Sonny Brogan

Sonny Brogan
Background information
Birth namePatrick Joseph Brogan[1]
Born(1906-07-04)4 July 1906
OriginDublin, Ireland
Died1 January 1965(1965-01-01) (aged 58)
GenresIrish traditional
Instrument(s)Hohner Single-row Melodeon, "Paolo Soprani" Double-row B/C Button Accordion
Years active1930s–1964
LabelsHMV, EMI, RTÉ, Topic Records
Formerly ofLough Gill Quartette,
Ceoltóirí Chualann

Patrick Joseph "Sonny" Brogan (4 July 1906 – 1 January 1965) was an Irish accordion player from the 1930s to the 1960s, and was one of Ireland's most popular traditional musicians.[2][3][4] He was one of the earliest advocates of the two-row B/C button accordion in traditional music,[5][6] and popularised it the 1950s and 60s. He originally played on a single-keyed Hohner melodeon, and later the two-row Paolo Soprani (pictured) which he used until he died.[5][7] Sonny's Paolo Soprani was one of the rarest, the grey model, made in 1948, when the company still made them by hand. Offaly-born button box player Paddy O'Brien currently has Sonny's accordion.[8]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference cenz was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ "Sonny Brogan, Musician, (1906—1965)".
  3. ^ JamesKeane.com
  4. ^ Ceol:A Journal of Irish Music (Vol1, No2, Published 1963)
  5. ^ a b Paolo Soprani and the Irish Box (5) Archived 15 May 2008 at the Wayback Machine
  6. ^ Smith, Graeme (1997). "Modern-Style Irish Accordion Playing: History, Biography and Class". Ethnomusicology. 41 (3): 433–463. doi:10.2307/852759. JSTOR 852759.
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference autogenerated3 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ "Copperplate Distribution". Copperplatemailorder.com. Retrieved 3 August 2013.