| | Volume One
1. The Unicorn
2. Whiskey On A Sunday
3. Coulter s Candy
4. Donald, Where s Your Trousers
5. I Don t Mind If I Do
6. The Irish Rover
7. Many Young Men Of Twenty
8. Mick McGuire
9. On The Shores Of America
10. Fifi O Toole
11. Sullivan s John
12. Years May Come, Years May Go
Volume Two
1. Come In
2. Goodnight Irene
3. Goodbye Mrs. Durkin
4. Liverpool Lou
5. Pat O Mullingar
6. Rhymes And Reasons
7. The Wind That Shakes The Corn
8. Does Your Chewing Gum Lose It s Flavor On The Bedpost Overnight
9. Lily The Pink
10. The Minstrel Of Cranberry Lane
11. Mrs. Crandalls Boardinghouse
12. The Life Of A Rover
Volume Three
1. Penny Whistle Peddler
2. Pigs Can t Fly
3. Stop, Look, Listen
4. Did She Mention My Name
5. Farewell To Nova Scotia
6. My Old Man s A Dustman (Live)
7. Nancy Whiskey (Live)
8. The Rattling Bog (Live)
9. The Orange And The Green
10. Black Velvet Band
11. Bonnie Kellswater
12. Bridget Flynn |
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Irish Rovers
The Irish Rovers
36 ALL TIME GREATEST HITS
3 CD ROVERS
3 CD BOX SET
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While the different facets of the folk music scene were gathering steam as the 60s bloomed, two Irish immigrants to Canada met and cemented their friendship in the music of the Northern Ireland they had recently left. That was the beginning in 1963 of the Irish Rovers, who, in the ensuing 37 years, have continued to bring the joy and fun of the music to a large audience around the world. It began in 1963 when George Millar and Jimmy Ferguson met in Toronto at an Irish party. They ended up singing for hours, decided they would shoot for a career and performed as a duo until Joe Millar, George s cousin, came over in 1964. Joe added to the group s repertoire his talent on button accordion and harmonica and also added more traditional ballads. Working their way to Calgary, they added George s brother, Will, and now the four Rovers were ready to attack the United States. In the mid- 60s, one of the most popular folk clubs in the United States was the Purple Onion in San Francisco. The Irish Rovers took a gig there and stayed an unbelievable 22 weeks of sold-out shows, bringing them plenty of positive press and then a recording contract with Decca. After a pair of albums that saw increasing interest, they had a hit single in what became their most identifiable song, "The Unicorn". The Rovers then added a fifth member, Wilcil McDowell, and their fortunes continued to go forward, hosting in the 70s and early 80s a weekly television show in Canada and later a Global Network show with Ulster Television in Ireland. The quintet again broke into the pop charts in the United States in 1981 when they took "Wasn t That a Party" into the Top 40. The tune, another one connected forever to the group, was written by folk-singer Tom Paxton, who was on hand for one of the group s after-show parties. They also made a seasonal song in 1982 that still gets play, "Grandma Got Run Over By a Reindeer". The year 2000 sees the group still working. Only three of the originals are there, since Will retired in 1995 and Jimmy Ferguson died in 1997. Kevin McKeown, John Reynolds and Wallace Hood round out the Rovers and Sean O Driscoll plays on recordings and occasionally on tour.
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