Sponsors
Books (Text)
eSheet (pdf file)
eTracks sound files
Sponsors
Free Services
Books (Text)
Statistics
Sponsors
Share
Link to share - cut and paste:
http://www.accordions.com/news.aspx?d=09-Sep-2011&s=4732
http://www.accordions.com/news.aspx?d=09-Sep-2011&s=4732
09-Sep-2011
John Connolly Bows Out, Ohio – USAby Harley Jones |
 Renowned Irish singer and button accordionost John Connolly has announced his retirement after a 50-year career of performing. Playing professionally since he was 15, John Connolly has graced stages throughout Ireland, England, Canada and the US, listing many musical greats among his acquaintances.“I would like to announce that after 50 years as a musician, singer and entertainer I have officially retired,” he posted on his website. “I really enjoyed making people happy as they sang and danced when we performed. I thank everyone who supported me and my music for half a century.” Toledo, Ohio-based Connolly, aged 65, grew up in the village of Castleconnell in County Limerick before emigrating to the US, where he worked for the Chrysler Corporation before later serving as community service director for United Auto Workers. He became a bar owner in 1978, opening John Connolly’s Irish Pub and Gossips. During this time, he would tour the country playing traditional Irish music, even taking trips back to his homeland to perform. Comically, if John Connolly has any regrets, one would be singing the Irish classic ‘Danny Boy’ against his will, he told the local newspaper Toledo Blade. “There was one song I hated: 'Danny Boy’,” he laughed. “Every place I went people wanted to hear 'Danny Boy,' sometimes three or four times. And you had to do it and you had to pretend like you liked it.” Connolly, who has released four CDs over the years, plans to continue his work on ‘Echoes of Ireland’, a Sunday morning radio show he hosts on WCWA-AM 1230. |