Billy Brown (Irish musician): Difference between revisions
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Brown left The Freshmen in the mid 1970s to pursue other musical challenges, albeit with limited success. He later rejoined the band and, in 1977, they had one of their biggest hits with his composition, "Cinderella". Following the breakup of The Freshmen, Brown had a minor solo hit in 1980 with his own song, "Look What Jerry Lee Did To Me". |
Brown left The Freshmen in the mid 1970s to pursue other musical challenges, albeit with limited success. He later rejoined the band and, in 1977, they had one of their biggest hits with his composition, "Cinderella". Following the breakup of The Freshmen, Brown had a minor solo hit in 1980 with his own song, "Look What Jerry Lee Did To Me". |
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In his latter years, Brown developed his interest in [[wildlife]], becoming a successful painter of nature scenes,<ref> |
In his latter years, Brown developed his interest in [[wildlife]], becoming a successful painter of nature scenes,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://kildare.ie/knn/ |title=Archived copy |accessdate=2007-10-24 |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20071012223221/http://kildare.ie/knn/ |archivedate=12 October 2007 |df=dmy-all }} </ref> as well as contributing his insights into the natural world on [[RTÉ 2fm]]'s children's show, ''Poporama''. |
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Billy Brown died of a heart attack on 6 June 1999, at his home in [[Johnstown, County Kildare]], [[Republic of Ireland]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.irish-showbands.com/Bands/billybrown.htm|title=Billy Brown|website=Irish-showbands.com|accessdate=8 December 2017}}</ref> In its obituary, the ''[[Irish Independent]]'' referred to him as ''"one of the most gifted musicians of his generation"''.<ref name="name1"/> |
Billy Brown died of a heart attack on 6 June 1999, at his home in [[Johnstown, County Kildare]], [[Republic of Ireland]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.irish-showbands.com/Bands/billybrown.htm|title=Billy Brown|website=Irish-showbands.com|accessdate=8 December 2017}}</ref> In its obituary, the ''[[Irish Independent]]'' referred to him as ''"one of the most gifted musicians of his generation"''.<ref name="name1"/> |
Revision as of 07:12, 18 January 2018
William (Billy) Brown (1943 – 6 June 1999) was a musician and artist from Northern Ireland. He is best remembered as a singer, saxophonist, and pianist with The Freshmen, one of Ireland's most popular showbands of the 1960s and 1970s.
Life
Brown was born in Larne, County Antrim in Northern Ireland. While studying at the Belfast College of Art he joined Billy McFarland's Showband. Later he formed The Freshmen with some friends. Through Brown's skillful arrangements, the band were able to reproduce sophisticated vocal harmonies in their covers of songs such as "Papa Oom Mow Mow", "The Little Old Lady from Pasadena", and "Carpet Man".[1]
In a tribute to Brown following his death, Freshmen founder-member, Maurice Henry, described his late friend's pivotal role in the band:
"You could say Billy was The Freshmen and without his talent and innovative musical skills we would certainly not have achieved as much, either as a showband or in our recordings.[2]
Brown left The Freshmen in the mid 1970s to pursue other musical challenges, albeit with limited success. He later rejoined the band and, in 1977, they had one of their biggest hits with his composition, "Cinderella". Following the breakup of The Freshmen, Brown had a minor solo hit in 1980 with his own song, "Look What Jerry Lee Did To Me".
In his latter years, Brown developed his interest in wildlife, becoming a successful painter of nature scenes,[3] as well as contributing his insights into the natural world on RTÉ 2fm's children's show, Poporama.
Billy Brown died of a heart attack on 6 June 1999, at his home in Johnstown, County Kildare, Republic of Ireland.[4] In its obituary, the Irish Independent referred to him as "one of the most gifted musicians of his generation".[1]
References
- ^ a b Irish Independent, "Farewell to a dashing midnight matinee idol", 10 June 1999
- ^ The News Letter, "Farewell to a star of the showband scene", 8 June 1999
- ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 12 October 2007. Retrieved 24 October 2007.
{{cite web}}
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ignored (|url-status=
suggested) (help)CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ "Billy Brown". Irish-showbands.com. Retrieved 8 December 2017.
External links
- Use dmy dates from June 2013
- 1943 births
- 1999 deaths
- Irish environmentalists
- Keyboardists from Northern Ireland
- Male singers from Northern Ireland
- Multi-instrumentalists from Northern Ireland
- Musicians from Northern Ireland
- Painters from Northern Ireland
- Pianists from Northern Ireland
- Saxophonists from Northern Ireland
- Songwriters from Northern Ireland
- People from Larne
- 20th-century British painters
- British male painters
- 20th-century British singers
- 20th-century pianists
- 20th-century saxophonists
- Irish musician stubs
- Northern Ireland people stubs