Click Me, He’s Irish - Rory Gallagher

Today’s selection comes courtesy of my friend Todd. The guy is bonkers about the late Rory Gallagher‘s music. I must admit that I never knowingly had any exposure to Rory’s music through all my years, until I met Todd. But in Rory’s home country of Ireland, he is considered one of the best of all time.

“Here was a man who managed to combine the gift of being an authentic creative genius with the even rarer gift of being a genuinely decent, honourable human being.” So began the series of tributes paid to Rory Gallagher – the outstanding pioneer of Irish rock – published by the Irish music newspaper HOTPRESS in July 1995. Rory Gallagher was an Irish blues and rock guitarist, singer and songwriter. Born in Ballyshannon, Co. Donegal, on 2 March, 1948, he grew up in the city of Cork. Based in London during most of his 30 year career, he toured extensively, sold 30 million records, and had a worldwide following of loyal fans. He died in London at the early age of 47, on 14 June 1995, from complications following a liver transplant. Although he had suffered health problems for some time, he toured until falling seriously ill late in 1994. – from Rory Gallagher’s Home Page

I asked Todd for a good intro to Mr. Gallagher. He recommended “Million Miles Away”, a live track from ‘Irish Tour’, Rory’s 1974 concert album, digitally remastered in 1999. The songs is a great showcase of Rory’s talents on the Fender Stratocaster.

Who else out there is a Rory G. fan?

Buy ‘Irish Tour’ on Amazon.