Christie Hennessy facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Christie Hennessy
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Hennessy's statue in Tralee
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Edward Christopher Ross |
| Born | 19 November 1945 |
| Origin | Tralee, Ireland |
| Died | 11 December 2007 (aged 62) London, United Kingdom |
| Genres | Folk, singer-songwriter |
| Occupation(s) | Singer, songwriter, producer |
| Instruments | Guitar |
Christie Hennessy (born Edward Christopher Ross; 19 November 1945 – 11 December 2007) was a famous Irish folk singer and songwriter. He was known for writing his own songs, even though he had dyslexia, which made reading and writing difficult for him. Some of his well-known songs include "Roll Back the Clouds" and "All the Lies That You Told Me".
Contents
Early Life and First Steps in Music
Christie Hennessy was born in Tralee, a town in County Kerry, Ireland. When he was just six years old, a friend named Jerry Quirke made him his very first guitar from a tea chest. This shows how much he loved music from a young age!
Christie left school when he was only eleven and a half. His first job was as a messenger boy. It was then that he realized how important reading was. Even though he found reading and writing hard because of his severe dyslexia, he still enjoyed having many books. Later, he worked on building sites in London.
Christie's Music Career
In 1972, Christie released his first record, called The Green Album. It was released on a small music label called Westwood. Not many people knew about it, and only 500 copies were made. Because of this, the album didn't become very popular.
After that, Christie went back to working on building sites in the UK. He didn't release another album for twenty years! But when he did, his 1992 album The Rehearsal became a huge success in Ireland. It even sold more copies than the famous band U2 in Ireland at the time. This album eventually sold so many copies that it reached "triple platinum status," which means it sold a massive number of records! His next albums, A Year in the Life and Box, also sold extremely well in Ireland.
Christie was not only a great singer but also a talented songwriter. He wrote many songs that became hits for other singers. For example, he wrote "Don't Forget Your Shovel," which became very famous when sung by Christy Moore. He also wrote "All the Lies That You Told Me," which was recorded by Frances Black. Christie also created the theme song for a BBC TV show called "Get Well Soon." He even wrote a musical and a movie about his home country, Ireland, called Two Stops to Paradise.
In 2007, Christie went back to the studio one last time to record an album. Other famous musicians, Luka Bloom and Christy Moore, even sang on one of the songs with him.
In 2005, Christy Moore's version of Christie's song "Don't Forget Your Shovel" was mentioned in a UK number one song called "The JCB Song" by Nizlopi. The lyrics said, "While we're singin', 'Don't forget your shovel if you want to go to work!'" In the music video for "The JCB Song," you can even see a shop called "Christie's Shovels"!
Christie's Passing
Christie Hennessy passed away on 11 December 2007 in a hospice in London. He was 62 years old. He had a serious lung illness, which was thought to be caused by working in dusty building sites when he was younger. Just before he died, he was touring in Ireland, but he had to stop because he was too ill.
His ashes were buried in Old Rath Cemetery in Tralee, his hometown. To remember him, a special statue of Christie was put up in Central Plaza in Tralee in November 2009.
Christie Hennessy's Music
Christie Hennessy released many popular albums during his career. Here are some of his well-known works:
Albums
- The Green Album (1972)
- The Rehearsal (1992) - This album was a huge success in Ireland, selling triple platinum!
- A Year in the Life (1993) - Another very popular album, reaching quadruple platinum in Ireland.
- Lord of Your Eyes (1995) - This album also sold very well, earning double platinum status.
- Box (1996) - This one reached triple platinum in Ireland.
- Stories for Sale (2006)
- This Is as Far as I Go (2006) - This album achieved double platinum in Ireland.
- The Two of Us (2008) - Released after his passing.
- A Friend of Mine (2009) - Also released after his passing.
- The Last Goodbye (2018) - Another album released after his passing.
Singles
Christie also released several singles that were popular:
- "Roll Back the Clouds" (1991) - This song reached number 4 on the Irish charts.
- "Oh Jealous Heart" (1991) - This single reached number 15 in Ireland.
- "If You Were to Fall" (1993) - This song reached number 10 on the Irish charts.
