A Letter from
Robbie O'Connell
Robbie O'Connell was born in Waterford, Ireland and grew up in Carrick-on-Suir, County Tipperary. His mother is a member of one of Ireland's best-known singing families. In 1977, Robbie joined with his uncles, the Clancy Brothers, with whom he has recorded 3 albums, and two years later he moved to Franklin, Massachusetts. With the release in 1982 of his first solo album, Robbie emerged as an artist of major stature, and today is known for his moving and intelligent original lyrics as well as for his interpretation of traditional songs.
When we asked him about the music and traditions of his childhood, he had this to say:
As regards the first song I learned, it was most likely "The Frog in the Well," which was an Irish version of "Froggie went a Courtin'", which my mother used to sing all the time when I was probably about three or four. My mother was always singing as she was doing her housework. It could be any kind of song from traditional to the popular hits of the day. Everything seemed to remind her of a song and she would immediately sing snatches of it. I think I inherited this trait because I now drive my kids crazy doing the same thing. My youngest son Owen, who is also a musician and singer, to his great surprise, recently caught himself doing the same thing and said, "Oh No! Oh my God! I've got the singing gene."In 1958 my mother, who was a sister of the Clancy Brothers, opened a guest house in Carrick-on-Suir, the hometown of the Clancy family, and in the 1960's when her brothers became popular, there was a steady stream of singers and musicians coming to stay at our house. There was many a night, as an eleven or twelve year old, when I fell asleep at one of the spontaneous sessions that frequently happened and woke up in bed in the morning with no idea how I had gotten there.
Diane Hamilton recorded the children's songs album, "So Early in the Morning," in our front room and although I was part of the rehearsals, and I was in the cover photograph, I was not on the album. On the day of the actual recording, I climbed up a tree and would not come down. Very ironic since I now make my living as a singer.
My real interest in songs flourished when I was a teenager and the folk revival or the ballad boom as it was known in Ireland was in full swing. At first, I learned mostly American songs like "I ride an Old Paint" and "Jesse James." But my sister Alice and I began to sing together as an opening act at our regular weekend folk sessions at the guest house and quickly picked up dozens of Irish and English songs from the other singers. It did not matter to us where a song came from and if the melody and the words were good, and it was not a pop song, we learned it.
I think today it is much harder for kids to have that kind of personal experience with other singers, unless they go to a music camp. I thought, at the time, that my house was perfectly normal and it was many years before I realised that experiences like mine were rare. Most kids today learn from CDs and TAB on the internet, which is great for them in many ways, but it is not as rich an experience as I was fortunate enough to have.
I sang a lot to my kids when they were younger and we had fun writing some songs together, one of which, "Dinosaur Egg," still gets sung for very young relatives. I recorded one of the children's songs that I wrote on my first solo album, "Close to the Bone." It was called "Bobby's Britches" and was a truthful retelling of a story that had been passed down in the family. It was a somewhat embarrassing occurance from the younger days of my uncle Bobby Clancy.
I hope some of this is useful to you. It was kind of fun remembering it. All the best,
Robbie
To learn more about the music and art of Robbie O'Connell, visit his Website.
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