List of American musicians of Irish descent explained

This is a list of notable Irish-American musicians.

To be included in this list, the person must have a Wikipedia article and/or references showing the person is Irish American and a notable musician.

Musicians

A - J

• Christina Aguilerasinger-songwriter; Ecuadorian father and Irish-American mother
• (Gustav Elijah Åhr) Lil Peep rapper and singer
• Tori Amos singer-songwriter and musician
• Anastacia singer-songwriter
• Michelle Branch part Irish through her father^[1]
• Laura Branigan singer-songwriter and musician
• Jeff Buckley estranged son of Tim Buckley
• Tim Buckley father was the son of Irish immigrants
• Chris Byrne – pop musician^[2]
• Mariah Carey – pop musician^[3]
• Aaron Carter singer and Nick Carter's brother
• Nick Carter member of the boy band Backstreet Boys
• Dennis Casey Flogging Molly member^[4]
• Ken Casey bass player and vocalist for the Boston-based Celtic punk-rock band Dropkick Murphys^[5]
• Celtic Spring family dance and fiddle band^[6]
• Kelly Clarkson – pop singer^[7]
• Rosemary Clooney – singer and actress^[8]
• Kurt Cobain singer-songwriter of the rock band Nirvana^[9]
• George M. Cohan singer-songwriter; vaudeville and Broadway theatre performer
• Edward Joseph Collins composer
• Judy Collins – singer/songwriter^[10]
• Alice Cooper of partial Irish descent
• Copywrite rapper; mixed Irish and Italian descent
• Billy Corgan singer, lead guitarist of alternative-rock band The Smashing Pumpkins^[11]
• Chris Cornell lead singer of rock band Soundgarden^[12]
• Frankie Cosmos of Irish descent on her father's side
• Henry Cowell composer
• Auliʻi Cravalho singer and actress of partial Irish descent
• Bing Crosby – singer and actor^[13]
• Miley Cyrus, pop and country singer, songwriter and actress, daughter of Billy Ray Cyrus and Tish Cyrus, sister of Noah Cyrus, ex of Nick Jonas and Liam Hemsworth
• Chris Daughtry American Idol 2006 finalist; lead singer of the rock band Daughtry
• Dennis Day singer
• Lee DeWyze American Idol 2010 winner
• Marié Digby singer-songerwriter^[14]
• Howie Dorough member of the boy band Backstreet Boys; Irish father
• Jimmy Dorsey – jazz musician^[15]
• Tommy Dorsey – jazz musician^[16]
• Hilary Duff – actress and singer/songwriter
• Stephyn Duffy - singer/songwriter, guitarist, musician
• Billie Eilish – singer-songwriter, director, actress, musician, and first female and youngest artist ever to win all 4 general field categories at the Grammy Awards
• Everlast (born 1969) singer-songwriter; known for his genre-crossing mix of rap and acoustic-based rock music^[17]
• Eileen Farrell – opera singer^[18]
• Fergie – pop singer
• Karen Finley – performer and musician
• Michael Fitzpatrick frontman of Fitz and the Tantrums
• John Fogerty singer-songwriter for rock band Creedence Clearwater Revival
• Mike Fuentes — drummer for Pierce The Veil, born to an Irish American mother
• Vic Fuentes — lead singer and guitarist for Pierce The Veil, born to an Irish American mother
• G-Eazy, (born 1989), rapper
• Judy Garland – singer and actress^[19]
• Billy Gibbons guitarist and singer for rock band ZZ Top; has Irish ancestry on both sides of family
• Greg Graffin singer-songwriter for punk-rock band Bad Religion
• Conan Gray – singer-songwriter
• Sasha Grey – actress and musician
• Kirk Hammett guitarist for rock band Metallica; Irish father, Filipino mother
• Arthur Hanlon pianist and Latin music musician^[20]
• Jack Harlow – rapper^[21]
• Matt Heafy lead singer and guitarist for heavy-metal band Trivium; Irish father, Japanese mother
• Jimi Hendrix guitarist, singer.
• Swan Hennessy composer
• Victor Herbert – composer^[22]
• James Hetfield lead singer and guitarist for rock band Metallica
• Paris Hilton – media personality, businesswoman, socialite, model, singer, and actress
• Brent Hinds singer and guitarist for heavy-metal band Mastodon
• Julianne Hough country-music singer and ballroom dancer
• Vanessa Hudgens actress and singer
• Andy Hurley drummer for rock band Fall Out Boy
• Danny Hutton one of the three lead vocalists in the rock band Three Dog Night
• Jonas Brothers pop-rock band; of Irish descent from their maternal grandfather^[23]

K - Z

• Maynard James Keenan – singer/songwriter
• Bill Kelliher guitarist for the heavy-metal band Mastodon; father was an Irish immigrant who moved to New York in the 1950s^[24]
• Tori Kelly – singer/songwriter
• Alicia Keys – singer/songwriter^[25]
• Dave King – singer/songwriter^[26]
• Chris Kirkpatrick former member of the boy band 'N Sync
• Larry Kirwan – punk musician^[27]
• Beyoncé – pop singer
• Ben Kyle singer-songwriter; leader of the Americana band Romantica^[28]
• Lindsay Lohan – actress, singer-songwriter, producer, and entrepreneur
• Demi Lovato singer/songwriter and actress of Hispanic, Italian and Irish ancestry^[29]
• Lorna Luft – actress and singer^[30]
• Macklemore (Ben Haggerty) – rapper^[31]
• Benji Madden lead guitarist of the pop-punk band Good Charlotte; both parents are Irish
• Joel Madden lead singer of the pop-punk band Good Charlotte; both parents are Irish
• Meaghan Jette Martin actress and singer from television musical film Camp Rock (2008)
• Mike McColgan former lead singer of the Celtic-punk band Dropkick Murphys; vocalist of the punk-rock band Street Dogs
• John McCormack – tenor^[32]
• Travie McCoy rapper, singer co founder and lead singer of Gym Class Heroes
• Tim McGraw singer; both parents have Irish ancestry
• The McGuire Sisters female vocal group of the 1950s
• Katharine McPhee singer; runner-up on American Idol, season 5
• Natalie Merchant singer; mother is of Irish descent
• Patrick Monahan singer with the pop-rock band Train^[33]
• Mandy Moore actress and singer; father is Irish
• Jim Morrison singer-songwriter of the rock band The Doors
• Lacey Mosley lead singer of hard-rock band Flyleaf
• Gerry Mulligan – jazz musician^[34]
• Dave Mustaine co-founder of the heavy-metal band Megadeth; first lead guitarist for the heavy-metal band Metallica
• James Murphy founder, lead singer, songwriter, musician of LCD Soundsystem
• Willie Nile rock singer-songwriter
• Bradley Nowell lead singer and guitarist for the ska-punk band Sublime
• Virginia O'Brien – actress and singer^[35]
• Finneas O'Connell – Singer, songwriter, record producer, musician, and actor with Scottish and Irish ancestry
• Aubrey O'Day member of the female music group Danity Kane
• Chauncey Olcott singer and composer
• Katy Perry her great-great-grandmother was from Eyrecourt, County Galway, Ireland
• Tom Petty – rock musician
• Pink pop-singer
• Robert Pollard singer-songwriter; leader of the alternative-rock band Guided by Voices
• Elvis Presley – singer
• Seth Putnam – musician^[36]
• Carmel Quinn – singer^[37]
• Christopher "Kid" Reid rapper; Jamaican and Irish descent
• Trent Reznor singer-songwriter, composer and record producer; founder of the industrial-rock band Nine Inch Nails^[38]
• Geoff Rickly vocalist of the bands Thursday and No Devotion
• Olivia Rodrigo, pop singer
• Jack Russell – founder of Great White
• Bianca Ryan – singer/songwriter and actress^[39]
• M.Shadows lead singer of Avenged Sevenfold
• Michael Shrieve - drummer of Santana
• Slaine rapper
• Carly Smithson Dublin, Ireland, native who placed sixth on the seventh installment of American Idol; lead singer of the gothic-metal band We Are the Fallen
• Britney Spears – pop singer
• Bruce Springsteen instrumentalist and singer-songwriter
• Gwen Stefani mother is part Irish
• Kevin Shields vocalist and guitarist of My Bloody Valentine
• Patrick Stumplead singer of American rock band Fall Out Boy
• The Rev former drummer for metal band Avenged Sevenfold
• Jessica Sutta member of pop girl group The Pussycat Dolls
• Taylor Swift – pop singer
• Corey Taylorlead singer of heavy metal band Slipknot
• Stuart Michael Thomas film and television composer and producer^[40]
• Tinashe – singer of Zimbabwean, Danish, Norwegian and Irish descent
• Justin Timberlake – pop singer and actor
• Chris Trousdale singer^[41]
• Shania Twain pop singer
• Danielle White singer from the television singing-competition series American Juniors
• Joseph M. White tenor
• Robert White tenor
• Ace Young singer from American Idol^[42]

See also

• List of Americans of Irish descent
• Lists of musicians

Notes and References

1. Web site: AsianConnections - A Conversation with Michelle Branch . 2016-02-08 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20160206130020/http://www.asianconnections.com/a/?article_id=189 . February 6, 2016 . mdy-all . Mike: I learned that your dad is Irish, and your mom is Dutch Indonesian and French.
2. Web site: Overview: Byrne v. British Broadcasting Corporation Page - the Law Offices of Smith Dornan & Dehn PC . 2006-06-23 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20050913134538/http://www.sds-law.com/RealTime.cgi?case_id=byrne_v_bbc&merge=cases%7Cdescription . September 13, 2005. "Irish-American recording artist Chris Byrne, familiar to Irish music fans as Seanchai (pronounced SHAN-a-kee), and as a founder of the Irish musical group, Black 47..."
3. http://www.hellomagazine.com/profiles/mariah_carey/
4. http://honoluluweekly.com/entertainment/2006/05/the-punk-of-the-irish/ The punk of the Irish :: Honolulu Weekly
5. http://www.shitenonions.com/features_Dropkick.html
6. Web site: CSBB . 2006-08-09 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20060810044835/http://www.celticspringband.com/bio.html . August 10, 2006. "Born into a family of Irish descent, the Wood children, Elizabeth, (20), Deirdre, (18), Sean, (16), Patrick, (14), and Maire, (10), reside in the rural Ojai Valley in Southern California, with their parents and their little brother, Aidan"
7. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D18UsuIZ8hI
8. Web site: Obituary . 2006-06-23 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20061025074152/http://www.rosemaryclooney.com/obituaries/asymbolofgoodmodernamericanmusiclondonindependent7102.htm . October 25, 2006. "Clooney was born into a troubled family of Irish Catholics in Maysville, Kentucky, in 1928..."
9. Cobain: Actually it was, but the Coburns screwed it up when they came over. They came from County Cork, which is a really weird coincidence, because when we toured Ireland, we played in Cork and the entire day I walked around in a daze. I'd never felt more spiritual in my life. It was the weirdest feeling and-I have a friend who was with me who could testify to this-I was almost in tears the whole day. Since that tour, which was about two years ago, I've had a sense that I was from Ireland.
10. http://www.abc.net.au/7.30/content/2006/s1609555.htm
11. "I'm Irish and I was born on St. Patrick's day. I'm lucky sevens."
12. http://www.desoto.k12.ms.us/OBHS/WebDesign/bhale/Interview.htm
13. Web site: Bing Crosby - Verve Records . 2006-06-23 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20041113214851/http://vervemusicgroup.com/artist.aspx?ob=rnd&src=rslt&aid=2748 . November 13, 2004 . mdy-all . "Bing’s mother was of Irish descent and his father was descended from a maritime family." https://www.nytimes.com/books/first/g/giddins-crosby.html
14. https://www.youtube.com/MarieDigby?ob=1
15. http://www.bigbandlibrary.com/jimmydorsey.html
16. http://www.irishecho.com/search/searchstory.cfm?id=17186&issueid=434+
17. Web site: Varsity Hotwax . 2006-07-13 . dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20031116031833/http://www.varsity.utoronto.ca/archives/121/nov30/review/hotwax.html . November 16, 2003. "OH, FOR THE DAYS when Everlast was Irish, angry, and proud of it."
18. http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9125717
19. Web site: Judy Garland - the Live Performances!: In Concert - Birmingham, England 07/09/1951 . 2006-06-23 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20060909011853/http://users.deltacomm.com/rainbowz/con070951.html . September 9, 2006. Web site: March 2005 . 2006-06-23 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20061125014737/http://www.irisheyes.fr/pages/march2005.html . November 25, 2006. "What would "White Christmas" have sounded like if Bing Crosby (great-grandfather from Co. Cork) hadn't made it a hit? Ditto for "Over the Rainbow", sung by Judy Garland (grandmother Fitzpatrick from Dublin), whose popularity in Ireland was so great that the song It's A Great Day for the Irish was written especially for her."
20. Web site: Bonacich. Drago. Arthur Hanlon - Biography. Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. October 21, 2014.
21. Web site: November 25, 2020 . Jack Harlow Goes Undercover on Twitter, Instagram, and Wikipedia.. March 4, 2021. GQ.
22. http://www.centralpark2000.com/database/herbert_victor.html
23. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qM6JXZCm_yU
24. http://www.rocksound.tv/features/article/from-the-vaults-mastodon
25. http://top40.about.com/od/artistsdk/p/aliciakeys.htm
26. https://web.archive.org/web/20051120173212/http://www.altnet.com/store/album/63885/index.aspx
27. http://www.rootsworld.com/interview/kirwan.html
28. Web site: Bialas. Michael. After Sleeping on It, Ben Kyle Gets His Solo Act Together. The Huffington Post. November 14, 2012 . July 10, 2013.
29. http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/tv/2008/06/2/2008-06-20_camp_rock_film_could_make_demi_lovato_a_.html
30. http://www.chron.com/content/chronicle/ae/books/9798/06/14/luftch1.html
31. Web site: RI Exclusive: Macklemore Interview with Rap Ireland. Kev. Storrs. 21 November 2011. 27 July 2013. Rap Ireland. https://web.archive.org/web/20190813144354/http://www.rapireland.com/ri-exclusive-macklemore-interview-with-rap-ireland/. August 13, 2019. dead.
32. Web site: John McCormack (Irish Tenor) Early 1900's Victrola Music Recordings . 2006-06-23 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20060619203521/http://www.besmark.com/mcormack.html . June 19, 2006. "John McCormack (Irish Tenor)" http://www.mccormacksociety.co.uk/Mccormack/Biography/John%20McCormack%20Biography,%20Chapter%203.htm "...was one of the greatest singers of this century, born in Ireland in 1884 to working class parents."
33. Web site: Train's Pat Monahan Talks Trains, Whistles, and Coming Home to San Francisco! . 2013-01-11 . dead . https://archive.today/20130215133007/http://bammagazine.com/index.php/archives/254-trains-pat-monahan-talks-trains-whistles-and-coming-home-to-san-francisco . February 15, 2013 . mdy-all . "Being the youngest of seven kids in an Irish family..."
34. http://www.lphares.com/hhjs/page32.html lphares.com
35. Web site: Classic Images: Dennis Morgan, part II . 2006-10-10 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20040813221406/http://www.classicimages.com/1999/january99/virginiaobrien.html . August 13, 2004. "Her Irish father was the captain of detectives of the Los Angeles Police Department and later the city's deputy district attorney."
36. Web site: Anal Cunt . 2006-06-23 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20060417175505/http://www.thegrimoire.com/anal_cunt.htm . April 17, 2006. "I'm half English and half Irish." Web site: Anal Cunt . 2006-06-23 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20060417175505/http://www.thegrimoire.com/anal_cunt.htm . April 17, 2006. "Basically I'm.. if you really want to know my ethnic background... I'm a quarter Irish and a Quarter English. My father's side of the Family was English and they came here in 1630. And my mother's side of the family... there was a potato famine."
37. http://www.carmelquinn.com/
38. Web site: Ancestry of Trent Reznor .
39. http://www.bobrivers.com/ontheshow/brsnews.asp?dismode=article&artid=5667 The Bob Rivers Show: 11-year-old singing sensation Bianca Ryan shows us why she's got talent
40. https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1580630/
41. Trousdale - Web site: Feeling the Vibe || Chris Trousdale Interview Page 2 . 2006-06-23 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20061016015110/http://www.feelingthevibe.com/ChrisInterview2.html . October 16, 2006. "Well my background is Greek and something called Black Irish. It's an ethnic Irish. It's not the blonde haired blue eyed Irish. My mom can almost look Spanish. She has really dark dark eyes. So it's basically like an Italian Irish or a Spanish Irish. It's dark. So yeah, Greek and Black Irish..."
42. "No one really sounds like me. I'm German-Irish but for some reason I have soul in me. I've always had it - ever since I was a kid. So I'm bringing my spirit and my heart because every song I sing, I'm telling a story."