The First Hurrah!

The First Hurrah!
Studio album by The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem
Released	March 1964
Recorded	December 18–20 and 30, 1963 New York City
Genre	Irish folk
Label	Columbia
Producer	Tom Wilson
The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem chronology
In Person at Carnegie Hall (1963) The First Hurrah! (1964) Recorded Live in Ireland (1965)
Singles from The First Hurrah!
"The Leaving of Liverpool"/"Gallant Forty-Twa"

The First Hurrah! is a collection of traditional Irish folk songs performed by The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem. It was their fifth album for Columbia Records and was released in 1964. The album's title is likely a play on Edwin O'Connor's 1956 novel The Last Hurrah. The original LP featured liner notes by critic Robert Sherman. The album appeared on the Billboard charts and its single, "The Leaving of Liverpool," on the Irish Top 10 charts.

Reception

Billboard chose the album as a "Special Merit Pick." The magazine's review praised the Clancys and Makem's "fun and exuberance" and referred to the record as "another strong sampling of the boys' zesty and humorous approach" to Irish folklore.^[1] Billboard also reviewed the singles record taken from The First Hurrah!, which Columbia released prior to the full LP. The article rated "The Leaving of Liverpool" with four stars. Side B of the single, "The Gallant Forty-Twa," received three stars.^[2]

Track listing

All songs traditional.

Side one

1. "The Leaving of Liverpool" - 2:46
2. "The Mermaid" – 3:00
3. "Rocky Road to Dublin" – 2:28
4. "Johnny Todd" – 2:02
5. "Rosin the Bow" – 2:37
6. "The West's Awake" – 3:22

Side two

1. "Row, Bullies, Row" – 1:39
2. "Gallant Forty-Twa" – 2:29
3. "An Poc Ar Buile (The Mad Goat)" – 2:31
4. "Carrickfergus" – 2:30
5. "Bonny Charlie" – 3:30
6. "Kelly, the Boy from Killann" – 2:35

Personnel

• Liam Clancy - vocals, guitar
• Pat Clancy - vocals, harmonica
• Tom Clancy - vocals
• Tommy Makem - vocals, banjo, tin whiste

The sound of a drum can be heard on the eighth track, but it is not certain who played it.

Chart positions

The First Hurrah! spent six weeks on Billboard Magazine's list of the top 150 full-length albums of all genres released in the United States. On May 30, the album reached #91 in the chart, its highest position.^[3][4]

Year	Chart	Position
1964	Billboard Top LPs	91

"The Leaving of Liverpool" from the album stayed on the singles chart in Ireland for a few weeks. It reached #6 on the chart and stayed there for two weeks in late March 1964.^[5][6]

Year	Chart	Position
1964	Irish singles chart	6

References

1. "Album Reviews: Special Merit Picks". Billboard. 76 (12): 24, 56. March 21, 1964.
2. "Singles Reviews: Popular". Billboard. 76 (5): 26. Feb 1, 1964.
3. "Top LP's". Billboard. 76 (22): 30. May 30, 1964.
4. "Our Musical Score: Columbia Records 1964 LP Chart Performance". Billboard. 76 (52): 106–7. December 26, 1964.
5. "Hits of the World: Eire". Billboard. 76 (12): 32. March 21, 1964.
6. "Hits of the World: Eire". Billboard. 76 (14): 30. April 4, 1964.