7. Johnny McGreevy
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Johnny McGreevy, born in Chicago on April 16th, 1919, whose parents were from Galway & Mayo, came under the musical mentorship of Jimmy Neary at the age of 14 years. Jimmy was also a mentor to a young Eleanor Kane and from the mid-1930s, these three musicians formed a partnership which played center stage in the Irish music of Chicago’s Southside for the next 50 years. Johnny developed into one of the best fiddle players in America and his musical prowess was also acknowledged in Ireland where he visited on tour and as music teacher on several occasions at the Willie Clancy Summer School in Miltown Malbay, Co. Clare in the mid-1980s
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Johnny McGreevy
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Johnny & Catherine
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Early Music
In 1943, Johnny married Catherine Bresnahan who was born in Chicago; her parents were from Cork & Kerry. I first met Catherine in 2013 and from then until her passing in 2016 at the age of 97, I enjoyed many evenings at her home listening to happy memories of her life with Johnny, whom she always referred to as “my Jack”. On one of those occasions Catherine presented me with a collection of recordings which included Johnny on cassettes and early acetates (home-made 78s), the latter dating back to the mid-1940s. Harry Bradshaw digitized these acetates for me, some of which I now present here for your enjoyment. |
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From the late 1940s to mid-1950s, Johnny was very influenced by a wonderful fiddle player called Tom Fitzmaurice who emigrated from Ballyhahill, Co. Limerick in 1928 and spent the remainder of his life in Chicago. In one interview I have, Johnny states “Tom Fitzmaurice was an incredible fiddle player with a rich store of old tunes, it’s an awful pity he died so young.” Fitzmaurice passed away in Chicago in 1958 at the early age of 52 years.
Here are 5 tunes played by Johnny which he got directly from Fitzmaurice:
Here are 5 tunes played by Johnny which he got directly from Fitzmaurice:
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Johnny playing with Eleanor Kane Neary
Johnny and Eleanor Kane Neary played together from their teenage years to Johnny’s passing in 1990. They were recorded by Decca in Chicago in 1935, played together at all the major events held in Chicago by the IMA from the mid-1950s and they performed together on stage at the World Fair in Knoxville, TN in 1982. Johnny was a constant visitor to the home of Eleanor & Jimmy Neary at 6123 S. Washtenaw, playing at numerous house parties and hosting many visiting musicians. Here are just some examples of their wonderful playing together through those years. |
(l to r) Johnny McGreevy, Jimmy Neary & Eleanor Kane Neary
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Recording made by Gerry Field, Chicago 1985
Gerry Field is a musician and violin maker with a workshop in Highland Park, where he has practiced the tradition of violinmaking and the fine art of restoration and repair since 1980. In 1985, Johnny McGreevy agreed to put down a few tunes for Gerry while visiting his workshop and I received a copy of that recording from Johnny’s wife Catherine. My sincere thanks to Gerry for permission to share this recording with you here. |
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