Four Men and a Dog is an
Irish
Irish may refer to:
Common meanings
* Someone or something of, from, or related to:
** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe
***Éire, Irish language name for the isle
** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...
traditional band that emerged in 1990 during the Belfast Folk Festival. The band plays Irish traditional music with a mixture of different other genres, including rock, jazz, blues, bluegrass, swing, salsa, polka and even rap. They originally had their name because of former singer Mick Daly's nickname; "The Black Dog". Daly was later replaced with Kevin Doherty. Other original members included Gino Lupari, Donal Murphy, Brian McGrath, and Cathal Hayden.
Their debut album, ''Barking Mad'' (1991), was granted ''
Folk Roots
''fRoots'' (pronounced "eff-Roots", originally ''Folk Roots'') was a specialist music magazine published in the UK between 1979 and 2019. It specialised in folk and world music, and featured regular compilation downloadable albums, with occas ...
'' magazine's "Album of the Year" award,
the first time that an Irish group had that honour.
Line-up changes ensued before in 1993, ''Shifting Gravel'', their second album, was not well received by critics nor the public. Their displeasure was centered around Doherty's pop/rock leanings, which overwhelmed the earlier pure Celtic undertones of the group.
They met
The Band in 1994, and recorded their album ''Doctor A's Secret Remedies'' (1995)
at
Levon Helm's studio in
Woodstock, New York
Woodstock is a town in Ulster County, New York, United States, in the northern part of the county, northwest of Kingston, NY. It lies within the borders of the Catskill Park. The population was 5,884 at the 2010 census, down from 6,241 in 2000 ...
, with musical guests
Garth Hudson
Eric "Garth" Hudson (born August 2, 1937) is a Canadian multi-instrumentalist best known as the keyboardist and occasional saxophonist for rock group the Band, for which he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994. He was a ...
and
Randy Ciarlante
Randy Ciarlante is an American musician who frequently played with The Band. He joined The Band in 1990, singing harmony and playing drums. He played and sang on their albums from the 1990s, including '' Jericho'', '' High on the Hog'' and '' Ju ...
.
Rick Danko
Richard Clare Danko (December 29, 1943 – December 10, 1999) was a Canadian musician, bassist, songwriter, and singer, best known as a founding member of the Band, for which he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994.
During ...
also joined Four Men and a Dog on a UK tour where they played some of The Band's classics.
''Long Roads'' followed in 1996.
Band members
* ''
Cathal Hayden
Cathal Sean Hayden is a Northern Irish fiddle and banjo player of note. He was born on 13 July 1963, in the village of the Rock, County Tyrone, outside Pomeroy, an area immersed in traditional music.
The third in the family of eight, he was bo ...
'' (fiddle)
* ''
Gerry O'Connor'' (banjo, fiddle)
* ''Gino Lupari'' (bodhran, bones, vocals)
* ''
Kevin Doherty'' (guitar, vocals)
* ''
Dónal Murphy'' (accordion)
Discography
* ''Barking Mad'' (1991)
* ''Shifting Gravel (1993)
* ''Doctor A's Secret Remedies'' (1995)
* ''Long Roads'' (1996)
* ''Maybe Tonight'' (2003)
* ''Wallop the Spot'' (2007)
* ''And the Band Played On'' (2016)
References
External links
Official site*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Four Men And A Dog
Irish folk musical groups
Transatlantic Records artists