Irish Singer Carmel Quinn

It would be expected that a program of Irish music would fill the spacious cavern of Carnegie Hall on the night of St. Patrick's Day, after a parade up the gusty lengths of Fifth Avenue. And it would also be expected that a pretty girl would add to the attraction, the Irish eye being what it is. But Carmel Quinn's appearance there on that night in 1955 caused such a crowd and a crush of Irish and non-Irish alike that there was almost a brannigan amongst those who could not get in. Along with all this, her first collection of recorded songs was just out, and reaching astonishing sales peaks, dropping only slightly after the holiday and keeping up an unusual pace all year. None of this was surprising to the fans who had followed Carmel Quinn's career on the Arthur Godfrey program and on records, and it is in response to their fervent demands that this second collection of Irish songs is being released.
It would probably be enough to say that Carmel Quinn is Irish, and let her peculiar and lasting charm go at that, but it goes deeper, too. After all, other lassies have tilted their heads and provided periods of song, but what sets Carmel apart is a voice of uncommon appeal and warmth, and her uncanny selection of material.

 Only occasionally does she sing an Irish "standard"; rather, she sings the lesser-known and in many cases more beautiful ballads that she has brought with her from Ireland. Often she has had to search deeply into publishers' stock for sheet music to songs she wishes to present, and often she has scoured New York City and other American centers for copies of music that is fresh, unhackneyed and altogether delightful. Naturally, when she sings the unfamiliar music so charmingly, her audiences ask her to sing their old favorites, and naturally she complies, in- vesting them with her own personal ap- proach. But she is happiest introducing less well-known ballads from the Ould Sod, and it is her evident pleasure in her singing that helps to make it so engaging.
The natural poetry of Irish speech is intensified in these songs, and enhanced by the alternately mournful and merry moods of the music. As the Irish are fond of pointing out, some of the greatest masters of the English language-Sheridan, Wilde, Yeats,

It would be expected Irish music would fill the Carnegie Hall on the Day, after a parade up
Joyce, Shaw-have had strong currents of Gaelic blood running in their veins, and the rhythms and cadences of Gaelic itself flows over into whatever an Irishman writes or says. The celebrated emerald green of the countryside itself, with its lights and shadows, seems almost to color the music, and one must not forget the wide collection of other-worldly creatures that inhabit Irish legend, not only the little men but the great heroic giants and the lovely Irish heroines. With so vivid a folklore, it becomes impossible to draw the line between the creations of yesterday and those of today, and the result is a richer and more fascinating treasury of song.
Since her arrival in this country only a little more than a year ago, Carmel Quinn has brought us many of those wonderful songs. Of those she sings in this collection only a very few will be familiar, but all of them deserve to be heard more often. Any- one whose knowledge of Irish song is limited for the most part to "Mother Machree" is in for a handsome surprise, and those who have avoided many similar songs because of bleating tenors will find in Miss Quinn's voice an instrument fit to sing with the harps of the minstrels.


Born in Dublin, Carmel Quinn had a musical background, engendered by her father, an excellent violinist. Upon completion of her early schooling, she entered college with the intention of becoming a teacher, but soon thereafter took a chance on an audition for singers at the Dublin Theatre Royal. She won a week's engagement, and went from there to the Crystal Ballroom, for two months. Another audition won her a permanent spot singing with Johnny Devlin's Orchestra, and other orchestra and theatrical engagements followed. At length she went to London and made her radio debut over the BBC.


In March of 1954, she crossed the ocean" to America, and a few months later-on October 18-she appeared on Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts program, making a simultaneous debut on radio and television. She won handily, moved into the Godfrey troupe, and swiftly became one of the best- loved new stars of recent years. In this pro- gram, her shining talents are admirably demonstrated in the kind of songs she loves best, and the result is an endearing addition to the shelf of melodious Irish music.
The set list of songs.

The Old Rustic Bridge by the Mill 
Johnny Gray 
Loch Lomond 
Asthoreen Bawn 
The Magic Piper 
Down by the Glenside 
Handsome Johnny Flynn 
The Claddagh Ring 
Ballyhoe
The Old Boreen (Kate Muldoon) 
Bright Silvery Light of the Moon 
The Pretty Girl Milking Her Cow