~ Joe Cooley was born into a musical family in Peterswell, near Gort, in south County Galway, in 1924. Both his father and mother played the melodeon and most of his brothers played music. He began to play around ten years of age.
In his late teens he worked in the Midlands before moving to Dublin in 1945 where he played with The Galway Rovers Ceili Band. ~
~ He was one of the earliest members of the Tulla Ceili Band when, as the St Patrick's Amateur Band, Tulla, they won the ceili band competition at Féili Luimní in 1946. He played with the Tulla on their first broadcast for Radio Eireann in 1948. At the end of that year he left the band to work on the buildings in London. ~ he returned from England towards the end of 1950. ~
~ In 1954, first Joe Cooley and then Paddy O'Brien left for the US. ~ While in New York he was involved in the Joe Cooley Ceili Band and the Joe Cooley Instrumental Group. He moved from New York to Chicago and finally to San Francisco. ~ He returned finally to Ireland in the summer of 1973.
~ Joe Cooley was an intuitive musician. He was influenced by the rhythmic melodeon dance music of his parents. ~ He chose to stay with the more rhythmic, old push-and-draw style of the C#D (D/D#) box, now back in vogue. ~
Tony MacMahon's sleeve notes:
"Listen for his strong lonely sound, for it is the heartbeat of the past."
There's great playing on this record/cd and it's easy enough to enjoy it for that. When you hear him talking between tunes, it's a shock to realise he's only 49. He sounds like an old man, he had cancer, and had less than a month to live at the time of the 1973 recording. Perhaps people knowing how ill he was accounts for some of the tremendous audience response. I still enjoy the playing for its own sake, but it adds a lot of poignancy to realise the context. Cancer is no respecter of musicians, nor anyone else, but it's a bummer to realise that, born in 1924, he could still be playing today. (2008.)
I would give anything to have met the man.He is my inspiration.He put so much spirit and gra into the music.There will never be anyone like him ever again........
Wow.
I notice that every one of these tunes has made it to the site. Says something about Cooley and his tunes...
# Posted on June 16th 2002 by Jon Kiparsky
Nice banjo too, awful percussion
To my ear, the banjo complements the accordian very nicely. The percussion, though ... sounds a bit like an Orange parade.
# Posted on January 14th 2005 by grego
Joe Cooley Cd....
Does anyone have a link to the sleeve notes to the cd Cooley?
Much appreciated.
# Posted on October 29th 2007 by dinn2
Cooley Sleeve Notes Link
http://www.xs4all.nl/~hspeek/irishbox/Cooley/cooley.html
# Posted on October 29th 2007 by joesmith
Thanks
# Posted on October 29th 2007 by dinn2
Rambling House: Joe Cooley (1924-73)
http://www.iol.ie/~ronolan/cooley.html
~ Joe Cooley was born into a musical family in Peterswell, near Gort, in south County Galway, in 1924. Both his father and mother played the melodeon and most of his brothers played music. He began to play around ten years of age.
In his late teens he worked in the Midlands before moving to Dublin in 1945 where he played with The Galway Rovers Ceili Band. ~
~ He was one of the earliest members of the Tulla Ceili Band when, as the St Patrick's Amateur Band, Tulla, they won the ceili band competition at Féili Luimní in 1946. He played with the Tulla on their first broadcast for Radio Eireann in 1948. At the end of that year he left the band to work on the buildings in London. ~ he returned from England towards the end of 1950. ~
~ In 1954, first Joe Cooley and then Paddy O'Brien left for the US. ~ While in New York he was involved in the Joe Cooley Ceili Band and the Joe Cooley Instrumental Group. He moved from New York to Chicago and finally to San Francisco. ~ He returned finally to Ireland in the summer of 1973.
~ Joe Cooley was an intuitive musician. He was influenced by the rhythmic melodeon dance music of his parents. ~ He chose to stay with the more rhythmic, old push-and-draw style of the C#D (D/D#) box, now back in vogue. ~
Tony MacMahon's sleeve notes:
"Listen for his strong lonely sound, for it is the heartbeat of the past."
~ Ronan Nolan, 2000
# Posted on January 20th 2008 by ceolachan
Transcriptions of Joe Cooley's Playing ~ another source
Han's Irish Music Homepage
http://www.xs4all.nl/~hspeek/
Han's Irish Squeezebox Page
http://www.xs4all.nl/~hspeek/irishbox/
Transcriptions of Joe Cooley's Playing
http://www.xs4all.nl/~hspeek/irishbox/cooley_abc.html
# Posted on January 20th 2008 by ceolachan
Note*
Track five is two tunes. The first is listed.Here the second one
http://www.thesession.org/tunes/display.php/1180/details
# Posted on February 11th 2008 by dinn2
Joe Cooley
There's great playing on this record/cd and it's easy enough to enjoy it for that. When you hear him talking between tunes, it's a shock to realise he's only 49. He sounds like an old man, he had cancer, and had less than a month to live at the time of the 1973 recording. Perhaps people knowing how ill he was accounts for some of the tremendous audience response. I still enjoy the playing for its own sake, but it adds a lot of poignancy to realise the context. Cancer is no respecter of musicians, nor anyone else, but it's a bummer to realise that, born in 1924, he could still be playing today. (2008.)
# Posted on February 19th 2008 by TomB-R
I would give anything to have met the man.He is my inspiration.He put so much spirit and gra into the music.There will never be anyone like him ever again........
# Posted on March 29th 2008 by dinn2
does Faust read these comments?
# Posted on March 30th 2008 by dogbox