Wasn't that a Party

Having fun with the Irish Rovers

We just finished the Victoria Day weekend (named after the Queen, of course) but known around these parts as the May 2-4, since one year it fell on the 24th and people made the obvious connection between the date and the name of a case of beer. Since this is the weekend people traditionally open up their cottages/trailers, they usually buy at least one 2-4 for the weekend. If the weather is good, it’s a party weekend. Wasn’t for me this weekend but let’s run with it anyway.

The Irish Rovers were formed in Toronto in 1963 and still carry on today. They met at an Irish function and started out in clubs playing traditional Irish folk music. They went down to the States, got themselves a manager and a record deal with Decca and the hits started coming.

But what really made them special was their live show and when they brought that to television, they became stars. CBC gave them their own show in 1971 and I would watch every week with my family. We were all great fans, especially my mom. She still knows the songs even now when most of her world is now lost to her.

This song was a shift for the Irish Rovers, rebranding themselves as The Rovers and moving from Celtic to a more country-rock sound. It was written for them by Tom Paxton, who based it on watching The Rovers during after parties. It brought them back to the US and Canadian charts. No mean feat for a 60s folk group.

There’s no official video but I found this recording of a 25th anniversary special in 1989. I’m starting the video on the song but I highly recommend watching the whole thing to get a sense of just how wild their tv shows were. They’re a trip!

Enjoy your song of the day!