» Edit Band Information
» Edit Albums
» Add a Review
» Add an Album
» Add News | Rory Gallagher
For a career that was cut short by illness and a premature death, guitarist, singer, and songwriter Rory Gallagher sure accomplished a lotinthe
blues music world. Although Gallagher didn't tour the U.S. nearly enough, spending most of his time in Europe, he was known for hisno-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, 1948. Shortly after his birth, his family moved to CorkCityin the
south, and at age nine he became fascinated with American blues and folk singers he h ...read more
For a career that was cut short by illness and a premature death, guitarist, singer, and songwriter Rory Gallagher sure accomplished a lotinthe
blues music world. Although Gallagher didn't tour the U.S. nearly enough, spending most of his time in Europe, he was known for hisno-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, 1948. Shortly after his birth, his family moved to CorkCityin the
south, and at age nine he became fascinated with American blues and folk singers he heard on the radio. An avid record collector,hehad a wide
range of influences, including Leadbelly, Buddy Guy, Freddie King, Albert King, Muddy Waters, and John Lee Hooker.Gallagherwould always try to
mix some simple country blues songs into his recordings.
Gallagher began his recording career after moving to London, when he formed a trio called Taste. The group's self-titled debut albumwasreleased
in 1969 in England and later picked up for U.S. distribution by Atco/Atlantic. Between 1969 and 1971, with producer TonyColtonbehind the board,
Gallagher recorded three albums with Taste before they split up. Gallagher began performing under his own name in1971,after recording his 1970
debut, Rory Gallagher for Polydor Records in the U.K. The album was picked up for U.S. distribution byAtlanticRecords, 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 Tattoo, both in 1973. Irish Tour 1974,likeLive
in Europe, did a good job of capturing the excitement of his live shows on tape, and he followed that with Calling Card for Chrysalisin1976, and
Photo Finish and Jinx for the same label in 1978 and 1982. By this point Gallagher had made several world tours, and he tooka fewyears rest
from the road. He got back into recording and performing live again with the 1987 release (in the U.K.) of Defender. Hislastalbum, Fresh
Evidence, was released in 1991 on the Capo/I.R.S. label. Capo was his own record and publishing company that he set upinthe 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 LondonSessions(Chess,
1972) and with Albert King on Live (RCA/Utopia). Gallagher made his last U.S. tours in 1985 and 1991, and admitted ininterviewsthat he'd always
been a guitarist who fed off the instant reaction and feedback a live audience can provide. In a 1991 interview, hetold thiswriter: "I try to sit
down and write a Rory Gallagher song, which generally happens to be quite bluesy. I try to find different issues,differentthemes and different
topics that haven't been covered before...I've done songs in all the different styles...train blues, drinkingblues,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 ofcreepinto the future with the lyrics."
Gallagher passed away from complications owing to liver transplant surgery on June 14, 1995, at age 47. « hide |
Similar Bands: Joe Bonamassa, Taste, Eric Johnson, Gary Moore, Humble Pie Contributors: brochenski, rockandmetaljunkie, melomaniac, Nagrarok, rattlehead42147, damnit_hammett, JonG, Voivod, rockandmetaljunkie, omnipanzer, Nagrarok, melomaniac,
|
