Rory Gallagher - ...and on guitar (1978)

William Rory Gallagher was born in Ballyshannon, County Donegal in 1948, and bought his first guitar at age 12, performing in his adolescence with both his acoustic and an electric guitar. However, it was a 1961 Fender Stratocaster, which he purchased three years later for £100, that became his primary instrument and was most associated with him during his career. He was initially attracted to skiffle after hearing Lonnie Donegan on the radio, and while still in school he played songs by Buddy Holly and Eddie Cochran, before discovering his greatest influence in Muddy Waters. In 1963, he joined a showband named Fontana, a sextet playing the popular hit songs of the day, and toured Ireland and the UK with them, earning money for the payments that were due on his Stratocaster. Gallagher began to influence the band's repertoire, and by 1965 he had eventually moulded them into an R&B group, with a new name of The Impact. After leaving The Impact in 1966 Gallagher formed a blues-rock trio called The Taste, later shortened to Taste, which lasted until they broke up in 1970. Gallagher then embarked on a long and extremely successful solo career, releasing many well-received albums, and touring extensively. During this period he was invited to play with many of his childhood heroes, contributing guitar to albums by Lonnie Donnegan, Muddy Waters and Jerry Lee Lewis. He also played on fellow Irishman Joe O'Donnell's 1977 concept jazz-fusion album 'Gaodhal's Vision', and Mike Batt's 'Tarot Suite', another concept album from 1978. His first guest appearance was on Mike Vernon's debut blues album from 1971, where Vernon managed to get both Gallagher and Paul Kossoff to provide guitar solos for his record. Also in 1971 he guested on a couple of recordings by Chris Barber, which were later compiled onto a retrospective of the renowned jazz/bluesman, but it was the recordings with Waters and Donnegan (on his last album) of which Gallagher was reportedly most proud.   

Track listing

01 Come Back Baby (from 'Bring It Back Home' by Mike Vernon 1971)
02 Drat The Frattle Rat (from 'The Outstanding Album' by Chris Barber 1971)
03 Sleepy Lovie (from 'The Outstanding Album' by Chris Barber 1971)
04 Music To The Man (from 'The Session' by Jerry Lee Lewis 1973)
05 Juke Box (from 'The Session' by Jerry Lee Lewis 1973)
06 Hard Days (from 'London Revisited' by Muddy Waters & Howlin' Wolf 1974)
07 Poets And Storytellers (from 'Gaodhal's Vision' by Joe O'Donnell  1977)
08 Rock Island Line (from 'Putting On The Style' by Lonnie Donnegan  1978)
09 Drop Down Baby (from 'Putting On The Style' by Lonnie Donnegan  1978)
10 Tarota (from 'Tarot Suite' by Mike Batt 1978)