Sandy Kelly: In My Own Words
The hugely anticipated autobiography from Irish music legend Sandy Kelly
Born in Sligo into a family of travelling entertainers, Sandy Kelly went on to become one Ireland’s most successful singers. Sandy was co-opted into the family variety show from an early age, laying the foundations for a lifelong career in music. As a teenager she sang on the social club circuit in the UK. When she returned to Ireland, she was a pop performer before concentrating on a country music career. Her landmark 1989 recording of the Patsy Cline hit ‘Crazy’ led her to perform on stages all over the world, including the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville and London’s West End. But the music industry can be a tough place. Sandy has dealt with prejudice and financial pressures. Alongside the glamour of show business, she experienced the heartaches of divorce, family illness and death, and faced the challenges of raising a daughter with special needs. Sandy has stood strong at the heart of Ireland’s music scene for over four decades.
She represented Ireland at the 1982 Eurovision Song Contest, winning the European Gold Star Award for country music in 1984 and representing Ireland at the CMA International Fan Fair in Nashville in 1985 and 1989. Career highlights include recording ‘Woodcarver’ with Johnny Cash, which achieved Gold record status, and receiving a Gold record for her version of the Willie Nelson song ‘Crazy’ in 1989. Sandy has recorded and toured with a host of legendary US country artists, including Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, Glen Campbell, Tammy Wynette, George Hamilton IV and Chet Atkins. Through her prime-time TV series, Sandy, on RTÉ, she got to meet and duet with many of her musical heroes, from Irish stars like Ronnie Drew, Big Tom, Dolores Keane and Philomena Begley to international names such as Charley Pride, Emmylou Harris, Demis Roussos and Leo Sayer. Here, for the first time, she recounts the highs – and lows – of a lifetime in music, in her own words.
‘She won the hearts of everyone who saw her’ Johnny Cash
https://obrien.ie/sandy-kelly-in-my-own-words
To be in with a chance to win a copy of Sandy’s autobiography, all you have to do is answer the following question: In what year did she represent Ireland in the Eurovision Song Contest?
Email you answer here (putting Sandy in the Subject Bar)
