Infectious hit Unicorn sent Rovers on their way

Mar 02, 2011

Call it the luck of the Irish.

Back in 1967, when Sgt. Pepper's and psychedelia ruled radio, a cute little children's song called The Unicorn worked its way up the pop charts. For a few weeks, it seemed, everybody put away their love beads to sing along with it.

"... there was green alligators and long-necked geese, some humpty-backed camels and some chimpanzees, some cats and rats and elephants, but sure as you're born, the loveliest of all was the unicorn ..."

The song was recorded by a Celtic pub band from Toronto called the Irish Rovers. Through steady touring they had established a solid reputation for toe-tapping jigs from the old country, most of them about whisky and ... um ... drinking whisky.

But it was this children's ditty about Noah's Ark that brought the Irish Rovers a degree of fame that would carry them for the next four decades. Funny thing, the song had nothing to do with Ireland. It was written by beatnik poet Shel Silverstein (He also wrote the hit A Boy Named Sue for Johnny Cash.)

"Shel recorded it as sort of a talking blues song," explains George Millar, one of the co-founders of the Irish Rovers, who will be performing in Hamilton March 14. "We just put a tune behind it. When we played it in pubs we noticed that everyone put stopped eating and drinking and started listening to the lyrics.

At that point, the Rovers had a regular gig in a California drinking hole called the Ice House. They had recorded a St. Patrick's Day record and scored some modest success, selling about 6,000 copies in the Los Angeles area. During the recording session for their second album, Millar recalls the producer asking a question that would prove to have far-reaching consequences.

"Do you have any songs that aren't about whisky?" Millar laughs. "That's when we suggested The Unicorn. We showed up the next morning and there was this guitarist in the studio to help out with the song. It was Glen Campbell. We didn't know who he was at the time. But that's who's playing on it. Glen Campbell."

Much to the Rovers amazement, The Unicorn clawed its way to No. 7 on the pop charts.

"We were right behind the Beatles and in front of, I think it was Incense and Peppermints by the Strawberry Alarm Clock," Millar, 63, says. "If you had suggested to us at the time that The Unicorn was going to be a hit, we would have laughed our heads off."

As it turned out, they laughed all the way to the bank. The Rovers became internationally famous. They became regulars on top American TV shows, including The Virginian and The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour. They even landed their own CBC TV show that ran for six seasons. More hits would follow – including Wasn't That A Party and Grandma Got Run Over By a Reindeer – but none as big as The Unicorn.

Despite several personnel changes, The Irish Rovers have never stopped performing or recording. Impish lead singer Will Millar left the group in 1993 and rotund founding member Jimmy Ferguson died in 1997. George Millar, who has lived on Vancouver Island for the past 19 years, and accordion player Wilcil McDowell, who lives near Belfast in Northern Ireland, are the only remaining members from that original Unicorn recording session. They've released more than 30 albums since.

Last fall, the Rovers filmed a DVD in their native northern Ireland, and it is on sale at irishroversmusic.com. Visit the website also to learn of upcoming concerts. The Rovers will be performing at The Studio in Hamilton on March 14. Tickets are $39.50 (plus fees), available at the Copps Coliseum box office, Ticketmaster.ca or by phone at 905-527-7666.