Tommy Sands
Not to be confused with the pop singer of the 1950s, Tommy Sands was the prime songwriter with the Sands Family, a group with his five siblings that became one of Ireland's most influential folk groups of the 1960s and '70s. Although the group has limited its touring in the early 2000s to an annual tour of Germany and Ireland, Sands has continued to pave new ground as a solo singer/songwriter and as the host of a popular radio show, Country Ceili, broadcast weekly via Belfast's Downtown Radio since 1976.
Sands grew up in a very musical family. His father and six uncles played the fiddle, while his mother played accordion. The family farm, in the foothills of the Mourne Mountains, was one of the few places that Protestants and Catholics joined together to listen to music and dance. Sands began writing songs shortly after learning to play the fiddle. Many of his songs reflect the political turmoil and sociological struggles of his homeland.
Although Sands attended college to study theology and philosophy, music proved too great a lure. Dropping out of the school, Sands began to walk the 120 miles home. He hadn't gotten far when a car with his siblings stopped to pick him up to perform a concert. Inspired by the Clancy Brothers, the Sands Family (Tommy, Eugene, Ben, Colum and Anne) became leaders of the Irish folk revival.
The Sands Family first came to the United States in 1970, after winning a concert trip to New York in a national ballad contest. After performing at Carnegie Hall, the group hooked up with a manager in Boston and remained in America for six months. Returning to Europe in 1971, the Sands Family found that they had acquired an enthusiastic following in Germany.
The Sands Family's string of success ended in 1975, when youngest brother Eugene was killed in an auto accident. Subsequent tours found the three remaining brothers and sister Anne continuing to perform together.
Tommy Sands' debut solo album, Singing of the Times, released in 1985, included his now-classic tunes "There Were Roses" "and "Daughters and Sons." Sands' second album, Down by Bendy's Lane: Irish Songs and Stories for Children, followed three years later. On his third album, Hedges of County Down, released in 1989, Sands focused on traditional Irish material. He returned to original songs for his fourth effort, Beyond the Shadows, released in 1990. Sands' fifth album, The Heart's a Wonder, released in 1995, included a tune, "The Music of Healing," co-written with American folk singer Pete Seeger. The song was used as an anthem for a "Citizen's Assembly" that Sands organized in Belfast, in August 1986, which included many of Ulster County's top artists and literary figures. The Heart's a Wonder also marked the first time that Sands collaborated with Sarajevo cellist Vedran Smailovic. Sands and Smailovic joined with Irish songstress Dolores Keane on the 1997 title track of the multi-artist album Where Have All the Flowers Gone: The Songs of Pete Seeger. One of Sands' most ambitious projects is a stage musical, The Shadow of O'Casey, that he co-wrote with playwright Sean O'Casey's daughter, Shivaun.
© Craig Harris /TiVo
-
The Heart's A Wonder
Musiques du monde - Paru chez Green Linnet le 15 mars 2006
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Capitol Collector's Series
Pop - Paru chez Capitol Records le 1 janv. 2011
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Golden Selection (Remastered)
Country - Paru chez Master Tape Records le 21 août 2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Very Best Of
Pop - Paru chez Master Classics Records le 1 mars 2011
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Teen-Age Rock! (Mono Version)
Pop - Paru chez BNF Collection le 1 janv. 1958
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
A Lot Of Livin' To Do (Live On The Ed Sullivan Show, March 4, 1962)
Pop - Paru chez SOFA - AV Catalog DD le 10 août 2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Let The Circle Be Wide
Folk - Paru chez Appleseed le 12 janv. 2009
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
When I'm Thinking of You
Pop - Paru chez Vintage Masters Inc. le 1 août 2012
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Rare Gems - Volume Two
Pop - Paru chez SnailWorx le 1 janv. 2006
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
I'll Be Seeing You and That's The Way I Am
Lounge - Paru chez Capitol le 24 août 1959
24-Bit 48.0 kHz - Stereo -
Sonic Boy
Pop - Paru chez Master Classics Records le 1 févr. 2011
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Very Best Of
Pop - Paru chez Master Classics Records le 1 déc. 2010
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
-
To Shorten the Winter
Musiques du monde - Paru chez Green Linnet le 16 mars 2006
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Sing Boy Sing (From "Sing Boy Sing" Original Soundtrack)
Bandes originales de films - Paru chez Foggy Milan Records le 24 août 2022
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Sands Storm! (Mono Version)
Pop - Paru chez BNF Collection le 1 janv. 1900
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
I Gotta Have You (Mono Version)
Pop - Paru chez BNF Collection le 1 janv. 1960
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Sing Boy Sing (feat. Lionel Newman and His Orchestra) (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack, Mono Version)
Pop - Paru chez BNF Collection le 1 janv. 1959
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
L'histoire de James Dean: bande sonore du film (Mono Version)
Tommy Sands, Leith Stevens & His Orchestra
Divers - Paru chez BNF Collection le 1 janv. 1958
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
The Worryin' Kind (Billboard Hot 100 - No 69)
Rockabilly - Paru chez Music Manager le 3 déc. 2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Rock N Roll Years
Rock - Paru chez Burning Fire le 18 août 2009
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo