Philomena Begley -- Ireland's "Queen of country music" -- grew up in the tiny rural village of Pomeroy, County Tyrone, in the center of Northern Ireland. Her musical career began in the 1960s, when she joined an established group called the Old Cross Ceili Band, which later became known as the Old Cross Bandshow. They recorded a few singles with Begley in the late 'Sixties, then in 1970 decisively shifted gears, embracing Nashville-style country-pop and changed their name once again, becoming The Country Flavour. Begley was the star of the show, and she eventually left the group and formed a new band, The Ramblin' Men. This mid-'Seventies outfit included her husband Tom Quinn, as well as vocalist Ray Lynam, with whom she recorded a string of popular duets. For over a decade, Begley was one of Ireland's biggest country stars, and even sang at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, while touring North America. Here's a quick look at her work...
Philomena Begley & The Country Flavour "Truck Drivin' Woman" (Release Records, 1972) (LP)
Changing the name of her band to the Country Flavour, Begley emerged as a solo star, breaking into the Irish country charts with early singles such as "Here Today, Gone Tomorrow," "Never Again Will I Knock On Your Door" and "Ramblin' Man." This also includes the regionally-themed "A Village In County Tyrone," which became one of her signature songs. She later formed a new band, The Ramblin' Men (named after her hit) while the Country Flavour continued on as its own group for several more years.
Philomena Begley "Meet The Queen Of Country Music" (Top Spin Records, 1974) (LP)
Philomena Begley "Introduces Her Ramblin' Men" (Top Spin Records, 1974-?) (LP)
Philomena Begley "Blanket On The Ground" (Top Spin Records, 1975) (LP)
Philomena Begley & Ray Lynam "The Two Of Us" (Release Records, 1974-?) (LP)
The first duets album by this popular duo...
Philomena Begley & Ray Lynam "Together... Again!" (Release Records, 197-?) (LP)
Philomena Begley & Ray Lynam "The Best Of Ray And Phil" (1975) (LP)
Philomena Begley "Queen Of The Silver Dollar" (Top Spin Records, 1975) (LP)
Philomena Begley "Truckin' Queen" (Top Spin Records, 1977) (LP)
(Produced by Tony Campbell, Basil Henriques & Ray Moore)
Ms. Begley goes whole-hog into the trucker vibe on this one, with a dozen diesel doozies, including a few covers of American hits such as "Ravishing Ruby" and "Roll On Big Mama," as well as many less well-known numbers. An album highlight is Side Two's opener, "Route 65 To Nashville," a catchy melodic number credited to the otherwise-unknown Becker McBrine (about whom I could find no information online...) Also of interest is the title track, "Truckin' Queen," which was penned by Derry Whitelaw, an Irish showband pro who at the time was in a group called The Indians, and just about to start his own group, the equally iffily-named Apaches, a group that regretfully appeared in face paint and Native American headdresses. Like many showbands they mixed country material in with every thing else, though eventually they winnowed their sets down to a pop playlist by the time they folded in the early 1990s...) Anyway, back to Begley: this album mostly featured songs by American artists, but still featured Philomena's subtle Irish lilt... Steel player Basil Henriques is listed as a producer, so I assume he was also playing in the studio band, though I can't officially confirm anything, since there are no musician credits. Alas.
Philomena Begley "Nashville Country" (Top Spin Records, 1978) (LP)
Philomena Begley "Fireside Country" (Top Spin Records, 1979) (LP)
Philomena Begley "Philomena Country" (Top Spin Records, 1980) (LP)
Philomena Begley "You're In My Heart" (Ritz Records, 1984) (LP)
Philomena Begley & Ray Lynam "Simply Divine" (1985) (CD)
(Produced by John Ryan)
Philomena Begley "More About Love" (Ritz Records, 1987) (LP)
Philomena Begley & Mick Flavin "In Harmony" (SYR Records, 1991)
Philomena Begley "How I Love Them Old Songs" (H & H Music, 2013) (LP)
