The Chieftains

No Irish group has played such an enduringly significantly role in the awareness and popularity of Celtic music as The Chieftains, whose success was largely built around the instrumental brilliance and driving ambition of the group's uilleann piper, Paddy Moloney. Moloney, Martin Fay, David Fallon, Michael Tubridy, and Seán Potts formed the Chieftains in 1962 in Dublin, Ireland, modeling the band's name after John Montague's book Death Of A Chieftain. The group's self-titled debut album was released two years later, and The Chieftains continued releasing material in Ireland before their appearance on the Oscar-winning soundtrack of Martin Scorsese's 1975 film Barry Lyndon helped introduce them to a mainstream American audience. From there, the group spent decades collaborating with iconic musicians from different genres, including Van Morrison, The Rolling Stones, Luciano Pavarotti, Tom Jones, Sting, Ziggy Marley, Willie Nelson, Elvis Costello and James Galway. Although the band's lineup shifted often, The Chieftains continued to break down musical barriers as they demonstrated the parallels between Irish and various aspects of world, country, bluegrass, classical and rock music. The band's dense discography features nearly 50 albums, the most successful of which include Irish Heartbeat (with Van Morrison, 1988), The Bells Of Dublin (1991), Long Black Veil (1995), Santiago (1996) and San Patricio (2010, with Ry Cooder). In 2012, they collaborated with younger musicians including Bon Iver and The Decemberists on the T-Bone Burnett-produced Voice of Ages, which also featured NASA astronaut Cady Coleman playing flute aboard the International Space Station. Nearly a decade later, Paddy Moloney passed away at 83 years old on October 12, 2021.