Mary Black Biography

2007 - 2008

A legend in her homeland of Ireland, Mary Black has long held the attention of

the followers of Irish Music as one of the finest female vocalists in the world. Mary Black's distinguished career has spanned over 20 years from her early days in Dublin folk clubs through ever-escalating success with nine platinum solo albums one of which - No Frontiers - spent fifty-six weeks in the Irish Top 30. Needless to say Mary Black is a seminal figure in Irish musical history and one of the artists responsible for it's relatively recent blossoming on a global level.

Mary released her first eponymous solo album in 1983. It reached No.4 in the Irish Charts and is ranked among the best Irish albums of the early 1980's. It won for her the Irish Independent Arts Award for Music, the first in a staggering list of Music Awards that have continued to the present day.

After a successful period working with traditional band "De Dannan", she reunited with producer/guitarist Declan Sinnott to record her second solo album " Without the Fanfare" in 1985. This established what has become a Mary Black trademark - her ability to discover some of Ireland's finest contemporary song-writing talent and through her remarkable voice project the songs onto a world stage. The San Francisco Chronicle later called her "One of the best interpretative singers around".

"By The Time It Get's Dark" in 1987 saw Mary extending her repertoire, adding songs by the likes of Richard Thompson and Sandy Denny to the wealth of Irish song writing talent. Yet to all of the material Mary Black brought her own unique Irish combination of the ethereal and the earthy. The Telegraph described her voice as "Serene and achingly beautiful".

"No Frontiers" followed and proved to be one of Ireland's best selling albums of 1989. It also established Mary in new markets in Europe the US and Japan. A new release from Mary Black became not just another album but a much anticipated event. "Babes in the Wood" in 1991 went straight to No.1 in the Irish charts and led to two sell-out shows at the Royal Albert Hall. Touring the UK for the first time Mary received superlative reviews from The Guardian, The Times and The Telegraph.

Each album seemed to surpass its predecessors. "The Holy Ground" in 1993 went platinum on the day of its release. Subsequently Mary played 5 sell-out shows at the Point Theatre in Dublin to an audience of 20,000 in one week. "Circus" in 1995 went straight to No.16 in the British charts, becoming her biggest selling album to date.

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Perhaps more gratifying than the habitual awards and recognition bestowed on this hardworking, unpretentious singer, is the respect and admiration of fellow artists. Mary has recorded and performed live with Emmy lou Harris, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Joan Baez and Van Morrison. Her ’97 release, “Shine”, saw Mary Black taking something of a new direction. It is the first she has recorded without the production skills of Declan Sinnott, ending a fruitful association that went back more than a decade. Mary turned to Larry Klein, the renowned American producer whose credits include Joni Mitchell, Chaka Khan, Tina Turner and Shawn Colvin, to produce the album. Recorded in Los Angeles in late 1996, many have judged it one of her finest works. With “Speaking with the Angel” Mary returned more toward her roots while continuing to bring some of Ireland’s best songwriters into the spotlight, once again interpreting the songs of her personal favourites such as Shane Howard, Noel Brazil and Steve Cooney. Summing up its review of this album Ireland’s leading music magazine, Hot Press, said: “If it is a benchmark in excellence that you seek, a life-affirming statement, then this is the album for you. Staggering stuff”. In October 2001 Mary Black released a mammoth 16 song collection, drawn from the last decade of her career. Included on this “Best of “ album are two new recordings and Mary also offers us a bonus CD, a mix of live tracks, duets and studio recordings not previously available on any of her albums. The album went to no.1 in the official Irish Album Charts and stayed in the top 10 for 3 months Mary’s latest release is the DVD/CD package “Mary Black Live”. Filmed on the final night of a week long run at her favourite venue, the Olympia Theatre in Dublin, it captures that special hometown performance on camera. The DVD also features a documentary film celebrating Mary’s life in music, produced by Philip King and Hummingbird Productions (producer of award-winning documentaries including “Bringing it all back home”). The package also includes a live CD recorded at various theatres around the world.

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Mary Black Recognitions/Discography

2007-2008

RECOGNITIONS

1983 - Irish Independent Arts Award 1986 - National Entertainment Awards / Best Female Artist 1987 - I.R.M.A. - Best Female Artist (Irish Recorded Music Awards) 1988 - I.R.M.A. - Best Female Artist 1992 - I.R.M.A. - Best Female Artist 1993 - Hot Press Awards - Best Irish Solo Artist 1993 - National Entertainment Personality of the Year. 1994 - I.R.M.A. - Best Female Artist 1994 - I.R.M.A. - Best Irish Album / The Holy Ground 1994 - Belfast Telegraph E.M.A. - Best Irish Solo Artist 1996 - I.R.M.A. - Best Female Artist. 2000 - Irish Music Magazine – Best Female Folk Artist 2001 - Irish Music Magazine - Best Female Folk Artist 2003 - Irish Music Magazine - Best Female Artist

DISCOGRAPHY 1983 – Mary Black 1984 – Collected 1985 – Without The Fanfare 1987 - By The Time It Gets Dark 1989 – No Frontiers 1991 - Babes in the Wood 1992 – The Collection 1993 - The Holy Ground 1995 - Circus 1997 - Shine 1999 - Speaking With The Angel 2001 - Best of 1991-2001/hidden harvest 2003 – Mary Black Live CD/DVD

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MARY BLACK THE BEST OF MARY BLACK VOLUME 2 INCLUDING SPECIAL EDITION BONUS CD: HIDDEN HARVEST Mary Black insists on making music that is full-bodied and refreshingly eclectic. She’s a singer who’s never confined herself to the predictable, whose appetite for adventure has blossomed in more recent years, wooing her down unlikely paths and boreens, to sample some of the unlikeliest fruits imaginable. Returning to the fray with a mammoth 16-song collection, drawn from the last decade of her career, Black’s repertoire shines brighter than ever. The gods rarely smile so sweetly on singers, Mary Black’s been luckier than most in the riches she’s inherited from writers as disparate as Jimmy McCarthy, Noel Brazil, Ron Sexsmith and Richard Thompson. Listen to the covetous lustfulness of “Summer Sent You” or to the big sound that is Scott Cutler and Annie Previn’s “One And Only”, and hear two vastly different pen pictures of a singer as much at ease with minimal interference at the mixing desk, as she is with the fullest studio production. Whether it’s Larry Klein or Donal Lunny, Declan Sinnot or Steve Cooney occupying the producers seat, she manages to merge her vocals in distinctly different shapes and shades with the song, and yet still maintain her won identity as a vocalist whose first allegiance is always to the song. And just when you think you’ve acquainted yourself with the depth and breadth of her repertoire, she offers up two new recordings plus a bonus CD, a mix of live tracks, duets and studio cuts not previously available on Mary’s albums. This is a peek behind the curtain: Robbie Burns’ gorgeous “A Fond Kiss” sidles up alongside her live duet with Joan Baez on Dylan’s seminal “Ring Them Bells”; a resonant tribute to Billie Holiday in the form of “Good Morning Heartache” nestles cozily a few footfalls from Sandy Denny’s “Who Knows Where The Time Goes”. And her gorgeous reading of “Sonny” alongside Emmylou Harris and Delores Keane (an outtake from Philip King’s “Bringing It All Back Home” sessions) interlocks effortlessly with a live take of “Once In A Very Blue Moon”. The best thing about old friends is that just when you think you know them so well that you can predict their every move, they confound you with the unexpected. Mary Black’s proven that she’s got a rake of surprises tucked up her sleeve with this fine double CD release. Whether for the occasional visitor to Black territory, seeking a tincture of those soulful vocals, or for the completist anxious to test and taste as much as possible of her full-blooded repertoire, this release is balm for the soul.

MARY BLACK “Unremittingly Beautiful Voice” FOLK ROOTS

“Blessed With A Voice That Is Pure Gold” LOS ANGELES TIMES

“A Voice To Die For” THE NEW YORK POST

“Serene And Achingly Beautiful”

THE DAILY TELEGRAGH, London

“Simply Spellbinding” THE BOSTON GLOBE

“Unmatched By Any Other Current Female Singer” TODAY

“Ballads With Sunsets That Make Spirits Soar” THE NEW YORK TIMES