With a career that spans forty-four years and over forty albums, The Chieftains are not only Ireland's premier musical ambassadors but also the most enduring and influential creative force in establishing the international appeal of Celtic music.
Paddy Moloney, the groups founder and front man, first brought together a group of local musicians in Dublin in 1962, fashioning an authentic instrumental sound that stood in sharp contrast to the slick commercial output of most Irish music at the time. The group's first four albums, recorded between 1963 and 1974, established their worldwide reputation even as the group continued to perform on a semi-professional basis.
In 1975, The Chieftains recorded the soundtrack to Stanley Kubrick's Barry Lyndon, featuring the hit single "Women Of Ireland" and for which they won an Academy Award. Continued extensive touring followed, further establishing them as a major concert attraction and a string of subsequent albums, including such standouts as Bonaparte's Retreat, Boil The Breakfast Early and Chieftains in China, enhanced their status as Ireland's premier musical export.
In 1988, they joined forces with fellow countryman Van Morrison on Irish Heartbeat which began an historic series of collaborations including recordings with James Galway, Jackson Browne, Elvis Costello, The Rolling Stones, Sting, Tom Jones, Sinead O'Connor, Linda Ronstadt, Los Lobos, Ry Cooder and many others. They also continued their acclaimed work in soundtracks, on such films as Treasure Island, Tristan And Isolde, The Grey Fox and Far and Away.
In 1992, they recorded the double Grammy-winning Another Country, with performances by such country and bluegrass stars as Emmylou Harris, Ricky Skaggs, Willie Nelson, Chet Atkins and Don Williams. They returned to Nashville in 2002 for DOWN THE OLD PLANK ROAD, their Grammy-nominated 40th career album, featuring such special guests as Vince Gill, Lyle Lovett, Earl Scruggs, Alison Krauss, Martina McBride and others. FURTHER DOWN THE OLD PLANK ROAD continued the historic musical and cultural collaboration explored on DOWN THE OLD PLANK ROAD, with sixteen new tracks from an extraordinary array of artists, all backed by the Chieftains and produced by the groups founder Paddy Moloney, along with Jeff White and Steve Buckingham. The album also contains some of the final performances from multi-instrumentalist Derek Bell, a long-standing Chieftains member who passed away in 2002.
The latest from The Chieftains, Grammy-nominated LIVE FROM DUBLIN: A TRIBUTE TO DEREK BELL, was released early in 2005, and celebrates the life and legacy of the long-standing member who passed away suddenly in 2002. Recorded live at Ireland's premiere performing venues, the Gaiety Theater and National Concert Hall, LIVE FROM DUBLIN includes a moving medley - "Derek's Tune" - composed by Moloney as a fitting send-off for their friend. The landmark recording is also filled with other brand new selections that exemplify and enhance the groups traditional sound, rounded off through the distinctive artistry of harpist Triona Marshall and pipe virtuoso Carlo Nunez.
Six-time Grammy winners and nineteen-time Grammy nominees, The Chieftains maintain an international touring schedule that has brought them before literally millions of fans on every continent. "We're still unique," says Moloney of the group's staying power. "A lot of bands have come and gone, but we're still here."
Chieftains member Derek Bell (harp, piano, oboe, tiompán), who had been with the band since 1972, passed away in October 2002. The Chieftains will keep Derek's memory with them always.
Chieftains honoured with their own stamp in Ireland!
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