Rory Gallagher is not one of the more well-known figures in rock music history, but he is my all-time favorite artist, so it’s only right I dedicate an entire post to him.
When I first got into music in the early ‘70s, I was initially drawn to the “guitar hero” genre, starting with Eric Clapton, and it only grew from there. Seeing Irish guitar legend, Rory Gallagher, on NBC’s Midnight Special music variety show in March 1974 was a revelation, and he soon became my favorite artist.
Rory was best known for his blazing electric guitar playing but was equally adept on acoustic guitar and also played mandolin, harmonica, and even saxophone on some early recordings. He usually included one or two acoustic numbers on his albums. Some career highlights include when he was voted UK music magazine, Melody Maker’s 1971 International Top Guitarist of the Year, ahead of Eric Clapton. And in 1975 he was invited by the Rolling Stones to audition to replace the departed Mick Taylor (he showed up to jam with them but wasn’t really interested in the job that would eventually go to Ron Wood).
Rory in 1979 performing of one of my favorite songs of his, “Do You Read Me,” from the BBC series
Rock Goes to College
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As far as what albums I would recommend, ALL OF THEM would be my answer! But to start, IMO his best studio album is Calling Card, released in 1976. There is also a new 30-song compilation that was released in 2020, The Best of Rory Gallagher, that provides a nice overview of his career. It even includes several tunes from his early career band, Taste, and a previously unreleased cover of the Stones “Satisfaction,” an outtake from Jerry Lee Lewis’s London Sessions album which Rory guested on.
I was lucky to see Rory live five times: 1976 at the Calderone Concert Hall in Hempstead, NY at My Father’s Place in Roslyn, NY in 1978 & 1979, and again at MFP in 1982. The final time was in 1991 at The Marquee in NYC which turned out to be his last U.S. appearance. He started having health issues in the ‘90s and died in 1995 at the age of 47 a few months after having a liver transplant.
In recent years, Welsh guitarist Davy Knowles has teamed up with Rory’s longtime bass player, Gerry McAvoy, to do periodic Rory tribute tours. I’ve seen Davy a few times, and I was lucky to catch one of these shows in 2018 where he absolutely killed it! Definitely worth checking out if you come to enjoy Rory’s music and they tour again.
It was a tough task to narrow it down, but here is a playlist with a dozen of my favorite Rory tunes. Enjoy! — SL