The man whom Bob Dylan called “the best ballad singer I’ve ever heard,” Liam Clancy, has passed away in a Cork, Ireland hospital at the age of 74, reports the AP.
Clancy was the last surviving member of the Irish folk group the Clancy Brothers, who played an integral role in both spreading traditional Irish music across the globe and inspiring the 1960s folk revival. He and his brothers Bobby, Tom and Paddy (that’s Patrick, if you don’t know your Irish nicknames), emigrated to the States at different times (three to pursue acting careers), but later teamed up with friend Tommy Makem to record numerous popular studio and live albums.
I’ll never forget the scenes of Clancy telling stories, reciting poetry, and singing songs in Martin Scorsese’s Bob Dylan documentary, No Direction Home, which first introduced me to the legend.
Watch the Clancy Brothers, Tommy Makem, and Pete Seeger perform folk song “The Wild Rover,” aka “I Never Will Play The Wild Rover No More,” hereor below: