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November-December, 2006
Artist: JOHN ‘THE YANK' HARRINGTON
Title: A
CELTIC CENTURY
George Reese
Every now and then
you find a wonderful little nugget of folk music, an obscure recording of an
unknown artist in some tiny shop or on some esoteric website dedicated to the
preservation and promotion of folk culture. Or maybe you receive it as a gift.
Such was the case
with this 1999 CD, A Celtic Century. On first glance it looked to be
nothing more than a charming local musician (in this case local to Butte, Montana),
and his shot at immortality by way of a CD recording. It is much more.
The artist, John ‘The Yank' Harrington,
was indeed a ‘local musician' as well as a legend. He was also 96 at the time
of the recording, with a head full of Celtic and American tunes from 90 years
worth of playing the button accordion. ‘The Yank' (nicknamed so over seven
decades ago when he lived in Ireland)
packs 36 crisply played tunes into the CD, which runs just under an hour. The
songs average a minute and a half apiece, and each tune is preceded by an
introduction by Harrington. Selections include Dear Old Donegal, The River
Shannon, Maggie in the Woods, Boys of Blue Hill, Skibbereen, The Sidewalks of New York, Turkey
in the Straw, and Yankee Doodle. The liner notes are a delight too,
documenting The Yanks colorful life from his early childhood as a
first-generation American born to Irish immigrants, to the loss of his father
to miner's consumption and his mother's death from influenza in 1918, to his
seven years in Ireland and his run-in with the British troops (the ‘Black and
Tans' - they dismissed interrogating him because he was ‘a Yank'), and back to
America where he finally settled in Butte (reputed to be the third most Irish
county in the US).
If you're a fan of
the button accordion and traditional Irish tunes, this is a hard-to-find gem
that is well worth the search. The album is a wonderful archive of classic
standards, and a perfect tutorial for button accordion players as well.
Harrington passed away in 2002 at 99 years of age, but his music will live on
for decades to come through this recording. So where did I get my copy? It was
a gift...from my mother, who passed away in 2005. I found it this past October
while sorting through her pictures and letters. Some gifts are very special.
Thanks, Mom.
You should still
be able to obtain a copy by contacting:
John ‘The Yank'
Productions
108 South Montana Street, Butte, Montana 59701
406-723-5911 Toll
Free 888-923-5911
The album is also
available at www.countyceltic.com/music.htm
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