Rachel Morgan

Band #1

5/31/05

Corrs

I first heard of the Corrs music group when I got a cd of Irish/Celtic music from my mom on Christmas. I had heard the song Breathless which is by the Corrs, but I never really did know who had created the song. I am very thankful for my mom for giving me the cd or I might have never heard of group and the rest of the songs they have put out. The group is fairly new; it was introduced into the United States within the last six to seven years. The group comprises of four siblings: Jim, the eldest; Sharon; Caroline; and Andrea, the youngest.

The Corr siblings grew up in Dundalk, near the Northern Ireland border. They were a middle-class family and each of them went to religious private schools. While completing their secondary school they actively participated in musical activities which their parents encouraged. Jim learned piano and guitar, Sharon studied violin, Caroline took piano lessons but later switched to drums when they became professional, and Andrea soon picked up the penny whistle.

During the summer, Jim was a session musician for various bands in Dublin. The girls worked at their aunt’s pub in Dundalk during the weekends and summer breaks. The siblings then tried out for parts in the movie The Commitments. Only Andrea received a part in it, but they gained a manager from the movie. With the manager they were able to get slots in the “HMV Goes Live ‘94” acoustic series. They were soon producing music that was widely popular across the world; Like Australia, Japan, and Spain. From there they received an invitation to perform at the JFK Library in Boston by the U.S. Ambassador. Still, with the great start it took the Americans and the United Kingdom a while to discover the Corrs.

Their music wasn’t what the U.S. was looking for. The music did not really fit into the rock or top-40 formats that the radios generally played, and then things changed. Andrea and their producer “Mutt” Lange co wrote the song Breathless and the siblings de-emphasized their Celtic sound. Soon, the Corrs music was played a lot more frequently on the radio. Since the creation of Breathless, their fan population has grown significantly.

Even so, with all music come the critics. Some of them think that their music has too much gloss from being show openers for Celine Dion and the Rolling Stones. They think that with all the polish the meatier tunes seem to not fly as well. In the beginning, the American critics also thought that they just another band trying to go after success while losing their creativity and originality. Still, with all the criticism the Corrs had great success on their music.

Their music alone is not only what is helping the siblings be so popular. Andrea still acts occasionally in movies and was recently voted Ireland’s most beautiful woman. She has also appeared on the Late, Late show, and both the Irish and New York Premiers of “The Boys and Girl from County Clare,” and “The Kelly Show.” Andrea has also supported the “Tin Whistles for Teachers” which is a novel new development which is to promote music in the classroom. Sharon wrote music to go with other various movies and has appeared on “The Kelly Show.” They continue to have tours and write new music. They also speak for copyright issues for musicians. Currently, Sharon will be performing in the 46664 Artic’ concert in Tromsø, Norway. She will be performing with Zecchero who is from Italy. The concert will be teaching about the issues of infant mortality and the impact HIV/AIDS has on children. Then, the band will do a concert in Germany. After the shows in Norway and Germany, the band will be doing a presentation in Monaco during the “Sporting Summer Festival.”

The Corrs have created and put out many cds. Some of them are: Talk on Corners (1998), In Blue (2000), Live in Dublin (2002), Borrowed Heaven (2004), MTV-Unplugged (2000), Forgiven not Forgotten (1996), and Best of The Corrs (2001). They have quite a few single also. A few of their singles include: Breathless, Runaway, Angel, Summer Sunshine, Irresistible, Dreams, and So Young. They have also received many awards, including: The Phil Lynott New Irish Band Award, Heineken/Hot Press Rock Awards (1996); BRIT Award, Best international Band (1998); and International Federation of Phonographic Industry Artist Representative (2000).