Joe Cooley (1924–20 December 1973) was 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 ...
musician known for his traditional
accordion music.
Biography
Cooley was born in Peterswell, County Galway in 1924. Both his parents were
melodeon
Melodeon may refer to:
* Melodeon (accordion), a type of button accordion
*Melodeon (organ), a type of 19th-century reed organ
*Melodeon (Boston, Massachusetts), a concert hall in 19th-century Boston
* Melodeon Records, a U.S. record label in the ...
players, and Joe began playing accordion at age 10. As a teen, Joe played in the Midlands area and eventually found himself in Dublin in 1945, where he joined the Galway Rovers Band. There in Dublin, he met musicians
Sonny Brogan and Johnny Doran, both of whom were to influence Cooley's musical style.
[Gearóid Ó hAllmhuráin, "Tribute to Joe Cooley", ''Clare Champion'', January, 1974]
He was one of the earliest members of the
Tulla Céilí Band when, as the St Patrick's Amateur Band, Tulla, they won the ceili band competition at Féile Luimní in 1946. He played with the Tulla on their first broadcast for Radio Éireann in 1948. At the end of that year he left the band to work in London. He rejoined the band when he returned from England towards the end of 1950. He also often played with Galway fiddler Joe Leary.
In 1954 Joe Cooley left for the US. Joe's brother,
Seamus Cooley, who played banjo with the Tulla, went on a US trip and made a recording with them. He left the band in 1958 while on tour and stayed in the US. While in New York Joe 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. While in
San Francisco
San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...
, Cooley formed the ''Gráinneog Céilidh'' band which included accordionist
Kevin Keegan, fiddlers
Sue Draheim
Sue Draheim ( ; August 17, 1949 – April 11, 2013) was an American fiddler, boasting a more than forty year musical career in the US and the UK. Growing up in North Oakland, Draheim began her first private violin lessons at age eleven, having ...
and Will Spires, Eric Thompson, and others. The Cooley-Keegan Branch of
Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann
Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann (; meaning "Society of the musicians of Ireland") is the primary Irish organisation dedicated to the promotion of the music, song, dance and the language of Ireland. The organisation was founded in 1951 and has pr ...
in San Francisco is named in honor of Cooley and Kevin Keegan. In America he married Nancy McMahon from Killenana, Co Clare.
He is regarded as one of the most accomplished and influential Irish button accordionists. On one occasion, in Miltown Malbay, Co. Clare, Joe was presented with a beautiful Paolo Soprani C#/D accordion he dubbed "The Box" which would accompany him on his tour of America in the 1970s.
[
Joe returned to Ireland in the spring of 1973 after becoming ill with cancer. He toured the pubs of Clare and Galway with his friend the banjo player Des Mulkere until shortly before his death in December 1973. His only commercial recordings were not released in Ireland until 1975.]
His accordion is now believed to be in the hands of the great Irish accordionist Tony MacMahon
Tony MacMahon (18 April 1939 – 8 October 2021) was an Irish button accordion player and radio and television broadcaster.
MacMahon's chief early inspiration, accordionist Joe Cooley, was a frequent caller at the MacMahon home in Ennis, Co. Cla ...
of Clare, IE. One of Cooley's enduring legacies is a reel named "Joe Cooley's"."Joe Cooley's"
/ref> Originally named "The Tulla Reel," the tune has since become associated with Cooley and is now a standard in the Irish traditional music repertoire. Cathie Whitesides and other American friends of Joe's have archived many of Joe's tunes on a website, http://www.joecooleytapes.org/.
External links
Joe Cooley Tapes
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cooley, Joe
1924 births
1973 deaths
20th-century Irish people
Musicians from County Galway
Irish accordionists
Irish folk musicians
People from County Galway
20th-century accordionists
Music of the San Francisco Bay Area
Musicians from the San Francisco Bay Area