Jan 20 2010
The Forgetting of Rory Gallagher
Conspiracy theories abound in this world. From the supposed Mafia-backed shooting of an American President to the U.S. Government’s hiding of dead aliens at a Nevada Air Force base, it’s always tempting to ascribe conspiratorial cover-ups to events whose causes seem not fully explained. Most of these conspiracy theories can be attributed to the overactive imaginations of a small segment of the population who to a certain degree are unable to assimilate themselves properly into modern society and distrust the methods of its governance. Though I certainly doubt there are any alien bodies lying in situ at the U.S Air Force’s Nevada Test and Training facility, I have to admit that certain conspiracy theories intrigue me. One in particular got my attention several years ago while reading guitar magazine interviews and talking to fans of the late, great Irish legend, Rory Gallagher. I quickly discounted it as being the fanatical rantings of die hard Rory Gallagher fans, but still it lay just under the surface of my consciousness, pricking my scalp anytime some bit of info no matter how tenuous gave credence to the theory. The theory is this:
Sound crazy? You bet. By refusing to produce singles Rory was his own worst enemy. How do you remember a band if you don’t hear them played on the radio? Sure Rory in his prime got some playing time in the U.S. on college radio, but 30 years later how are you going to remember him if he’s not played on a Classic Rock radio show. The answer is you’re not. And more the pity because many of Rory’s songs would have made great singles.
For me, from tracks like ‘Tattoo’d Lady’ [from 1973’s Tattoo] all the way through to “Calling Card” [from the 1976 album of the same name], there were plenty of songs that would have been playable on the radio. — Donal Gallagher
It’s hard to jog the memory of the 40 or 50-somethings without an old hit single getting occasional play on the classic rock or “oldies goldies” radio stations. So to say that the press, particularly in the U.S., intentionally ignored Rory or that writers/editors purposely deleted any mentions of the man seem pretty far fetched.
Still, Rory sold millions of albums, toured incessantly, sold out countless venues, was highly regarded by established rock stars and granted interviews by the truckloads, and yet by the late 70’s and continuing on to the present day his name is hardly mentioned in the press. And this is where that conspiracy theory rears its ugly head. According to the theory, by the end of the 70’s the press was intentionally deleting mentions of Rory as punk, new wave and other media darlings hit the stage, and while punk, new wave, disco, etc. have faded from the music scene and are no longer the “flavor of the month”, the editing out of Rory’s music legacy continues even to the present day.
To a certain extent, one can understand Rory’s lack of press from the late 70’s and onward. Punk and New Wave had proven to be media darlings and most blues, jazz, or progressive rock bands were studiously ignored by the press, despite loyal fan support and continued success at the gate. Looking back at old concert reviews from that time, it is obvious that many of the music reviewers were no longer supportive of the Blues format and whined about it being derivative and the “same old, same old”. Only begrudgingly would they admit that the crowd had actually enjoyed what they heard. By the time the Blues had reemerged on the music scene in the mid-80’s, Rory’s touring and album production had slowed and health issues had started to crop up. Rory made just 2 albums from the mid-80’s until his untimely death in 1995. With so little being released and a diminished touring schedule, (particularly in the U.S. where Rory had completely stopped touring from 1987 onwards until his farewell tour of 1991) Rory’s absence in the press is somewhat understandable.
What drives a Rory fan crazy though is the lack of mention of Rory Gallagher since his untimely death. Articles on blues and rock guitarists never fail to mention the likes of Clapton, Beck and Page. Yet Rory beat out these same guitarists in the popular Melody Maker Best Guitarist Poll of 1972. So where is Rory’s name when the 60’s and 70’s blues movement is talked about? Interviews of other guitarists are spotty with the Rory mentions as well. Rory’s name comes up only sporadically when blues guitarists, new and old, list what guitarists influenced their style. I can’t count the times I’ve had to listen to a Rory Gallagher fan complain about one guitarist or another not giving Rory his due. What strikes me odd is how a blues guitarist, say Joe Bonamassa or Davy Knowles will claim being influenced by Rory in one interview and then completely forget about him in the next. You wouldn’t think your list of players that influenced your style would change from interview to interview. And this is where my scalp starts to itch, and where the point of this little diatribe finally arrives. You see, writers sometimes do mention Rory in their articles, guitarists sometime do mention Rory in their interviews. However, what is also true is that
Take a look at this interview by Adam Perry of Robin Sylvester, the bassist for Bob Weir’s Ratdog. This is the full interview found on the writer’s blog:
Now take a look at the same interview once it was published in the Boulder Weekly:
Notice what was missing? Yes, the Arts & Entertainment editor for the Boulder Weekly decided Rory Gallagher wasn’t worth the printer’s ink. Robin Sylvester was one of the engineers for Rory’s Irish Tour LP and the interviewer asked him about his time with Rory. Here’s the part that the editor edited out:
AP: What was it like performing and recording with Rory Gallagher? He seems like a mysterious figure in rock history who died too soon but will be discovered and appreciated more and more with time.
RS: A great player, and one of the nicest guys you could meet. His approach was more-or-less live in the studio, so my challenges were mostly along the lines of being ready to roll when he was. On Irish Tour 74 we were working against the clock. The mobile unit declined to be present in Belfast, turned up late in Dublin (during the opening act, Thin Lizzy) and we had to nail it in one night in Cork. Fortunately [Cork was] Rory’s home town and he put out a great performance. Nevertheless we put together side 4 from bits and pieces from the sound check. That contains some once-only edits, let me tell you!
I never performed publicly with Rory, though we jammed and fooled around a bit in the studio. I like to think that somebody somewhere has sat and listened to every tape and wondered who the wild and humorous jammers were! When he added a keyboard-player he told me later that the job was almost mine — how different my life would have been! I miss him still. — Robin Sylvester interview by Adam Perry
So why was Rory deleted from the article? The answer is far less ominous than say a conspiracy on the media’s part to wipe the memory of Rory from music history, but it’s no less damning. In the Boulder Weekly example the Arts & Entertainment editor had no music background, if space was needed, he was more likely to trim a music column, and if you’re going to trim something you don’t know, you take out the stuff about people you’ve never heard of — in this instance Rory Gallagher. The writer had posed a good question to Robin Sylvester about working with Rory Gallagher. He had done his homework and knew of Robin’s work with Rory, and knew a bit about Rory’s music legacy. Yet it was all for naught because the editor needed to trim the article and he deleted a name he didn’t know. I’m sure if Adam Perry had asked a question about Eric Clapton or Jimi Hendrix that bit would have stayed in. Eric Clapton and Jimi Hendrix are name brands that even 20-somethings will know. Sadly, you wonder how many great musicians have been slighted in this way, consigned to oblivion by editors who know so little about music. How many great musicians are edited out of interviews because their names wouldn’t “pop out” at the reader?
So maybe there isn’t any conspiracy of writers intent on keeping Rory’s name out of music history. Perhaps it is only a matter of musically challenged editors looking out for their own bottom line, selling more papers to the unwashed masses. Pity that, because there have been some great musicians in the past who deserve to be remembered, and played, and given a chance to influence the rising stars of the current music scene.
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The break up was a long torturous affair and ended with much of the media seemingly siding with the sidemen, Wilson & McCracken. Melody Maker wrote that “
