Row, Row, Row Your Boat: Cathie Ryan and "Óró Mo Bháidín"

Today's song is by Cathie Ryan, an Irish-American native of Detroit, Michigan who was exposed early to Irish musicians such as Tommy Makem and the Clancy Brothers as well as American musicians such as Johnny Cash, Jim Reeves and Hank Williams. In her childhood she idolized her father, a tenor, who taught her how to interpret and honor songs by knowing their histories and contexts. She was also exposed to the music of Appalachia from neighbors who had migrated to Michigan to work in the auto factories and gained an appreciation for the likes of Dolly Parton, Loretta Lynn and Patsy Cline, as well as the local music out of Motown. Moving to New York, she learned more about traditional Irish music from her then husband singer-songwriter Dermot Henry and mentor Joe Heaney. After graduating from CUNY with a degree in English Literature and Secondary Education, she began teaching at Lehmann College in the Bronx, but left the classroom behind as her singing career began to blossom. She still continues to teach workshops in traditional Irish singing and Irish mythology and folklore. She was a member of the all female Celtic group Cherish the Ladies. This song, Óró Mo Bháidín (Oh My Little Boat), can be found on her 1997 debut album Cathie Ryan.

Pioneers: Cherish the Ladies and "The Back Door"

One of the earliest Celtic bands that I listened to is, ironically, one of the trailblazing bands of Irish music.  And in a way, that's a shame, but in a way it's cool.  Irish music had long been the realm of the masculine when Mick Maloney, Irish musician and scholar, put together a concert series showcasing the finest Celtic female musicians, and created the group Cherish the Ladies.  Women of course have been a long staple of Irish music but for the longest time, all male groups dominated the Irish music scene.  For my money, however, women have provided some of the most compelling moments of Irish and Celtic music both traditional and contemporary, and with some exceptions I have found myself more attracted to Irish music where females have the primary roles or at least where they are a huge portion of the music.  In other words, a female just doing a vocal for an all-male band doesn't cut it for me.

I don't know why this is the case for me.  Perhaps it's just because I like the subtle differences that women bring to the music.  Perhaps I like the vocals because I like female voices with accents.  I just like it.  I cannot hear a Cathie Ryan or a Karen Matheson sing without paying attention.  I can't hear a fiddle by an Eileen Ivers or a Natalie MacMaster without paying extra attention.  The fact that there may have been extremely talented Celtic musicians overlooked by the music industry before them is incredibly sad, and makes groups like Cherish the Ladies all the more remarkable.

Cherish the Ladies was formed in 1985 to highlight the best female Irish/Celtic musicians in what was a male dominated genre. Led by Joanie Madden, an all-Ireland champion on flute and tin whistle, the band sold out their initial 1985 concert series. Since then, they've received international acclaim and have been the launching pad for many important Irish musicians including Eileen Ivers, Winifred Horan, Cathie Ryan, Heidi Talbot, Liz Knowles, Aoife Clancy and Deirdre Connolly. Originally made up of all Irish-American musicians, the current lineup consists of a mix of Irish-American and Irish musicians. They've released sixteen albums. The Back Door, vocalized by Cathie Ryan, is a song about undocumented Irish immigrants to the United States who come through "the back door," and could be easily refer to undocumented immigrants from all countries.  It can be found on their 1992 album of the same name.  The video is from a performance they did on an Irish variety show.

Bodhrán Dreams: Cathie Ryan and "You and I in the One Bed Lie"

Years ago, my first forays into world music were explorations of Irish, well...make that Celtic, music. I hit all the up and coming world artists of the day, especially The Chieftains. Megan took me one night to a concert by Cherish the Ladies, and I was instantly smitten by the auburn-haired bodhran player. Up until then, I had never seen an Irish band made up of all female members. Sure, I'd seen a band or two where there was a female fiddler, or perhaps a female piper. And there were lots of bands with female vocalists. But never a bodhrán player. Yet there she was, stroking and beating that goatskin with a sound that was indistinguishable from all the other males I'd seen play the instrument.  And then, she came up to sing, and even her voice was lovely.  It's fair to say that I was smitten.

That was my introduction to Cathie Ryan.  I've seen her again, in Connecticut, doing her own solo work, and her first two solo albums are among the first albums of world music that I purchased.  To this day, I still love her song A Mhaithrin, A'Leigfea 'Un An Aonaigh Me? (Mother, will You Let Me Go To The Fair), and she's done some remarkable collaborative work with other Celtic musicians.

Cathie Ryan is a second generation Irish-American who was born in Detroit and moved to New York City at 17 to attend Fordham University. She was raised on Irish music such as The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem, the music of Johnny Cash and country by Hank Williams. In Detroit, she was also exposed to the music of Appalachia by migrant workers in the auto factories. A singer, songwriter and bodhrán player, in 1987 she joined the Irish group Cherish the Ladies, and in 1995 she began her solo career. She has five solo albums. A former teacher of literature and composition, she still loves teaching and gives workshops on traditional Irish singing and Irish mythology and folklore. This song, You and I in the One Bed Lie is from her 1997 album Cathie Ryan. I don't normally use a video from hand-held camera, but the quality of this one is better than most.