Clodagh Rodgers - Career

Career

Clodagh Rodgers was born in Ballymena and began her professional singing career at 13 when she opened for Michael Holliday. Her father, a dancehall tour promoter, helped her sign with Decca in 1962. She made 4 singles before moving to EMI's Columbia label in 1965, where 'Cloda Rogers' made the 1966 single "Stormy Weather"/"Lonely Room". Although none of her Decca or Columbia singles made the UK Singles Chart, Rodgers became regular face on British television and appeared in the musical films Just for Fun and It's All Over Town. She also appeared in various song festivals, finishing third in the European Song Cup competition in Greece with "Powder Your Face With Sunshine". In November 1963 she had flown to Nashville, Tennessee at the invitation of the American singer Jim Reeves, to perform at the Grand Ole Opry. On his Irish tour earlier that year he had recognized that Rodgers was a promising artist with a bright future.

Rodgers appeared with Honeybus on BBC Two's music programme Colour Me Pop on 12 October 1968. Her career changed dramatically when she married John Morris, who became her manager. She signed a 3-single deal with RCA in 1968, but the first 2 failed to chart. When Producer and songwriter Kenny Young heard one of them, Clodagh Rodgers finally shot to fame in 1969 under his creative wing and with Morris' management. "Come Back and Shake Me" and "Goodnight Midnight" both hit Top 5 hits and made her the bestselling female singles artist of 1969. Also, she won 'The Best Legs' in British showbusiness and insured her voice for one million pounds. The further single releases "Biljo", "Everybody Go Home, The Party's Over", and "Lady Love Bug" continued her chart success in the next few years. Young wrote and produced many of these songs. She also recorded "Scrapbook," penned by Billy Ritchie, which appeared on her 1969 album Midnight Clodagh. In 1970 she recorded "Give Me Just a Little More Line" with Young under the name Moonshine; though it enjoyed moderate success, it failed to chart. Rodgers picked this track as one of her 8 favourite discs when she appeared as the featured castaway on the BBC's Desert Island Discs in March 1971. In May 1970 Rodgers appeared on the bill at the NME poll-winner's concert, hosted by Tony Blackburn and Jimmy Savile.