiddling is a lively regional violin style which falls within the Celtic music idiom. Cape Breton Island's fiddle music was brought to North America by Scotland immigrants during the Highland Clearances....
 and Newfoundland
Newfoundland and Labrador

Newfoundland and Labrador is a Provinces and territories of Canada of Canada, on the country's Atlantic Ocean coast in northeastern North America....
 music, and rock and roll
Rock and roll

Rock and roll is a form of music that evolved in the United States in the late 1940s and early 1950s. Its roots lay mainly in rhythm and blues, Country music, folk music, gospel music, and jazz....
. They have performed with Carlos Núñez
Carlos Núñez

Carlos N??ez is a Galician people musician who plays the Galician gaita, the traditional Galician bagpipe.Nu?ez was born in 1971 in the city of Vigo and began playing the bagpipes when he was eight years old....
, Van Morrison
Van Morrison

George Ivan Morrison Order of the British Empire is a Grammy Award-winning singer, songwriter, author, poet and multi-instrumentalist, who has been a professional musician since the late 1950s....
, Siobhán O'Brien, Moya Brennan
Moya Brennan

M?ire N? Bhraon?in, better known as M?ire Brennan or Moya Brennan , is a Grammy Award-nominated Celtic music folk singer, songwriter, harpist and philanthropist....
, Mark Knopfler
Mark Knopfler

Mark Knopfler Order of the British Empire is a British guitarist, singer, songwriter and film score composer.Knopfler is best-known as the lead guitarist, vocalist and songwriter for the British rock band Dire Straits, which he co-founded in 1977 with his brother David Knopfler....
, Loreena McKennitt
Loreena McKennitt

Loreena Isabel Irene McKennitt, Order of Canada, OM, is a Canada singer, composer, harpist and pianist most famous for writing, recording and performing world music with Celtic and Middle Eastern themes....
, Mick Jagger
Mick Jagger

Sir Michael Philip "Mick" Jagger is an England rock musician best known as the lead vocalist of the The Rolling Stones. As well as a songwriter, he is an actor, and record producer and film producer....
, Elvis Costello
Elvis Costello

Elvis Costello is an England musician and singer-songwriter. Costello came to prominence as an early participant in London's Pub rock scene in the mid-1970s, and later became associated with the punk rock and New Wave musical genres, before establishing his own unique voice in the 1980s....
, Roger Daltrey
Roger Daltrey

Roger Harry Daltrey Order of the British Empire is an England singer-songwriter and actor, best known as the founder and lead singer of English rock music band The Who....
, Nanci Griffith
Nanci Griffith

'Nanci Caroline Griffith', is an United States singer, guitarist and songwriter from Austin, Texas.Griffith's career has spanned a variety of musical genres, predominantly country music, folk music, and what she terms "folkabilly." Griffith won a Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Folk Album in 1994 for her recording, Other Voices, Other R...
, Tom Jones
Tom Jones (singer)

Sir Thomas John Woodward Officer of the British Empire , known by his stage name Tom Jones, is a Welsh singer-songwriter, particularly noted for his powerful voice and wide vocal range....
, Sinéad O'Connor
Sinéad O'Connor

Sin?ad Marie Bernadette O'Connor is a Grammy Award-winning Ireland singer-songwriter....
, James Galway
James Galway

Sir James Galway Order of the British Empire is a Northern Ireland–born virtuoso flautist from Belfast, nicknamed "The Man With the Golden Flute"....
, The Corrs
The Corrs

The Corrs are a Celtic music folk rock band from Dundalk, County Louth, Republic of Ireland. The group consists of the Corr siblings: Andrea Corr ; Sharon Corr ; Caroline Corr ; and Jim Corr ....
, Art Garfunkel
Art Garfunkel

Arthur Ira "Art" Garfunkel is an United States singer, poet and actor, best known as half of the Grammy Award winning folk music duo Simon & Garfunkel....
, Sting, Rosanne Cash
Rosanne Cash

Rosanne Cash is an United States singer-songwriter and author. She is the eldest daughter of the late country music singer Johnny Cash and his first wife, Vivian Liberto....
, Jim White
Jim White

Jim White is a Southern American singer-songwriter and guitarist. White's music can be loosely described as alternative country, but veers off in different, sometimes experimental directions with occasional nods to Tom Waits and the literary narratives of Flannery O'Connor, Cormac McCarthy, and Harry Crews....
, Tom Partington, Ziggy Marley
Ziggy Marley

David Nesta "Ziggy" Marley is a four time Grammy Award-winning Jamaican musician and leader of the band Ziggy Marley and the Melody Makers. He is the oldest son of Rita Marley and Bob Marley, the roots reggae singer....
, Lyle Lovett
Lyle Lovett

Lyle Pearce Lovett is an United States singer-songwriter and actor. Active since 1980, he has recorded thirteen albums and released 21 singles to date, including his highest entry, the #10 chart hit on the U.S....
, Jackson Browne
Jackson Browne

Clyde Jackson Browne is an American rock music singer-songwriter and musician. His introspective lyrics made him the poster boy of the Southern California confessional singer-songwriter movement of the late 1960s and early 1970s....
, and numerous Country-western artists. In May 1986 they performed at Self Aid
Self Aid

Self Aid was a benefit concert held in Dublin, Republic of Ireland on 17 May 1986. The concert performances were primarily by Irish musicians, although Elvis Costello and Chris Rea were designated "honorary Irishmen" for the day....
, a benefit concert held in Dublin that focused on the problem of chronic unemployment which was widespread in Ireland at that time. In 1994 they appeared in Roger Daltrey
Roger Daltrey

Roger Harry Daltrey Order of the British Empire is an England singer-songwriter and actor, best known as the founder and lead singer of English rock music band The Who....
's production, album and video of A Celebration: The Music of Pete Townshend and The Who
A Celebration: The Music of Pete Townshend and The Who

A Celebration: The Music of Pete Townshend and The Who, also known as Daltrey Sings Townshend, is a music event and later album documenting a two-night concert at Carnegie Hall in 1994....
.

The group have won six Grammy Award
Grammy Award

The Grammy Awards ?or Grammys?are presented annually by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States for outstanding achievements in the music industry....
s and have been nominated eighteen times. They have also won an Emmy
Emmy Award

The Emmy Award, also known as the 'Emmy', is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards....
 and a Genie
Genie Award

Genie Awards are given out to recognize the best of Canadian cinema by the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television. The awards were originally named the Canadian Film Awards which ran from 1949 to 1979 but in 1980 were renamed The Genie Awards....
 and contributed a couple of tracks, including their highly-praised version of the song Women of Ireland
Women of Ireland

"Women of Ireland", or Mn? na h-?ireann in Irish, is a song composed by Se?n ? Riada. The words are written by Peadar ? Dorn?n. Usually it falls under the category of Irish rebel music....
, to Leonard Rosenman
Leonard Rosenman

Leonard Rosenman was an American Academy Award and Emmy Award winning film, television and concert composer....
's Oscar-winning score for Stanley Kubrick
Stanley Kubrick

Stanley Kubrick was an influential American-British filmmaker, screenwriter, Film producer and photographer. He directed a number of highly acclaimed and often controversial films....
's 1975 film Barry Lyndon
Barry Lyndon

Barry Lyndon is a period film by Stanley Kubrick loosely based on the novel The Luck of Barry Lyndon by William Makepeace Thackeray. It recounts the exploits of unscrupulous 18th century Ireland adventurer Barry Lyndon, particularly his rise and fall in England society....
. In 2002 they were given a Lifetime Achievement Award
BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards

The BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards celebrate outstanding achievement during the previous year within the field of folk music. The awards have been given annually since 2000 by United Kingdom radio station BBC Radio 2....
 by the UK
United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom , the UK or Britain,is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe....
's BBC Radio 2
BBC Radio 2

BBC Radio 2 is one of the BBC's national radio radio station and the List of most-listened-to radio programs in the United Kingdom. Much of its daytime playlist-based programming is best described as Adult contemporary music or Album-orientated rock, although the station is also noted for its specialist broadcasting of other musical genres....
. Two of their singles have been minor hits. Have I Told You Lately
Have I Told You Lately

"Have I Told You Lately" is a hit song written by Northern Ireland singer-songwriter Van Morrison and recorded for his 1989 album Avalon Sunset....
  (credited to The Chieftains with Van Morrison
Van Morrison

George Ivan Morrison Order of the British Empire is a Grammy Award-winning singer, songwriter, author, poet and multi-instrumentalist, who has been a professional musician since the late 1950s....
) reached number 71 in 1995. I Know My Love (credited to The Chieftains featuring The Corrs) reached number 37 in 2002.

The front covers of the first four albums were designed by Edward Delaney
Edward Delaney

Edward Delaney is an Ireland sculpture born in Claremorris in County Mayo in 1930.Edward Delaney attended the National College of Art and Design in Dublin and, supported by the Arts Council, studied casting in Germany....
.

Band members

Paddy Moloney
Paddy Moloney

Paddy Moloney is one of the founders of the Ireland musical group The Chieftains and has played on every one of their albums.He was born in Donnycarney in Dublin....
 is the band's leader, and composes or arranges most of the band's music. While the band's members changed numerous times in the band's early history, the membership solidified in 1979 when Matt Molloy replaced Michael Tubridy
Michael Tubridy

Michael Tubridy is an Republic of Ireland musician.Biography Early life He was born in Kilrush, County Clare Ireland in 1935....
. From then until 2002, members included:

  • Paddy Moloney
    Paddy Moloney

    Paddy Moloney is one of the founders of the Ireland musical group The Chieftains and has played on every one of their albums.He was born in Donnycarney in Dublin....
     - uilleann pipes
    Uilleann pipes

    The uilleann pipes , originally known as the Union pipes, are the characteristic national bagpipe of Ireland. The uilleann pipes bag is inflated by means of a small set of bellows strapped around the waist and the right arm....
    , tin whistle
    Tin whistle

    The tin whistle, also called the tinwhistle, whistle, pennywhistle or Irish whistler, is a simple six-holed woodwind instrument....
    , button accordion
    Accordion

    The accordion is a portable box-shaped musical instrument of the hand-held bellows-driven free reed aerophone family, sometimes referred to as a squeezebox....
    , bodhrán
    Bodhrán

    The bodhr?n is an Ireland frame drum ranging from 25 to 65cm in diameter, with most drums measuring 35 to 45cm . The sides of the drum are 9 to 20cm deep....
  • Matt Molloy
    Matt Molloy

    Matt Molloy is an Ireland musician, from a region known for producing talented flautists. As a child, he began playing the flute early, and won the All-Ireland Flute Championship at only seventeen years old....
     - flute
    Flute

    The flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind family. Unlike other woodwind instruments, a flute is a reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air against an edge....
    , tin whistle
  • Kevin Conneff
    Kevin Conneff

    Kevin Conneff is more familiarly known as the voice and rhythmic heartbeat of the legendary Irish folk group, The Chieftains, through his talents as vocalist and bodhr?n player....
     - bodhrán, vocals
  • Seán Keane
    Seán Keane (fiddler)

    Se?n Keane was born in July 12, 1946 in Dublin. He is a well respected fiddler, but also a fiddle teacher. He was a member of Ceolt?ir? Chualann in the 1960s, before joining The Chieftains in 1968....
     - fiddle
    Fiddle

    The term fiddle refers to a violin; it is a colloquial term for the instrument used by players in all genres, including European classical music....
    , tin whistle

Former members

  • Martin Fay
    Martin Fay

    Martin Fay is an Irish fiddler and Bones player, and a former member of The Chieftains.In 1962 he became one of the founding members of The Chieftains....
     - fiddle, bones
    Bones (instrument)

    The bones are a musical instrument which, at the simplest, consists of a pair of animal bones, or pieces of wood or a similar material. Sections of large rib bones and lower leg bones are the most commonly used true bones, although wooden sticks shaped like the earlier true bones are now more often used....
     (retired in 2002)
  • Derek Bell
    Derek Bell (musician)

    Derek Bell, Order of the British Empire was an Ireland harpist and composer....
     - Irish harp
    Harp

    The 'harp' is a stringed instrument which has the plane of its strings positioned perpendicular to the Sounding board. It is also considered to be a percussion instrument....
    , keyboard instrument
    Keyboard instrument

    A keyboard instrument is any musical instrument played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include various types of organ s as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic musical instrument....
    s, oboe
    Oboe

    The oboe is a double reed musical instrument of the woodwind family. In English prior to 1770, the instrument was called "hautbois", "hoboy", or "French hoboy"....
     (died in 2002 due to complications following minor surgery)
  • David Fallon - bodhrán
  • Ronnie McShane - percussion
    Percussion instrument

    A percussion instrument is any object which produces a sound by being hit with an implement, shaken, rubbed, scraped, or by any other action which sets the object into vibration....
  • Peadar Mercier - bodhrán, bones
  • Seán Potts
    Sean Potts

    Sean Potts is an Irish musician. He was a native of Drimnagh and was born there in 1930. He is best known for his outstanding tin whistle playing and his duty with The Chieftains from 1962 to 1979....
     - tin whistle, bones, bodhrán
  • Michael Tubridy
    Michael Tubridy

    Michael Tubridy is an Republic of Ireland musician.Biography Early life He was born in Kilrush, County Clare Ireland in 1935....
     - flute, concertina
    Concertina

    A concertina is a Free-reed instrument musical instrument, like the various accordions and the harmonica. It has a bellows and buttons typically on both ends of it....
    , tin whistle


Discography

  • The Chieftains 1 (1963)
  • The Chieftains 2 (1969)
  • The Chieftains 3 (1971)
  • The Chieftains 4 (1973)
  • The Chieftains 5
    The Chieftains 5

    Chieftains 5 or The Chieftains 5 is an album by The Chieftains....
     (1975)
  • The Chieftains 6: Bonaparte's Retreat
    The Chieftains 6: Bonaparte's Retreat

    Chieftains 6 or The Chieftains 6: Bonapartes Retreat is an album by The Chieftains. It is the first album to feature singing, and the honoured singer was Dolores Keane....
     (1976)
  • The Chieftains 7
    The Chieftains 7

    Chieftains 7 or The Chieftains 7 is an album by The Chieftains. The first album which featured Kevin Conneff as a full member of the band....
     (1977)
  • The Chieftains Live! (1977)
  • The Chieftains 8
    The Chieftains 8

    The Chieftains 8 is an album by The Chieftains. Originally recorded for Claddagh Records and released in 1978, it was re-released on Columbia Records....
     (1978)
  • The Chieftains 9: Boil the Breakfast Early
    The Chieftains 9: Boil the Breakfast Early

    The Chieftains 9: Boil the Breakfast Early is an Irish folk music album by The Chieftains. This album featured a big change in The Chieftains sound, because two of the founding members, Se?n Potts and Michael Tubridy, left the group....
     (1979)
  • The Chieftains 10: Cotton-Eyed Joe (1981)
  • The Year of the French (1982)
  • The Grey Fox (1982) (soundtrack to The Grey Fox
    The Grey Fox (film)

    The Grey Fox is a 1982 in film Cinema of Canada written by John Hunter and directed by Phillip Borsos. It is based on the true story of Bill Miner, an United States stagecoach robbery who staged Canada's first train robbery on September 10, 1904....
    )
  • Concert Orchestra (1982)
  • The Chieftains in China (1985)
  • Ballad of the Irish Horse
    Ballad of the Irish Horse (album)

    Ballad of the Irish Horse is an album released by the Ireland musical group The Chieftains in 1986. The album serves as the soundtrack for a National Geographic Society Documentary film, The Ballad of the Irish Horse, which documented the history and tradition of horses in Ireland....
     (1986)
  • Celtic Wedding
    Celtic Wedding

    Celtic Wedding is an album of traditional music Breton music performed by the Irish band The Chieftains. The album features guest performances by the Breton people artists, Nolwenn Monjarrret, Bernard Pichard, Alain Guerton and Michel Bertae....
     (1987)
  • In Ireland (1987) (with James Galway
    James Galway

    Sir James Galway Order of the British Empire is a Northern Ireland–born virtuoso flautist from Belfast, nicknamed "The Man With the Golden Flute"....
    )
  • Irish Heartbeat
    Irish Heartbeat

    Irish Heartbeat is an album by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison and traditional music Ireland musical group The Chieftains, released in 1988 The album was recorded at Windmill Lane Studios in Dublin Ireland and reached #18 in the UK album charts....
     (1988) (with Van Morrison]])
  • The Tailor Of Gloucester (1988)
  • A Chieftains Celebration
    A Chieftains Celebration

    A Chieftains Celebration is an album by the Ireland folk music group, The Chieftains. As the title suggests, it is a celebration of their 25th anniversary....
     (1989)
  • Over the Sea To Skye: The Celtic Connection (1990) (with James Galway)
  • The Bells of Dublin
    The Bells of Dublin

    The Bells of Dublin is an album of Christmas songs and traditional music Christmas carols by the Irish band The Chieftains. The album features guest performances by various artists, including Elvis Costello, Jackson Browne, Kate and Anna McGarrigle, Marianne Faithfull, Nanci Griffith, Rickie Lee Jones and the actor Burgess Meredith....
     (1991)
  • Another Country
    Another Country (Chieftains album)

    Another Country is a 1992 album by The Chieftains. It is a collaboration between the Ireland band and many top country music musicians including Ricky Skaggs, Don Williams, Colin James, Emmylou Harris, members from The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Willie Nelson, Chet Atkins and Sam Bush....
     (1992)
  • An Irish Evening
    An Irish Evening

    An Irish Evening: Live at the Grand Opera House, Belfast is an album by The Chieftains. The album is a live recording of a concert in Belfast, Northern Ireland....
     (1992)
  • The Celtic Harp: A Tribute To Edward Bunting (1993) (with The Belfast Harp Orchestra)
  • The Long Black Veil
  • Film Cuts (1996)
  • Santiago (1996)
  • Long Journey Home (1998)
  • Fire in the Kitchen
    Fire in the Kitchen

    Fire in the Kitchen is a compilation album recorded by The Chieftains, in collaboration with an array of Canada folk music musical guests, and released in 1998....
     (1998)
  • Silent Night: A Christmas in Rome (1998)
  • Tears of Stone
    Tears of Stone (album)

    Tears of Stone is an album by The Chieftains, released in 1999. Each track features a different female guest artist or group, with the exception of Jim Corr of the Corrs and Jimmy and John of The Rankin Family....
     (1999)
  • Water From the Well (2000)
  • The Wide World Over (2002)
  • Down the Old Plank Road: The Nashville Sessions (2002)
  • Further Down the Old Plank Road (2003)
  • Live From Dublin: A Tribute To Derek Bell
    Live from Dublin: A Tribute to Derek Bell

    Live From Dublin: A Tribute To Derek Bell is an album by The Chieftains. The album is a live recording of a concert dedicated to Derek Bell , a former member of the band....
     (2005)
  • The Essential Chieftains (2006)


Sound samples


External links