Paddy O'Brien (born 6 November 1954 in

Aglish Aglish () is a village in west County Waterford, Ireland. Population The population of the village almost doubled in size from 169 people as of the 2006 census, to 333 inhabitants by the 2016 census. According to the 2016 census, approximatel ...

County Waterford County Waterford ( ga, Contae Phort Láirge) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and is part of the South-East Region, Ireland, South-East Region. It is named ...

) is an Irish

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

singer.

Early career

He was born Patrick Finbar O'Brien and was the youngest of five children. He was interested in

at a young age when he was encouraged by his father to sing at local pubs. O'Brien formed a band in 1972 called The Strangers. But it wasn't until many years later that he gained more national recognition.

Career

O'Brien specializes in yodelling making it his trademarks. He covered Slim Whitman's song "Indian Love Call". His big break came in 1983, when he released his first cassette called ''Easy Listening''. His follow-up release was the 1984 album ''Mem'ries'' and a third release ''Favourites'' in 1987 with national fame in Ireland and four country number ones in 1990. His most successful album is entitled ''Golden Moments'' released in 1993. He toured Nashville in 1989 and he is well known outside Ireland, notably in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

and

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

Personal life

When he was 16, O'Brien had an almost fatal motorbike accident. In 1981, he had another serious road accident.

Discography

*1983: ''Easy Listening'' *1984: ''Mem'ries'' *1987: ''Favourites'' *1993: ''Golden Moments''

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:OBrien, Paddy 1954 births Living people Yodelers Musicians from County Waterford Irish country singers