More Info on Dolores KeaneSimilar Undetermined MusicSearch Artistopia
Biography
Infobox musical artist| image =| name = Dolores Keane| caption =| alias =| background = solo_singer| birth_name =| birth_date = birth date and age|df=yes|1953|9|26|birth_place = Sylane, County Galway , Republic of Ireland|Ireland | occupation = Singer, actress| genre = Celtic music|Celtic , Folk music|folk | years_active = 1975–present| label =| associated_acts= Seán Keane (singer)|Seán Keane De Dannan | website =| notable_instruments = Tin whistle Dolores Keane (born 26 September 1953) is an Irish folk music|folk singer and occasional actress. She was a founding member of the successful group De Dannan , and has since embarked on a very successful solo career, establishing herself as one of the most loved interpreters of Music of Ireland|Irish song . http://www.unionsquaremusic.co.uk/titlev4.php? ALBUM_ID=299& LABEL_ID=3
Background
Keane was born in a small village called Sylane (near Tuam ) in rural County Galway in the west of Ireland. She was raised by her aunts Rita Keane|Rita and Sarah Keane since the age of four, who are also well-known Sean-nós song|sean-nós singers. Keane started her singing at a very young age, due to the influence of her musical aunts. She made her first recording for Radio Éireann in 1958, at the age of five. This early start inevitably meant that Keane would have a career in music. Her brother, Seán Keane (singer)|Seán , also went on to enjoy a successful music career. http://electricscotland.allcelticmusic.com/artists/Dolores%20Keane.html
Musical career
De Dannan
main|De Dannan In 1975, she co-founded the Traditional Irish music|traditional Irish band De Dannan , and they released their debut album Dé Danann in that same year. The group gained international recognition and enjoyed major success in the late 1970s in the US. Keane went touring with the band and their single “The Rambling Irishman” was a big hit in Ireland. In 1977, after a short two year spell, Keane left De Dannan to marry musician John Faulkner. http://havepun-willtravel.com/De_Dannan.html
Solo career
They newly married Dolores and John decided to move to United Kingdom|Britain . While there, the pair worked on a series of film scores and programmes for the BBC and formed two successful bands, The Reel Union and Kinvara. During this period Keane recorded her first solo album, There Was a Maid in 1978. This was followed by two other releases, ''Broken Hearted I'll Wander (1979) and Farewell to Eirinn (1980), which gave credit to Faulkner. She returned to Ireland in the mid-1980s and rejoined with De Dannan and recorded the albums Anthem and Ballroom with them.
Keane turned her attention, once again, to her solo career in 1988. It saw the release of the eponymous Dolores Keane album. Her follow-up album A Lion in a Cage , which hit the shelves in 1989, featured a song written by Faulkner protesting the imprisonment of Nelson Mandela . http://www.fatea-records.co.uk/CAMBRID/cam99/dkeane.htm It served as Keane’s second Irish number one and she performed the hit at the celebration of his release. This exposure expanded Keane’s reputation and popularity worldwide. A new facet was added to Dolores' career when she played the female lead in the Dublin production of Brendan Behan 's The Hostage (play)|The Hostage , a new translation by Niall Tóibín and Michael Scott (Irish author)|Michael Scott , the opening night of which was attended by Mary Robinson , the President of Ireland at the time.
In 1992, Keane was among the many female Irish singers to lend their music to the record-smashing anthology A Woman's Heart . The album, which also featured Eleanor McEvoy , Mary Black , Frances Black , Sharon Shannon and Maura O'Connell , went on to become the biggest-selling album in Irish music|Irish history. ''A Woman's Heart Vol.2 was released in late 1994 and emulated its predecessor in album charts the world over. Also in 1994, a solo album, entitled Solid Ground , was released on the Shanachie label (available on Dara Records) and received critical acclaim in Europe and America.
In August, 1995, Keane was awarded the prestigious ''Fiddler's Green Hall of Fame award in Rostrevor , County Down , for her “significant contribution to the cause of Irish music and culture” . In that same year, she took to the stage in the Dublin production of John Millington Synge|JM Synge ’s Playboy of the Western World . Dolores contributed to the RTÉ / BBC television production "Bringing It All Back Home", a series of programmes illustrating the movement of Irish music to America. Dolores was shown performing both in Nashville, Tennessee|Nashville , Tennessee with musicians such as Emmylou Harris and Richard Thompson (musician)|Richard Thompson and at home in County Galway|Galway with her aunts Rita and Sarah.
In August, 1997, Keane went to number one again in the Irish album charts with a compilation album with her most loved songs. And another studio album was released by Keane in 1998, called Night Owl . It saw Keane returning to her traditional Irish roots and it done well in Europe and America. Despite a healthy solo career, Keane went on tour with De Dannan again in the late 1990s, where she played to packed audiences in venues such as Birmingham, Alabama and New York City. http://www.kcpconcerts.com/dolores.htm
Keane has not released a solo album since 1998 as of 2008, stating that she wanted to take a hard-earned break after twenty-five years of relentless touring.
Musical legacy
Keane is known the world-over for her deep, yet melodic voice. Her recordings of songs such as Dougie McLean 's " Caledonia (song)|Caledonia ", Frank A. Fahey's " Galway Bay (song)|Galway Bay ", Paul Brady 's "The Island" and "Never Be the Sun" are regarded as amongst the greatest interpreatations of these songs. http://www.dararecords.com/irish_music_artists/dolores_keane.html American singer Nanci Griffith said of Keane: " Dolores Keane, the queen of the soul of Ireland, has a sacred voice. ". http://www.sover.net/~rschrull/ngriffith/othertoo/othertoo.html
Personal life
Keane married musician John Faulkner, with whom she had worked on many occasions, in 1977 . After a very difficult pregnancy, Keane gave birth to their first child, Joseph. He was born with Laurence-Moon-Bardet-Biedl Syndrome, which causes obesity and failing Visual perception|vision , though he has been spared mental retardation . Dolores and John's marriage ended in 1988. Her current partner is Barry "Bazza" Farmer, with whom she had her second child, Tara, born in 1994. Keane put an end to recording and touring in the late 1990s, due to Depression (mood)|depression and alcoholism . She has received extensive treatment for these conditions. As of 2007, Keane lives outside Galway with her two children and Barry. http://www.independent.ie/opinion/analysis/only-a-womans-heart-can-know-1069938.html
Discography
There Was A Maid (1978)
Dolores Keane (1988)
Lion in a Ca ge (1989)
Solid Ground (1993)
Night Owl (1998) Alula Records
De Dannan
Dé Dannan (1975)
Anthem (1985)
Ballroom (1988)
Dolores Keane and John Faulkner
''Broken Hearted I'll Wander (1979)
Farewell To Eirinn (1980)
Sail Og Rua (1983)
Rita Eriksen and Dolores Keane
Tideland (1996) Alula Records
Compilations
Best of Dolores Keane (1997)
Where Have all the Flowers Gone: The Very Best of Dolores Keane (2003)
Anthologies
''A Woman's Heart (1992)
Bringing It All Back Home - Influence of Irish Music (2 CDs) (2000)
Video (VHS)
Bringing It All Back Home - Influence of Irish Music (1992) (various artists)
Persondata | NAME =Keane, Dolores | ALTERNATIVE NAMES = | SHORT DESCRIPTION = | DATE OF BIRTH =26 September 1953 | PLACE OF BIRTH = Sylane , County Galway , Republic of Ireland|Ireland | DATE OF DEATH = | PLACE OF DEATH = DEFAULTSORT:Keane, Dolores Category:1953 births Category:Living people Category:Irish female singers Category:Irish folk singers Category:Irish-language singers Category:People from County Galway
