The Chieftains Trivia Quiz

Answer: Dublin

The Chieftains were formed in Dublin, Ireland in 1962. Their traditional instrumental sound is centered on the national bagpipe of Ireland, called uilleann pipes. The name of these pipes derives from an Irish term that means "pipes of the elbow." Their music also features tin whistle, fiddle, flute, concertina, and bodhrán (an Irish frame drum).

The Chieftains are known as "Ireland's Musical Ambassadors," an honorary title they were awarded in 1989 by the Irish government.

Answer: Van Morrison

Van Morrison was a founding member of Them and is best known for his solo career. Though he has collaborated with the Chieftains, he was never a member of the group.

Paddy Moloney, one of the founding members of The Chieftains, came out of the group Ceoltóirí Chualann, which specialized in instrumentals. The other original members of the group were Seán Potts, known for his tin whistle, and Michael Tubridy, who is also a step dancer and structural engineer. Tubridy designed the passenger terminal buildings at Dublin Airport.

Over the years, other members of The Chieftains have included David Fallon, Martin Fay, Peadar Mercier, Seán Keane, Derek Bell, Ronnie McShane, Kevin Conneff, and Matt Molloy.

Answer: John Montague

Sylvia Plath and Robert Frost were both American. Rudyard Kipling was an English writer and poet born in British India.

Although born in America, John Montague was raised in Ireland and became the first occupant of the Ireland Chair of Poetry in 1998. He is the author of several volumes of poetry, two memoirs, and two collections of short stories, including "Death of a Chieftain and Other Stories."

A performance of Montague's poem "The Rough Field," was recorded by Claddagh Records with atmosphere music played by The Chieftains. Together Paddy Moloney and John Montague also released a collaboration called "The Wild Dog Rose," an album of poetry and Irish music.

Answer: Joe

"If it hadn't been for Cotton-Eyed Joe
I'd been married a long time ago
Where did you come from, where did you go?
Where did you come from, Cotton-Eyed Joe?"

"Cotton-Eyed Joe" is a traditional American folk song (number 942 in the Round Folk Song Index).

The Chieftains recorded this traditional song on their 1981 album "The Chieftains 10: Cotton-Eyed Joe." They also recorded it on "Another Country" in 1992, with American country and bluegrass singer Ricky Skaggs performing lead vocals. That version was nominated for a Grammy in the Best Country Vocal Collaboration category.

The Swedish band Rednex released a popular single of the song called "Cotton Eye Joe" in 1994. It peaked at number one on the UK singles charts.

Answer: Barry Lyndon

"The Wolf of Wall Street" (2013) and "Raging Bull" (1980) were both directed by Martin Scorsese. "The Shining" was directed by Kubrick but released in 1980.

"Barry Lyndon" is a period drama written and directed by Stanley Kubrick. The film was based on a novel by William Makepeace Thackeray and depicts the exploits of an Irish rogue in the 18th century. Leonard Rosenman produced the soundtrack, which included classical music as well as three songs by The Chieftains: "Women of Ireland," "Piper's Maggot Jig," and "The Sea-Maiden." The soundtrack also included "Tin Whistles" performed by Paddy Moloney and Seán Potts.

The film won Academy Awards for Best Original Score, Best Cinematography, Best Costume Design, and Best Production Design. It also won a Best Director award at the British Academy Film Awards.

Answer: Van Morrison

The song was written by Van Morrison and first recorded on his nineteenth studio album, "Avalon Sunset," which was released in 1989. He performed it with The Chieftains for their 1995 album "The Long Black Veil." in 1996, the song won a Grammy for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals.

Van Morrison and The Chieftains have frequently collaborated. The group played on Van Morrison's eighteenth studio album, "Irish Heartbeat," which was released in 1988. Van Morrison also sang the song "Shenandoah" with The Chieftains, and for that performance they were nominated for, but did not win, a Grammy in the category of Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals.

Answer: Carrickfergus

The name for the song comes from the town of Carrickfergus in Northern Ireland, though the song seems to be set in or near Kilkenny. It's thought that the "Ballygran" in the song might refer to the Ballingarry coal mines, especially given the lyric, "On marble stone there as black as ink."

The first recording of the song occurred in 1965, by Dominic Behan, though he recorded it under the name of "The Kerry Boatman." The song is titled "Carrickfergus (or Do Bhi Bean Uasal)" on "The Chieftains 4" album. A version was also recorded on "Irish Heartbeat" with Van Morrison.

Answer: Mick Jagger

Mick Jagger is the lead singer and one of the founding members of The Rolling Stones, which was founded in 1962, initially under the name Rollin' Stones.

"The Long Black Veil," which contained the title song performed with Mick Jagger, was one of The Chieftains best-selling albums. It was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America. The album also included a song performed with The Rolling Stones: "The Rocky Road to Dublin."

Answer: Ry Cooder

Ry Cooder is an American musician who has played in the genres of blues, folk, roots rock, Americana, Tex Mex, country, and gospel. His self-titled debut album was released in 1970. His album "The Prodigal Son" came out in May of 2018. On "The Long Black Veil," Ry Coooder recorded "Dunmore Lassies" and "Coast of Malabar" with The Chieftains.

Answer: Mark Knopfler

Guitarist, singer, and songwriter Mark Knopfler co-founded Dire Straits with his younger brother David in 1977. Tom Jones, Marianne Faithfull, and Sting also played on "The Long Black Veil" album with The Chieftains.

In 2002, The Chieftains received a Lifetime Achievement Award at the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards.

Answer: Pope John Paul II

Over one million people attended the concert that marked the 1979 papal visit of Pope John Paull II to Ireland. The Chieftains have been involved in other historical moments as well. They also played in a 2011 concert attended by Queen Elizabeth II on her first ever official trip to the Republic of Ireland. Additionally, The Chieftains were the first western group to play on the Great Wall of China, which they did in 1983.

Answer: Easter

Sinead O'Connor recorded "The Foggy Dew" with The Chieftains, and the song appears on their 1995 album "The Long Black Veil." The traditional Irish ballad recounts the Easter Rebellion of 1916, when armed insurgents rose up during Easter week in an attempt to end British rule and establish an independent Irish Republic:

"I was down the glen one Easter morn
To a city fair rode I
There armed lines of marching men
In squadrons passed me by
No pipe did hum, no battle drum did sound it's loud tattoo
But the Angelus Bells o'er the Liffey swells rang out in the foggy dew."

The uprising was organized by a military council of the Irish Republican Brotherhood. It began on Easter Monday and lasted for six days before the British Army suppressed it.

Answer: leave the girls alone

"Tell me ma when I go home
The boys won't leave the girls alone.
They pull my hair, they stole my comb,
But that's all right till I go home."

Also called "The Wind," "I'll Tell Me Ma" began to appear in various parts of England in the 19th century. It spread and underwent multiple adaptations, with the city in the chorus ranging from "Golden City" and "London City" to "Belfast City" and "Dublin City." In the version The Chieftains recorded with Van Morrison on his album "Irish Heartbeat," the chorus runs as follows:

"She is handsome, she is pretty
She is the belle of Belfast city.
She is a-courting one two three,
Pray, would you tell me who is she?"

In Ireland, the song is sometimes known as "The Belle of Belfast City." It is number 2,649 in the Round Folk Song Index.

Answer: Far and Away

The soundtrack to "Far and Away" was composed by John Williams and contained a mixture of conventional orchestra and traditional Irish instrumentation. It featured three performances by The Chieftains ("The Fighting Donellys," "Fighting for Dough," and the "End Credits.") The film, directed by Ron Howard, tells the story of two Irish immigrants to America in the 1890s.

The Chieftains also contributed to the soundtrack for "The Grey Fox," a 1982 Canadian western based on the true story of an American stagecoach robber.

Additionally, the group supplied the soundtrack to "The Ballad of the Irish Horse," a 1986 National Geographic documentary about the tradition and history or horses in Ireland.

"Celtic Wedding" was the name of a studio album of The Chieftains. It includes guest performances by Breton artists Bernard Pichard, Alain Guerton, Nolwen Monjarret, and Michel Bertae.

Answer: coal

The Chieftains recorded this song, "Dark as a Dungeon," with Vince Gill on their album "Down the Old Plank Road: The Nashville Sessions." The album was released in 2002 and contained an eclectic combination of Celtic folk, country, and bluegrass music performed with numerous guest musicians.

"Dark as a Dungeon" was originally written by Merle Travis and became well known when Johnny Cash performed it at his Folsom Prison concert. It has become a standard, having been covered also by Tennessee Ernie Ford, Harry Belafonte, Dolly Parton, Willie Nelson, Amy Grant, John Mellencamp, and even Bob Dylan.

Answer: Lyle Lovett

"Don't let your deal go down
Till your last one dollar is gone.
Well, I've been all around this whole wide world
Been down to sunny Alabam
My mama always told me, Son
Never let your deal go down."

The Chieftains recorded this song with Lyle Lovett on "Down the Old Plank Road: The Nashville Sessions." Written by Charlie Poole and Norman Woodlieff, the song has become something of a country bluegrass standard.

Lyle Lovett released his self-titled debut album in 1986. Ten more albums followed between 1987 and 2012.

Answer: a dram

The Chieftains recorded "Give the Fiddler a Dram," a traditional bluegrass song, on "Down the Old Plank Road," but they did it in a rather Irish folk style. The song begins, "Here come John, big boots on / I got goin', Jenny come along." The chorus contains the repetition of the line "Come on people, give the fiddler a dram." A dram is a small drink of whiskey (or other hard liquor).

"Give the Fiddler a Dram" was composed by Luther Strong, a Kentucky bluegrass fiddler. It was first recorded in 1937 for the Library of Congress by the folklorist and musicologist Alan Lomax.

Answer: John Prine

The song, also known as "The Girl I Left Behind in Tennessee," appears on The Chieftains' 2003 album "Further Down the Plank Road." John Prine is known for the humor in his music, which also sometimes include social commentary. He has had a long career, releasing his first self-titled album in 1971 and "The Tree of Forgiveness" more recently in 2018. "Further Down the Plank Road" also featured songs with Allison Moorer, Patty Loveless, Roseann Cash, Chet Atkins, and Doc Watson, among others.

Answer: San Patricio

"San Patricio" was the Chieftains' first studio album in over six years. The Saint Patrick's Battalion (Batallón de San Patricio in Spanish) was a unit of expatriates who fought as part of the Mexican Army against the U.S. in 1846-1848, during the Mexican-American War. Most of the members of the battalion were Irish Catholics, and most had deserted the U.S. Army.

"Santiago" is a 1996 album of The Chieftains dedicated to the traditional music of the northwest region of Spain, Galicia. "Voice of Ages" was a 2012 album featuring numerous collaborations with other musicians, and "Tears of Stone" was released in 1999, with each track featuring a different female guest artist, including Bonnie Raitt, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Joan Osborne, and Sinéad O'Connor.

Answer: Best Traditional Folk Album

The group won three times in the Traditional Folk Album category, in 1993 for "An Irish Evening," in 1994 for "The Celtic Harp," and in 1999 for "Long Journey Home." They won for Contemporary Folk Album for "Another Country" in 1993 and for "Santiago" for World Music Album in 1997.

They also won Grammy awards for Pop Collaboration with Vocals for their performance with Van Morrison on "Have I Told You Lately That I Love You?" Additionally, The Chieftains received several nominations for other Grammy awards, including Country Instrumental Performance, Pop Instrumental Performance, and Country Collaboration with Vocals.