UW Ethnomusicology Archives audio recordings: Cathie Whitesides recordings: Joe Cooley Collection, 1970

Overview of the Collection

Creator
Whitesides, Cathie
Title
UW Ethnomusicology Archives audio recordings: Cathie Whitesides recordings: Joe Cooley Collection
Dates
1970
Quantity
14 items  :  OT - 14 audio cassettes; WD - 10 compact discs (digital, stereo); Duration: 14:00:00
Collection Number
2013003
Summary
A collection of field recordings of the Irish accordion player Joe Cooley, recorded in the early 1970s when he lived in the San Francisco Bay area. The recordings were made on a Norelco cassette recorder by Jeremy Kammerer and Cathie Whitesides.
Repository
University of Washington Ethnomusicology Archives
University of Washington
Ethnomusicology Archives
Box 353450
Seattle, WA
98195-3450
Telephone: 2065430974
ethnoarc@uw.edu
Access Restrictions

Unrestricted: collection is open for research.

Languages
English

Historical NoteReturn to Top

Cathie Whitesides is a master fiddler specializing in Irish and Contra Dance music. After a few years playing in bands with Joe Cooley and Kevin Keegan in San Francisco, Cathie gained popularity in the Bay Area contra dance scene, playing several dances a month until moving to Seattle in the 1990s. There she has played contras for decades with Laurie Andres, WB Reid, and the late Bob McQuillen as The Rhythm Rollers; with Laurie and Sandy Bradley as The Fixations; and previously with Anita Anderson, Nova Devonie, and Joanne Lauterjung as Zollo and The Beat Queens and with Laurie Andres and WB Reid in Armonikos, with Frannie Leopold in The Balkan Kafe Orchestra, the Balabustas, and in the Bay Area band Hatsegana with Nada Lewis.

Joe Cooley, (1924-1973) was an Irish musician known for his traditional accordion music. Cooley was born in Peterswell, County Galway. As a teen, Joe played in the Midlands area and eventually found himself in Dublin in 1945, where he joined the Galway Rovers Band. He was one of the earliest members of the Tulla Céilí Band. He played with the Tulla on and off throughout the 1940s and 1950s. In 1954 Cooley left for the US, where he traveled around the country. In New York, he was involved in the Joe Cooley Ceili Band and the Joe Cooley Instrumental Group. In San Francisco, Cooley formed the Gráinneog Céilidh band which included accordionist Kevin Keegan, fiddlers Sue Draheim and Will Spires, Eric Thompson, and others. He is regarded as one of the most accomplished and influential Irish button accordionists.

Content DescriptionReturn to Top

The contents of this collection and accompanying documentation are available on the website "The Joe Cooley Tapes" - www.joecooleytapes.org - created by Cathie Whitesides.

The collection features the playing of accordionist Joe Cooley but also includes the playing of Kevin Keegan, accordion, Jeremy Kammerer, banjo, Cathie Whitesides, fiddle, Sean Sullivan, fiddle, Miliosa Lundy, banjo, and numerous others.

The contents of tapes 1-13 are listed on the website; tape 14, labeled "Cooley, Keegan & Seamus Cooley in Chicago," has not yet been logged (5/2013)

WD (Work Disc) set - discs 1-7 are copies of tapes 1-12 provided by the collector (.aif files, 44.1 kHz/16-bit); discs 8-10 produced by the Archives from tapes 13-14 (2013-3.8_WD_A.wav, 2013-3.8_WD_B.wav, 2013-3.9_WD.wav, 2013-3.10_WD.wav (48 kHz/24-bit))

Contents of Work Discs: 2013-3.1 WD (2013-3.1-4 OT); 2013-3.2 WD (2013-3.5 OT); 2013-3.3 WD (2013-3.6 OT); 2013-3.4 WD (2013-3.7 OT); 2013-3.5 WD (2013-3.8-10 OT); 2013-3.6 WD (2013-3.11 OT); 2013-3.7 WD (2013-3.12 OT); 2013-3.8 WD (28:56) (2013-3.13 EC); 2013-3.9 WD (44:36) (2013-3.14 EC, side A); 2013-3.10 WD (44:30) (2013-3.14 EC, side B)

Tape durations: Timings for tapes 1-12 have not been determined; tape 13 = 28:55 (side A = 22:36, side B = 6:19); tape 14 = 89:06 (side A = 44:36, side B = 44:30); 14 hours is an estimated total duration for the collection.

Documentation: Track notes of tapes 1-12.

Administrative InformationReturn to Top

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Subject Terms

  • Accordion
  • Ethnomusicology

Geographical Names

  • Europe--Europe--General Europe
  • Ireland

Form or Genre Terms

  • Sound Recordings

Other Creators

  • Personal Names
    • Cooley, Joe, 1924-1973 (performer)