Altan (album)
Altan is the second (studio) album by Frankie Kennedy and Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh (future founders of the Irish band Altan), originally released in 1987 by Green Linnet Records. The musicians appearing on this album are substantially those that became the early incarnation of the band Altan. The band later (retroactively) called "Altan" their debut album.
Credits.
Tracks 1,2,5,6,7,9,11,12,13 arranged by Kennedy, Ní Mhaonaigh, Kelly, Curran.
Tracks 3,4,8,10 arranged by Kennedy, Ní Mhaonaigh, Kelly, Curran, Lunny.
All tracks are traditionals, except the following:
References.
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Frankie Kennedy
Frankie Kennedy (30 September 1955 – 19 September 1994) was a flute and tin whistle player born in Belfast, Northern Ireland. He was also the co-founder of the band Altan, formed with his wife Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh. The popular "Frankie Kennedy Winter Music School" was founded in 1994 in his honour.
Biography.
Early life.
He had three sisters and one brother.
Kennedy's uncle was married to the daughter of Robert Cinnamond, a singer from Glenavy, County Antrim, who was a frequent visitor in his family home.
<templatestyles src="Template:Blockquote/styles.css" />His memory of [Cinnamond] was as a gentle soul singing "Dobbin's Flowery Vale", a version that Frankie plays. And he had all those northern versions of songs. Frankie used to say, "really I have no tradition," but he had a connection with the tradition which he didn't know himself.
Kennedy became interested in Irish traditional music when he was 18 years old, through the music of Horslips, Planxty, The Chieftains, and The Boys of the Lough. He learned his Irish as a young man in Belfast's Cumann Chluain Árd and travelled frequently to Donegal to perform at local sessions in Gweedore with Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh.
Marriage.
When Kennedy was eighteen he took a sixth form summer trip to the Gaeltacht of Gweedore in County Donegal. He went to a session one evening and there met a fifteen-year-old fiddle player named Mairéad, daughter of the session's leader Proinsias Ó Maonaigh. They were attracted to each other, and he wrote to her regularly after leaving Donegal.
He was advised by a friend that he should learn an instrument if he intended to court Mairéad, and so he got a whistle and taught himself to play. Later he learned the flute, a somewhat louder instrument, so that he could hear himself in sessions. His love for Mairéad coupled with perfectionist tendencies turned him into a well-respected flute player.
Kennedy and Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh married in 1981.
Forming Altan.
The new couple continued to play at sessions in Donegal, and this formed the basis for their musical partnership. They made their recording debut on Albert Fry's eponymous record in 1979 and later formed a short-lived group called Ragairne which also included Gearóid Ó Maonaigh, Ní Mhaonaigh's brother, on guitar, and was rejoined in 1981 by singer Eithne Ní Bhraonáin, later known as Enya.
Joined by bouzouki player Ciarán Curran and Eithne Ní Bhraonáin, now known as Enya, on synthesizer, Kennedy and Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh released a recording entitled "Ceol Aduaidh" on Gael-Linn records in 1983.
At the time, Kennedy and Ní Mhaonaigh were earning their living by teaching at St. Oliver Plunkett National School in Malahide, north County Dublin. But live performances in 1984 and 1985, particularly in the United States, convinced them that there was an audience for "no-compromise traditional music played with heart and drive," and they were persuaded to give up teaching.
During this time, the group added guitarist Mark Kelly and released in 1987 a record called "Altan", named after a lake in Donegal, although the name Altan wasn't used for the band on that release. But the band's musical momentum was building rapidly, and they would release three records in three years as Altan between 1989 and 1991. "Altan" was produced by Dónal Lunny, who subsequently appeared as either a producer or guest musician on every Altan album which followed.
Later life and death.
Kennedy was diagnosed with Ewing's sarcoma, a vicious form of cancer, in 1992. Despite his illness Kennedy continued to tour and record with Altan. The band released "Island Angel" in 1993, and continued to tour through 1994, the year of his death. Although Kennedy had experienced 18 months in remission, the cancer returned "full blast" afterwards. He died on 19 September at the age of 38 in the Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast.
Kennedy is buried in Gweedore, County Donegal.
<templatestyles src="Template:Blockquote/styles.css" />The flute-player Frankie Kennedy, of the traditional group Altan, was buried yesterday after a concelebrated Mass in Derrybeg Church, Gaoth Dobhair, Co. Donegal, attended by hundreds of musicians from Ireland, Britain, the Continent and North America. The prayers were led by Father Gary Hastings in a Mass sung by members of Cor Chuil Aodha, led by Peadar O Riada. Raidio na Gaeltachta broadcast the Mass live, with overlays of the flute-player's music. Matt Molloy of the Chieftains led the communion with a slow air; Altan members Daithi Sproule, Paul Kelly, Dermot Byrne, Ciaran Curran and Ciaran Tourish blended with mazurkas from fiddler Johnny Doherty, and Paddy Glackin and Donal Lunny concluded on fiddle and synthesizer playing "Paddy's Rambles in the Park". With his flute on the coffin, Frankie Kennedy was saluted by Altan's playing of his own reel, "Harvest Storm".
Altan, in accordance with Kennedy's wishes, continued to record and perform after his death.
Legacy.
Flute style.
Kennedy was widely considered to be a master of the simple system flute. "Simple system" flutes are so named because they do not use a metal key system as complex as the Boehm system found on the Western concert flute; for the majority of notes played on the instrument the player covers the tone holes directly with his or her fingers rather than using a metal key. Simple system flutes are predominant in Irish traditional music.
Kennedy learned to play the flute in his birth city of Belfast, as part of a musical community which produced a number of well-known flute players, including Hammy Hamilton, Gary Hastings, Gerry O'Donnell, Desi Wilkinson, and Sam Murray.
<templatestyles src="Template:Blockquote/styles.css" />It was a good time to be learning the flute there, because everybody had their own style. There wasn't anyone copying the next person – they ware all seeking music from the likes of Roger Sherlock, Cathal McConnell and Conal Ó Gráda, or going down the country. He just threw himself into the music. Frankie was also a huge rock and roll fan – Rory Gallagher, Van Morrison. He never played any of it. – he just loved going to hear different types of music.
Kennedy's style was characterised first and foremost by the music he played; most of the tunes originated from County Donegal, and his flute style corresponded well with the characteristic Donegal fiddle tradition. His recorded legacy is almost exclusively with his wife and Altan, although he did perform on Clannad's album "Banba".
His playing was smooth and somewhat less heavily ornamented than that of other popular Irish flute players like Matt Molloy. But like Molloy, the use of flattened "blue notes" for expressive purposes "was a strong feature of Frankie Kennedy's playing with Altan."
Kennedy played flutes made by Chris Wilkes and Patrick Olwell.
Frankie Kennedy Winter School.
Established in December 1994 in remembrance of Kennedy and with the intention of keeping both his memory and the music of County Donegal alive, the Frankie Kennedy Winter School (Scoil Gheimhridh Frankie Kennedy in Irish gaelic) was an annual series of classes which was held for almost two decades in Gaoth Dobhair (Gweedore), County Donegal until the last edition occurred in December 2013–January 2014. In 2004 the school released a CD compilation of solo Irish flute played by a "who's who" of contemporary masters of the instrument, called "An Ghaoth Aduaidh/The North Wind", in honour of Kennedy. Kennedy's mother Agnes still attends the festival annually and is close to Mairéad's family.
Memorial.
St. Oliver Plunkett School, where Kennedy and Mairéad taught, planted a tree in their Garden of Peace in memory of Kennedy. The school's staff and pupils planted a Wild Pear, used to make flutes, in his honour. A plaque was also created, with the following inscription:
On the day of the planting ceremony over 400 of the school pupils, many past pupils and staff members put on a very special day-long marathon festival of music, song and dance. There was a three fold purpose. We wished to honour Frankie. We wished to celebrate his life in the way he enjoyed most, showing the joy and happiness that we can get from music, song and dance. Thirdly we wanted to raise funds for cancer research and the Hospice Foundation. We achieved our aims and had a marvellous day in the process. Mairead and Altan's Dermot and Ciaran came and played for huge audience who had gathered. It was at once a very poignant though terribly happy day.
Tributes.
Dozens of songs have been written and recorded about Kennedy, including the following:
References.
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Altan (band)
Irish folk music band
Altan are an Irish folk music band formed in County Donegal in 1987 by lead vocalist Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh and her husband Frankie Kennedy. The group were primarily influenced by traditional Irish language songs from Donegal and have sold over a million records.
The group were the first traditional Irish group to be signed to a major label when they signed with Virgin Records in 1994. The group has collaborated with Dolly Parton, Enya, The Chieftains, Bonnie Raitt, Alison Krauss, and many others.
Origin.
As an 18-year-old young student and musician from Belfast, Frankie Kennedy used to travel to Gweedore, County Donegal on his summer holidays, learning Irish and playing traditional Irish music on Irish flute and tin whistle. There he met native 14-year-old Irish-speaker and musician Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh, the daughter of musician Proinsias Ó Maonaigh from Gweedore and the two fell in love with each other but Ní Mhaonaigh being very young, an innocent friendship began. When she was 15, she was allowed to go to dances under her brother Gearóid Ó Maonaigh's watchful eye, and gradually Frankie Kennedy and Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh became a couple. They both took jobs as trainee teachers at St. Patrick's College in Dublin. In 1979, the two musicians made their recording debut as accompanists for the well-known Belfast singer and Gaelic enthusiast Albert Fry on his self-titled debut album. (In total, Ní Mhaonaigh and Kennedy would feature on the first three albums of Albert Fry.) Two years later, in 1981, Ní Mhaonaigh and Kennedy graduated from college and married when Mairéad was 21.
History.
Pre-Altan years: Ní Mhaonaigh & Kennedy.
Kennedy and Ní Mhaonaigh had moved to Dublin and were both teaching at St. Oliver Plunkett primary school in Malahide. At the time, they were also playing music in the folk clubs around Dublin. Ní Mhaonaigh had learned the Donegal style of fiddle-playing from her father. However, Donegal music was little known outside of the county at the time. Kennedy's repertoire included a number of obscure northern flute tunes drawn from his travels in County Tyrone and County Fermanagh.
In the early 1980s, Ní Mhaonaigh formed a (short-lived) band named Ragairne with Kennedy, Gearóid Ó Maonaigh (Mairéad's brother) and a then unknown musician from Gweedore, Eithne Ní Bhraonáin, later known as Enya. People became interested in their repertoire of Donegal tunes. The group's members contributed to Mairéad and Frankie's debut album, "Ceol Aduaidh" (which means "Music of the North"), produced by Nicky Ryan and released in 1983 by Gael-Linn Records. The album is a collection of Gaelic songs and Ulster jigs and reels.
After the release of their first album, Kennedy and Ní Mhaonaigh were invited to America, and they quickly realised there was a market there. They then took a career break from teaching, which ultimately became permanent.
The two started to tour with two additional members Ciarán Curran (on bouzouki) and Mark Kelly (on guitar), performing their first ever live concert as a four-member ensemble on 1 June 1985 at St. John's Church in Listowel, County Kerry, Ireland, this line-up – with no name yet – being the core of the future Altan band.
Inspired by the success of their debut effort, they began to work on a new group of ballads and jigs from the North. The result was the album "Altan", released in 1987 on the Green Linnet Records label, named after a lake which sits in the shadow of Errigal near Gweedore, County Donegal. In the Irish language, "altan" also means "stream". The album features many of the musicians who would later join the band.
1987–1994: "Horse with a Heart", "The Red Crow", "Harvest Storm", "Island Angel".
Shortly after the release in 1987 of "Altan", their second studio album, Ní Mhaonaigh and Kennedy named their ensemble "Altan" after the name of the album, the band's line-up remaining unchanged as a quartet including Kennedy on flute, Ní Mhaonaigh on fiddle and vocals, Ciarán Curran on bouzouki and Mark Kelly on guitar. Later on, Dublin's Paul O'Shaughnessy joined the band on fiddle, participating in the first three Green Linnet recordings (1989–1992).
In 1989, Altan released their debut album, "Horse with a Heart".
In 1990, Altan released "The Red Crow", which became the first of three Altan albums to win the "Celtic/British Isles Album of the Year" award from the National Association of Independent Record Distributors and Manufactures (NAIRD).
In 1992, Ciarán Tourish on fiddle & whistle and Dáithí Sproule on guitar joined the band for the "Harvest Storm" recording. With the arrival of Dáithí Sproule, Mark and Dáithí shared the role of guitarist, Mark touring with the band in Europe and Dáithí in the United States. In June 1992, Frankie Kennedy learned he had Ewing's sarcoma, a type of cancer that attacks bone structure. He endured surgery, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy simultaneously continuing his work with Altan.
In 1993, the band released "Island Angel". "Billboard" cited "Island Angel" as the fourth-best-selling album of world music in 1994. In 1994, they were asked by US President Bill Clinton to perform at the White House on Saint Patrick's Day, and they played for him again on his visit to Ireland in 1998. Also, the President of Ireland Mary McAleese requested they accompany her on several State visits.
1994–2000: Kennedy's death, major label, "Blackwater", "Runaway Sunday".
While battling with cancer, Frankie Kennedy continued to steer the band to international recognition, negotiating with Virgin Records UK to sign the band. Frankie Kennedy died on 19 September 1994. After a period of mourning, the band resumed their touring as requested by Kennedy himself before he died. They became the first traditional group to be signed to a major label when they signed with Virgin Records.
Dermot Byrne, who had previously guested on accordion on two Altan recordings "The Red Crow" (1990) and "Island Angel" (1993), officially joined the band in 1994. The recording line-up became Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh (vocals, fiddle), Ciarán Tourish (fiddle), Mark Kelly (guitar), Ciarán Curran (bouzouki), Dáithí Sproule (guitar) and Dermot Byrne (accordion) and remained unchanged until Dermot Byrne's departure in 2013.
In 1995, Green Linnet Records released Altan's first greatest-hits package titled "The First Ten Years".
In April 1996, Altan released "Blackwater", their first album on Virgin Records.
In July 1997, Altan released their next album, "Runaway Sunday", which featured their version of "Gleanntáin Ghlas' Ghaoth Dobhair", a song written by Mairéad's father and a favourite at all their live shows.
2000–2009: "Another Sky", "The Blue Idol", hiatus.
In 2000, the group released "Another Sky", their first album on the Narada label.
In 2002, "The Blue Idol" featured the vocals of American singer Dolly Parton, who became close friends with the group after she invited them to play on her 2001 album "Little Sparrow". The album garnered them the award for "Best Group" at the BBC "Radio 2 Folk Awards".
In 2002, Altan, along with other artists signed to Green Linnet such as Cherish the Ladies, sued for unpaid royalties. Most artists were paid and most claims were settled in 2006 as Compass Records (who would later sign Altan) bought the company.
In 2003, they released another greatest hits compilation CD called "The Best of Altan: The Songs".
In 2005, they released "Local Ground" which met with positive reviews.
Altan then went on hiatus. Some members released their debut solo album: Ciarán Tourish released "Down The Line" (2005), Dáithí Sproule released "The Crow in the Sun" (2007) and Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh released "Imeall" (2009).
2009–2011: 25th anniversary.
In April 2009, Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh announced that the band would be going into the studio in early May 2009 to record a new Altan album with the RTÉ Concert Orchestra just after a show on 7 May 2009 in Pornichet, France (near Saint-Nazaire).
In July 2009, Ní Mhaonaigh announced that Altan would also release their first DVD as the video recording of a concert on 14 August 2009 in the National Concert Hall (NCH), Dublin, Ireland (again with the RTÉ Concert Orchestra).
To commemorate their 25th anniversary, Altan released "25th Anniversary Celebration", a compilation album of studio re-recordings of previous material (plus one brand new song) with the contribution of the RTÉ Concert Orchestra. It was made available in January 2010 in Japan (where it had its launch in December 2009 during Altan's Winter 2009/2010 Japanese tour), in February 2010 in Ireland and the UK and in March 2010 in North America.
After a few European dates in January, February and April 2010 and an extensive 18-date (March to April) tour of the United States, Altan launched on 23 April 2010 in Dublin, Ireland their 14-date "25th Anniversary" tour of Ireland which would run from April to June. During Summer 2010, Altan took part in a few European festivals. A 10-date tour of UK and Ireland took place in September 2010.
2011–2014: "Gleann Nimhe – The Poison Glen" and touring.
From April 2011 to January 2012, Altan recorded a new studio album titled "Gleann Nimhe – The Poison Glen".
After celebrating the launch of the 18th Frankie Kennedy Winter School programme on 29 November 2011 by performing a show taking place during the Liffey Banks Sessions at The Grand Social, Dublin, Ireland, Altan celebrated the New Year 2012, then forthcoming release of their new studio album "Gleann Nimhe – The Poison Glen" on the occasion of their performance on 1 January 2012 at Scoil Gheimhridh Frankie Kennedy, Ionad Cois Locha, Gweedore, County Donegal, Ireland during which they played some new tracks from it.
Exactly seven years after "Local Ground", Altan released "Gleann Nimhe – The Poison Glen", their new studio album of original material, on Compass Records in the US on 28 February 2012, in Europe & Australia on 8 March 2012, in Ireland on 9 March 2012 and in the UK on 12 March 2012. Started in April 2011, the recording took place in famous sound engineer & bass player Billy Robinson's Steeples Studios in Ramelton, Ireland and ended in early January 2012.
The album features "An Ghealóg", a song composed by Martin Tourish who would later join the band replacing Dermot Byrne, temporarily starting from the Autumn 2013 (mostly) German tour and permanently since Dermot Byrne's departure from the band in early 2014.
2014–2017: "The Widening Gyre" and touring.
On 3 June 2014, on their Twitter page and the Pledge Music website, Altan announced that they were working on a new studio album to be recorded in Nashville, Tennessee. The band had started rehearsing potential material for the album with the intention to perform some of these new pieces at various concerts over the summer.
While on a 5-show US tour in July–August 2014, the band – Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh, Ciarán Tourish, Ciarán Curran, Daíthí Sproule, Mark Kelly and Martin Tourish (replacing Dermot Byrne) – began recording their new album in Nashville, Tennessee.
In October 2014, Altan confirmed that their new album was being mixed and that they "hope[d] to have it [released] in the Spring of 2015", and that it would contain "loads of surprises".
On 5 November 2014, Altan published a snippet of a new track titled "White Birds" which was recorded with an undisclosed musical guest.
In late November 2014, Altan announced the names of some guest musicians who they collaborated with: Eddi Reader on vocals, Jerry Douglas (from Union Station and Transatlantic Sessions) on Dobro, Alison Brown, Bruce Molsky, Mike McGoldrick, Natalie Haas, Jim Higgins and Darol Anger.
On 5 December 2014, Altan took part in the Great British Folk Festival in Skegness, Lincolnshire, UK. During the show, Ciarán Tourish announced that they "have a new album almost finished [which] has been mastered" and about which they "can do any more with it [for] it's done" just before the band went into playing a new medley (taken from it) entitled "The Tin Key / Sam Kelly's Jig / The Gravediggers".
On 19 December 2014, Altan revealed the names of the final guests having participated in the recording of the new album: Mary Chapin Carpenter, Todd Phillips, Garry West, Julee Glaub Weems, Kenny Malone and Stuart Duncan and offered (for listening and downloading) a (very) short audio excerpt (18 seconds) of one new instrumental titled "Buffalo Gals".
In January 2015, Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh explained why Altan called on Pledge Music's services in order to produce the new studio album and thanked all the pledgers for helping Altan with the fundraising campaign and for bringing it to completion (reaching, at that time, 101% of goal): "The music business is a changing world for professional musicians as ourselves. We depend more on live concerts to make our living. We can no longer depend on big record company funding to get our music out there, we have to do it ourselves. Now with your help we have funded our latest album which we are really happy with." She also stated that Altan have licensed the new album to Compass Records in the US, that Gary West of Compass co-produced it and that after 30 years recording studio albums, Altan "have taken a new approach with this one." The Altan Pledge Music pre-order page announced that all exclusive pre-orders would be fulfilled by 17 February 2015.
The band later announced that the new album would be released in Ireland on 20 February 2015, in the UK on 23 February 2015 and in the US on 24 February 2015, and would be titled "The Widening Gyre", taken from "The Second Coming", a poem by W. B. Yeats, the first Irishman to be awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1923. Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh revealed the album's cover artwork, by artist friend Édaín O'Donnell, who previously designed the "Gleann Nimhe – The Poison Glen" cover.
On 26 January 2015, Altan's official website published a presentation of their new studio album entitled anew "The Widening Gyre" giving many details about the new album: the new musical direction taken by the band, the album recording process and the participation of numerous guest musicians as well as the titles of some of the new tracks. The very same day, on their "Widening Gyre" iTunes page, Altan revealed the titles of the 14 tracks from their new studio album and released them for sale.
On 27 January 2015, on their "Widening Gyre" Compass Records page, Altan made available short snippets of their new tracks.
On 22 February 2015 in Charleston, WV (at Culture Center Theater, Mountain Stage Radio), Altan embarked on an extensive 25-date Winter/Spring North American tour which ended on 3 April 2015 in Greeley, Colorado (at the Union Colony Civic Center) visiting the Canada only twice: on 18 March 2015 in St. Albert, Alberta (at the Arden Theatre) and on 19 March 2015 in North Vancouver, BC (at the Centennial Theatre Centre).
Almost a year after the beginning of their extensive 25-date Winter/Spring 2015 North American tour, Altan embarked on 19 February 2016 in Northampton, Massachusetts in another extensive North American tour (but exclusively visiting the US), their 25-date Winter/Spring 2016 US tour which ended on 25 March 2016 in Spokane, Washington. An extensive (18-date) Spring 2016 UK tour followed in April and May 2016, including one Scotland leg and two England legs from 8 April in Hindhead, Surrey to 7 May 2016 in Stornoway, Scotland, including a London show at Kings Place on 9 April 2016.
Altan celebrated their 30th anniversary year with a Winter tour of Europe in January 2017, visiting The Netherlands, Ireland, Scotland and France within this month. On this tour, the core of the band (made of Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh, Ciarán Curran, Ciarán Tourish, Mark Kelly, Martin Tourish) is joined with a newcomer, John Joe Kelly on bodhrán. Altan have also announced for 2017 a 17-date US Winter tour in February and March 2017.
After more than 25 years as a band member (he had joined Altan in September 1991 for the "Harvest Storm" recording sessions), Ciarán Tourish (fiddle, backing vocals) left the band (for personal reasons) after the show Altan performed on 29 July 2017 in Lyon, France, at Les Nuits de Fourvière Festival. He was not replaced until fiddle player Clare Friel joined the band, at first as a guest musician for the Autumn 2022 and Spring 2023 US tours, then as a permanent member in July 2023.
2017–2024: "The Gap of Dreams" and touring.
On 23 February 2018, Altan embarked on a new (one-month) North-American tour.
On 2 March 2018, Altan released their new studio album entitled "The Gap of Dreams" which they had recorded in November 2017.
On 15 March 2020, Altan announced that their ongoing US Spring Tour 2020 had come to a halt because of the coronavirus situation and that they had been advised to return to Ireland as soon as possible. Altan's booking agency was due to reschedule all 9 remaining (15–29 March 2020) concerts for the following Autumn 2020 or next Spring 2021 but the pandemic prevented it. Nevertheless, it appears that Altan performed their last two scheduled shows in Ireland on 18 April 2020 at Copper Coast TradFest in Dunhill, County Waterford and on 24 April 2020 at Club Ceol Aislann in Kilcar, County Donegal. Besides, Altan's bus tour with Hammond Tours scheduled for 12–19 September 2020 might have happened as well.
After a unique 2021 show on 26 November 2021 at Áislann Chill Chartha, Kilcar, Co. Donegal and their annual week residence at Scoil Gheimhridh Ghaoth Dobhair, Ghaoth Dobhair (also Co. Donegal) from 27 December 2021 to 1 January 2022, Altan resumed touring in March 2022, performing 3 shows in London and 3 shows in France this month, and another 6 shows in Ireland from March to October.
Two extensive (23-date) US Autumn and (15-date) US Spring tours ensued, respectively in October–November 2022 and March 2023 (after a unique show in Ireland on 3 February 2023 at Seamus Heaney HomePlace, Bellaghy, Magherafelt, County Londonderry). These new US dates marked Altan's first shows in the US in two and a half years (since the aborted US Spring Tour in March 2020).
Since then, Altan embarked on a 4-show tour of Ireland in the Spring and Summer of 2023 and performed 2 shows in France: on 1 April 2023 at La Coursive (scène nationale), La Rochelle, Nouvelle-Aquitaine and with l'Orchestre National de Bretagne on 9 August 2023 at the Lorient Interceltic Festival, Lorient, Brittany.
Born in Glasgow with her family roots firmly entrenched in the Donegal Gaeltacht (Derrynamansher), fiddle player Clare Friel permanently joined Altan in July 2023. She is the first female member to join the band since Mairead Ni Mhaonaigh since the band's start. A former Gradaim Cheoil Young Musician of the Year winner, Clare Friel is from The (Anna, Sheila and Clare) Friel Sisters and from .
2024–present: new album "Donegal" and touring.
On 24 January 2024, Altan performed at the Glasgow Celtic Connections with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra and the Scottish fiddle female quartet RANT." A 5-date tour of Ireland ensued: starting on 26 January in Dublin at Temple Bar Tradfest, it included concerts on 1 February with the RTÉ Concert Orchestra in Kildare at the C. Kildare St. Brigid's Cathedral and on 2 February in Galway at the Town Hall Theatre. It is due to include a performance on 23 February at the Belfast Winter Tradfest and to end on 3 March 2024 in Killarney at the Gathering Traditional Irish Music Festival. Altan is due to embark on a 15-date US tour on 8 March 2024 in Sacramento at Sofia Tsakopoulos Center, due to end on 27 March 2024 in Chicago at the Old Town School of Folk Music.
On 7 February 2024, it was officially announced the upcoming release on 1 March 2024 on Compass Records of Altan's new studio album entitled "Donegal". This is their first studio album to be released in 6 years. The announcement reads: ""Donegal" captures the essence of the region which has inspired Altan since the band's inception and further cements Altan's legacy as one of the great cultural treasures of Ireland."
Band members.
Recording line-up.
Since the arrival of accordionist Dermot Byrne in 1994, the band recording line-up has remained unchanged until his definitive departure from the band some time in 2013 and his lasting replacement since then by Martin Tourish (Ciarán Tourish's cousin). Incidentally, Martin Tourish wrote (but didn't record) the song "An Ghealóg" from the 2012 Altan studio album "Gleann Nimhe – The Poison Glen".
Since July 2023, the band recording line-up has become:
Touring line-up.
Based on the recording line-up, the band touring line-up may differ at times:
Legacy.
For almost two decades (from December 1994 to January 2014), a winter school of music called Scoil Gheimhridh Frankie Kennedy (The Frankie Kennedy Winter Music School) was held each year in Gaoth Dobhair (Gweedore), County Donegal in honour of co-founder Frankie Kennedy.
Ni Mhaonaigh is regarded as one of the great female singers of Ireland, standing alongside Mary Black, Moya Brennan and Sinéad O'Connor.
Discography.
Altan albums.
Compilations.
Various artists live compilations featuring Altan
Notes.
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References.
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Çetin Altan
Turkish politician
Çetin Altan (22 June 1927 – 22 October 2015) was a Turkish writer, journalist, and a member of parliament. He was considered one of the finest


Madison, West Virginia
Madison is a city and former coal town in Boone County, West Virginia, United States. The population was 2,911 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Boone County.
History.
Madison was first established as Boone Court House. The town was renamed "circa" 1865, presumably for James Madison, the fourth president of the United States. Other theories hold that it was named for lawyer James Madison Laidley or for William Madison Peyton, a pioneer coal operator, who was a leader in the movement which resulted in the formation of Boone County and for whom Peytona on Big Coal River was also named. Madison was incorporated in 1906.
The first courthouse at Madison, a log structure, was burned by Union troops early in the Civil War. The second courthouse, made of local brick, served until 1913, and a frame building was used by county officials for the next several years. The present Boone County Courthouse, occupied in 1921, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Madison is the "Gateway to the Coalfields," as it is located on a principal route through the southern coalfields. It occupied a strategic place during the Mine Wars. Miners twice rallied at the town ballpark in August 1921, to consider whether to continue their march to neighboring Logan and Mingo counties. Thousands of armed marchers passed through the town and surrounding region on their way to and from the fighting at Blair Mountain, which is located up Spruce Fork from Madison.
In addition to the Boone County Courthouse, the Madison National Bank building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The WV Coal Festival has taken place in Madison each June since 1994.
Geography.
Madison is located at (38.061816, -81.818216). The Little Coal River is formed at Madison by the confluence of its Spruce Fork and its Pond Fork.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which is land and is water.
Demographics.
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2010 census.
As of the census of 2010, there were 3,076 people, 1,299 households, and 881 families living in the city. The population density was . There were 1,428 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 96.3% White, 2.3% African American, 0.4% Asian, 0.7% from other races, and 0.4% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.9% of the population.
There were 1,299 households, of which 29.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.7% were married couples living together, 11.5% had a female householder with no husband present, 4.6% had a male householder with no wife present, and 32.2% were non-families. 28.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.36 and the average family size was 2.86.
The median age in the city was 42.1 years. 21.2% of residents were under the age of 18; 7.8% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 24.6% were from 25 to 44; 30.4% were from 45 to 64; and 16% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 48.2% male and 51.8% female.
2000 census.
As of the census of 2000, there were 2,677 people, 1,191 households, and 783 families living in the city. The population density was 479.1 people per square mile (184.9/km2). There were 1,319 housing units at an average density of 236.1 per square mile (91.1/km2). The racial makeup of the city was 94.81% White, 4.18% African American, 0.04% Native American, 0.41% Asian, 0.07% from other races, and 0.49% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.26% of the population.
There were 1,191 households, out of which 25.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.9% were married couples living together, 12.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.2% were non-families. 31.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.24 and the average family size was 2.79.
In the city, the population was spread out, with 20.7% under the age of 18, 7.2% from 18 to 24, 24.5% from 25 to 44, 30.1% from 45 to 64, and 17.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 44 years. For every 100 females, there were 84.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 81.5 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $29,911, and the median income for a family was $37,232. Males had a median income of $31,389 versus $23,160 for females. The per capita income for the city was $18,309. About 18.2% of families and 21.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 31.8% of those under age 18 and 11.7% of those age 65 or over.
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Leonard S. Echols
American politician (1871–1946)
Leonard Sidney Echols (October 30, 1871 – May 9, 1946) was an American politician who represented West Virginia in the United States House of Representatives from 1919 to 1923.
Echols was born in Madison, West Virginia. He attended public school. He graduated from the commercial department of the University of Kentucky at Lexington in 1894, from the Concord State Normal School, Athens, West Virginia in 1898, and from the law department of the Southern Normal University, Huntingdon, Tennessee in 1900. After all his formal education, he was admitted to the bar in 1900 and commenced practice in Point Pleasant, West Virginia in 1903.
Echols was the prosecuting attorney of Mason County, West Virginia in 1904–09 and assistant state tax commissioner for West Virginia in 1909–19. He was elected as a Republican to the Sixty-sixth and Sixty-seventh Congresses (March 4, 1919 – March 3, 1923). While in Congress, he served as chairman of the Committee on Expenditures in the Department of Navy (Sixty-sixth and Sixty-seventh Congresses). He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1922 to the Sixty-eighth Congress and for election in 1924 to the Sixty-ninth Congress.
After leaving Congress, Echols served as a member of the committee on appeals and review of the United States Treasury Department from May 1, 1923, to September 15, 1924. He was a delegate to the Republican State convention in 1924, and the postmaster at Charleston, West Virginia 1925-1928. He resumed the practice of law and served as Referee in Bankruptcy and as special master in the United States District Court, Charleston, West Virginia. He died in Charleston, West Virginia in 1946 and was buried in Sunset Memorial Park, South Charleston, West Virginia.
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Odis Echols
American politician
Odis Leonard Echols, Jr. (May 28, 1930 – March 28, 2013) was an American politician, songwriter, radio broadcaster, and lobbyist.
Born in Clovis, New Mexico, Echols graduated from Texas Tech University, Echols and his father were radio broadcasters. Echols served in the New Mexico State Senate 1966–77. He died in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
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John Echols
American politician
John Echols (March 20, 1823 – May 24, 1896) was a general in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War.
Early and family life.
John Echols was born in Lynchburg, Virginia. He joined the Virginia Military Institute in 1840 and resigned in the next year; being made an honorary graduate in 1843. He received further education at Washington College and at Harvard College. A tall imposing man, standing 6 feet 4 inches tall, Echols quickly became a leader among his peers.
Echols married twice. His first wife was a sister of Senator Allen T. Caperton (also of what became West Virginia). After she died, he married Mrs. Mary Helen Cochran Reid, a widow from New York City.
Early legal and political career.
On becoming a lawyer in 1843 he settled in Union, Monroe County (now West Virginia). Echols represented Monroe County in the Virginia House of Delegates 1852–1853 and in the Virginia Secession Convention of 1861.
Confederate service.
Both Echols and Allen T. Caperton voted for Virginia's secession from the United States on April 17, 1861 at the Richmond convention. When the secession ordinance was put to public vote on May 23 Monroe County voted 1,085 to 79 in favor of secession. Echols offered his service to Virginia. He gathered a group of volunteers and was commissioned as a lieutenant colonel. On May 6, 1861, General Robert E. Lee ordered Lieutenant Colonel Echols to call out and muster in volunteer forces, not to exceed two regiments, to rendezvous these men at Staunton for Joseph E. Johnston's fledgling army.
Echols was then assigned command of the 27th Virginia Infantry, leading the regiment in the fighting at the First Battle of Manassas under Stonewall Jackson. He was soon promoted to colonel, serving in the Valley Campaign. He was severely wounded at the First Battle of Kernstown on March 23, disabling him for several weeks. Echols was promoted to brigadier general on April 16, 1862 during his convalescence.
Later in the year, he was assigned to command a brigade of the army of Western Virginia. He participated as a brigade commander in William W. Loring's Kanawha Valley Campaign of 1862 and the occupation of the Kanawha Valley in September. After Loring withdrew to the mountains, Echols replaced him in command of the Department of Western Virginia. He promptly reoccupied Charleston, but was forced to retreat by a superior enemy force.
Echols resigned his departmental command in the fall of 1862, and, during the following summer, served upon the three-man court of inquiry held in Richmond to investigate the cause of the fall of Vicksburg. Later in the year, he commanded the Confederate forces in the Battle of Droop Mountain, stubbornly resisting a series of Federal attacks. In May 1864, he commanded John C. Breckinridge's right wing at the Battle of New Market in the Shenandoah Valley.
General Robert E. Lee recalled Echols' Brigade to rejoin the Army of Northern Virginia near Cold Harbor during the Siege of Petersburg. On August 22, 1864, he was given charge of the District of Southwestern Virginia, and on March 29, 1865, Echols was assigned command of the western department of Virginia, relieving General Breckinridge, who had joined the staff of President Jefferson Davis. On April 2, Echols, with nearly 7,000 men, began a hasty march to unite with Lee.
He reached Christiansburg, Virginia, on April 10, where he received a telegram announcing Lee's surrender at Appomattox Courthouse. At a solemn council of war, Echols decided to march to unite with Johnston's army, and Echols led two brigades southward towards North Carolina. Subsequently, he accompanied President Davis to Augusta, Georgia.
Postwar career.
Monroe County had been included in the new state of West Virginia without its consent and the new state government would not allow ex-Confederates to practice law.
 After the war, Echols resumed the practice of law in Staunton. He helped select the members of the Committee of Nine, a group of state leaders who worked to ensure that the state be readmitted into the Union and former Confederates could once again hold political office.
Echols returned to the Virginia House of Delegates 1878–1881, representing Staunton and Augusta County. While there, he sided with the Funders against the Readjusters, which briefly reunited Republicans and liberal Democrats, and tried to allocate some of Virginia's massive wartime debt to West Virginia and had supported Reconstruction.
He rebuilt his fortune and became President of the Staunton National Valley Bank. When the hastily agglomerated Chesapeake, Ohio and Southwestern Railroad went bankrupt, he became its Receiver and General Manager. He lived in Kentucky the last ten years of his life as he managed the railroad's affairs.
Death and legacy.
He died at Oakdene the residence of his son, Edward Echols (later lieutenant governor of Virginia), at Staunton, where he is buried in Thornrose Cemetery. The General Echols House located in Union, Monroe County, West Virginia, is significant for its association with John Echols, A Brigadier General in the army of the Confederate States of America. The house possesses additional distinction as one of Monroe County's oldest and best preserved examples of Greek Revival architecture.
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Fate Echols
American football player (1939–2002)
Fate Leonard Echols (June 29, 1939 – October 10, 2002) was an American professional football tackle who played two seasons with the St. Louis Cardinals of the National Football League (NFL). He was selected by the Cardinals in the first round of the 1962 NFL draft after playing college football at Northwestern University.
Early life.
Fate Leonard Echols was born on June 29, 1939, in Union Springs, Alabama. He played high school football Washington High School in South Bend, Indiana as a lineman. He was named all-league during his junior and senior seasons. Echols was a team captain in 1957. He was inducted into the school's athletic hall of fame in 2013.
College career.
Echols was a member of the Northwestern Wildcats of Northwestern University from 1958 to 1961 and was a two-year starter. As a senior in 1961, he earned Associated Press second-team All-Big Ten Conference and United Press International first-team All-Big Ten honors. He was invited to the East–West Shrine Game after his senior season. In December 1961, he visited a hospital for sick children with the rest of the Shrine game players.
Professional career.
In December 1961, Echols was selected by the St. Louis Cardinals in the first round, with the sixth overall pick, of the 1962 NFL draft and by the New York Titans in the third round, with the 21st overall pick, of the 1962 AFL draft. He signed with the Cardinals on December 8, 1961. He was released on September 12, 1962, but late re-signed. Echols then played in five games during the 1962 season before being placed on injured reserve. He appeared in three games, starting one, for the Cardinals in 1963 before being released on October 8, 1963.
Echols signed with the NFL's Philadelphia Eagles on October 14, 1963. He was released on October 24, 1963, without appearing in a game.
Echols was signed by the Washington Redskins of the NFL on June 10, 1966. He was released on August 10, 1966.
Echols signed with the Cincinnati Bengals of the AFL in 1968. He was later released on July 29, 1968.
Personal life.
Echols died on October 10, 2002, in Springfield, Illinois.
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Robert L. Echols
American judge (born 1941)
Robert Lynn Echols (born January 13, 1941) is a former United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee.
Early life, education and military service.
Born in Memphis, Tennessee, Echols received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Southwestern College (now Rhodes College) in Memphis in 1962 and a Juris Doctor from the University of Tennessee College of Law in 1964. He was in the United States Army in 1966. He served for 35 years in both the United States Army Reserves and the Army National Guard retiring as a brigadier general in 2001. His last assignment in the military was commander of the 30th Troop Command of the Tennessee Army National Guard.
Career.
Echols was a law clerk to Judge Marion S. Boyd of the United States District Court for the Western District of Tennessee from 1965 to 1966. He was a legislative assistant for Congressman Dan Kuykendall in the United States House of Representatives from 1967 to 1969. He was in private practice in Nashville, Tennessee from 1969 to 1992, serving as a night commissioner for Davidson County, Tennessee from 1974 to 1975.
On October 22, 1991, Echols was nominated by President George H. W. Bush to a new seat on the United States District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee created by 104 Stat. 5089. He was confirmed by the United States Senate on March 13, 1992, and received his commission on March 18, 1992. He served as Chief Judge from 1998 to 2005, assuming senior status on March 1, 2007, and retiring fully from the bench on July 31, 2010.
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Echols County, Georgia
County in Georgia, United States
Echols County () is a county located in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 3,697. The county seat is Statenville. Since 2008, Statenville is a disincorporated municipality. Echols and Webster counties are the only two counties in Georgia to currently have no incorporated municipalities. The county was established in 1858 and named in honor of Robert Milner Echols (1798–1847).
Echols County is part of the Valdosta, GA metropolitan statistical area.
History.
On December 13, 1858, the Georgia General Assembly passed a bill establishing Echols County from a south-eastern section of Lowndes County and a south-western section Clinch County. The original borders of the county were a line from the mouth of the Suwanoochee Creek directly south to the state line, then along the state line, then north to the junction of Grand Bay Creek and Mud Swamp, then up the course of Grand Bay Creek to Carter's Ford, then a direct line to where Cow's Creek enters the Alapaha River, then up the creek to Griffins' Mill, then a direct line to Jack's Fort on Suwanoochee Creek, and then down Suwanoochee Creek to its mouth. With the exception of some minor adjustments of the border Echols shares with Lowndes and the loss of a thin strip to Florida following "Florida v. Georgia", the borders of Echols County has changed little since its establishment. Statenville was declared the county seat in 1859.
At the time of the 1860 census, Echols County had a white population of 1,177, with 314 slaves, and no free people of color.
Echols County became notable as it has served as a place of banishment for many of Georgia's criminals. As the Georgia State Constitution forbids banishment beyond the borders of the state, officials instead ban the offender from 158 of Georgia's 159 counties, with Echols remaining as their only option. Few criminals have been documented as actually moving to Echols. This is because almost all banished criminals choose to leave the state instead of moving to Echols County.
Banishment, including 158-county banishment, has repeatedly been upheld by Georgia courts. The first case when banishment was upheld was in the 1974 case "State v Collett", when the Georgia Supreme Court upheld the banishment of a drug dealer from seven counties. The most recent time banishment was upheld, in 2011, the Georgia Supreme Court ruled it was constitutional to banish David Nathan Thompson (a mentally ill man who was convicted of firing a gun into a home, although no one was injured) from all but one county in Georgia.
Geography.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (1.4%) is water. The county contains a notable swamp, Whitehead Bay.
The western half of Echols County is located in the Alapaha River sub-basin of the Suwannee River basin. The eastern half of the county, from well east of Statenville to just west of Fargo, is located in the Upper Suwannee River sub-basin of the same Suwannee River basin.
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Demographics.
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As of the 2020 United States census, there were 3,697 people, 1,561 households, and 1,097 families residing in the county.
Education.
Echols County School District, the only school district in the county, operates public schools.
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Jon Echols
American politician
Jon Echols (born December 3, 1979) is an American politician who served in the Oklahoma House of Representatives representing the 90th district from 2012 to 2024. He was the Majority Floor Leader.
Early life, education, and career.
John Echols grew up in Oklahoma City. His mother was an attorney and special education teacher, while his father, David Echols, is an attorney and a member of the Oklahoma City Community College Board of Regenets. He graduated from the University of Oklahoma with a bachelor's degree in political science and from Oklahoma City University School of Law with a Juris Doctor.
Echols co-foundered Turn Key Health Clinics in 2009 and is the company's president. Echols has said that "he works for the company’s CEO mostly outside of Oklahoma to minimize perceived conflicts of interest." He also worked for the law firm Crowe and Dunlevy.
Oklahoma House of Representatives.
Echols ran for the 90th district of the Oklahoma House of Representatives in 2012 to succeed Charles Key. He won the election and was reelected until he was term limited in 2024. From 2016 to 2024, he served as the majority floor leader of the house and he holds the record for longest serving majority leader.
Tenure.
Echols received the 2015 Distinguished Service Award for Higher Education from the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education and the Council of College and University Presidents. He would go on to receive the award in 2020 and 2021 as well.
In 2016, Echols asked Sheriff Vic Regalado's office to change a bid requirement on a medical contract for the Tulsa County jail so his company, Turn Key Health Clinic, could bid. Echols said he asked for the change so that in-county companies would have a fair opportunity to make bids.
In 2023, Echols was the House author on Senate Bill 840 (co-authored by Sen. Greg McCortney, R-Ada), a bill that "deals with name, image, likeness — the new endorsements phenomenon known as NIL." Echols marked it as "high-priority."
In October 2023, Echols voiced support for Israel in the 2023 Israel–Hamas war, calling Hamas a terrorist organization and saying that Israel is in its rights to "wipe" Hamas out, but pointing out that Hamas is "not our Muslim brothers and sisters"and differentiating between Hamas and Palestinian civilians in Gaza.
In 2024, Echols introduced House Bill 4156, a state immigration law creating the crime of "impermissible occupation." Attorney General Gentner Drummond helped draft the bill.
2026 attorney general campaign.
On February 26, 2025, Echols officially launched a campaign for Attorney General of Oklahoma.
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Robert Milner Echols
American politician
Robert Milner Echols (1798–1847) was an American politician and soldier.
Born near Washington, Georgia, March 18, 1798, Echols was raised in Walton County near Walnut Grove. He was a member of the Georgia General Assembly from 1824 to 1829, and the Georgia State Senate from 1830 to 1844, including six (non-consecutive) years as that body's president. In a race for the United States House of Representatives, Echols lost to his opponent, Gen. Howell Cobb, by only two votes. He was a major general in the Georgia Militia, 11th Division, in 1833.
Echols served as a brigadier general in the U.S. Army during the Mexican–American War, and was fatally injured in a fall from his horse while on dress parade at National Bridge, Mexico, December 3, 1847. Several years after his death, the General Assembly passed an appropriation to have his remains relocated to his home in Walton County, where he was interred with full military honors.
Echols County, Georgia, is named in his honor.
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Edward Echols
American politician
Edward Echols (September 2, 1849 – December 19, 1914) was a U.S. political figure from the Commonwealth of Virginia. Echols held office as the 18th Lieutenant Governor of Virginia from 1898 to 1902.
Edward Echols was born in Monroe County (now in West Virginia). There is some confusion over his birth year, but he is listed in the 1850 census as being one year old in September 1850. He and his family moved to Staunton, Virginia, after the Civil War. He also served for six years in the Virginia House of Delegates and for a total of twelve years in the Senate of Virginia. His father, John Echols, was a brigadier general in the Confederate Army during the American Civil War. Echols served as the National Valley Bank's third president from 1905 to 1915.
His house at Staunton, known as Oakdene, was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1982.
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Johnny Echols
American songwriter and guitarist
John Marshall Echols (; born February 21, 1947) is an American songwriter and guitarist, who was a co-founder and the lead guitar player of the psychedelic rock band Love.
Early life and career.
Johnny Echols was born in Memphis, Tennessee. He moved with his family to Los Angeles, California, in the late 1950s, and re-established a childhood friendship with Arthur Lee, who had also moved to the city from Memphis a few years earlier; their respective families were friends. Echols began playing guitar as a child, and in his teens played in bands with Billy Preston, Marilyn McCoo, Clarence McDonald and others. Echols and Lee both attended Dorsey High School, and decided to form a band. The band became "Arthur Lee and the L.A.G.'s" (an allusion to Booker T. and the M.G.'s) before splitting up. Lee and Echols then formed The American Four, later re-named The Grass Roots, and finally re-named Love in 1965. Echols also worked as a studio musician alongside Glen Campbell and others.
Career with Love.
Echols contributed as lead guitarist and writer to Love's first three albums: "Love," on which he is credited as co-writer of three songs; "Da Capo," credited as co-writer of the side-long improvised track "Revelation" and "Forever Changes", often cited as one of the greatest rock albums of its time. "Forever Changes" comprised songs written by Lee and by fellow band member Bryan MacLean. The record company, Elektra Records, would only release a single rather than a double album, and songs written by Echols for a possible companion album, tentatively titled "Gethsemane", were never recorded by the band. In 1968, the band split up: they were performing less frequently; sales of "Forever Changes" were disappointing; there were personal disagreements among the band members; MacLean was considering a solo contract with Elektra; and most of the band members, including Echols and his housemate, bassist Ken Forssi, had become heroin users. However, rumors that Echols and Forssi robbed donut shops to support their habit are unfounded.
Later activities.
Echols moved to New York City, where he gave up drugs, worked as a studio musician with Miles Davis and others, and taught guitar. He moved to Arizona in the 1980s. Occasional attempts by Lee and others to reconstitute Love did not bear fruit until 2003, when Echols joined Lee and his backing band, Baby Lemonade, onstage in Los Angeles. Echols toured with the band in 2004 and 2005, though the 2005 European tour was without Arthur, who cancelled at the last minute due, they were to find out later, to the cancer that he died from. After Lee's death in 2006, Echols continued to perform with Baby Lemonade, billed as "Love Revisited" (2016) or "The Love Band featuring Johnny Echols" (2019).
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M. Patton Echols
American politician
Marion Patton "Pat" Echols Jr. (October 1, 1925 – July 26, 2012) was an attorney in northern Virginia who served briefly as the only Republican to represent Arlington County in the Virginia Senate. He was also an unsuccessful candidate for Attorney General of Virginia in 1973.
Early life.
Echols was the son of Colonel Marion Patton Echols and Nancy Patterson McArthur. He was born October 1, 1925, in Honolulu in the U.S. territory of Hawaii. He married the former Susanne Stokes in 1956 and they raised two sons and two daughters in Arlington. They later divorced, and Echols married Beth McLaren in 2005.
Political career.
In 1963, Echols switched from the Democratic to the Republican Party and was one of three Republican candidates for the three House of Delegates seats allocated to Arlington and elected countywide, at-large. He came in fifth with 9,139 votes.
In February 1969, longtime Virginia State Senator Charles R. Fenwick who represented the 9th District died. In the snap special election in March, Echols was elected as a Republican over the expected victor C. Harrison Mann. He served the balance of Fenwick's term. However, as a result of the decennial redistricting and creation of single-member districts in 1971, his old numbered district was moved to Richmond and he ran in the 31st District. Echols then lost to Democratic delegate Clive Duval, who would win re-election many times.
Republicans tapped Echols in 1973 for the "unenviable task" of running against popular incumbent Virginia Attorney General Andy Miller, and Miller won in a landslide.
Later years.
Echols practiced law for many years in Arlington and resided in McLean, Virginia. He died on July 26, 2012, and a memorial service was held at Grace Episcopal Church in Alexandria. He was buried at the University of Virginia Cemetery in Charlottesville.
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Tim Echols
American politician
Tim G. Echols (born November 1, 1960) is an elected official originally from Clayton County, Georgia, who was elected to the Athens-area seat on the Georgia Public Service Commission as a Republican in 2010. Echols unsuccessfully attempted to be appointed to the United States Senate in 2019. Echols currently serves as vice-chairman of the commission.
Political career.
Echols created the national non-profit, TeenPact, that now operates in 49 states.
Echols served on Governor Sonny Perdue's office of Children and Families for 5 years. He was treasurer and spokesperson for U.S. representative Paul Broun. In 2009, Echols was campaign manager and senior policy advisor for Republican gubernatorial candidate John Oxendine, who lost the Republican primary to Nathan Deal. In 2010, Echols won against Democratic candidate Keith Moffett in a race to become the Athens-area public service commissioner, after first defeating fellow Republicans Jeff May and Joey Brush in the primary, and then John Douglas in the primary run-off.
In December 2016, Echols won re-election to another