Black Music Sunday: A St. Patrick's Day celebration of 'Finian's Rainbow'

Happy St. Patrick’s Day! Around the world wherever there are people of Irish heritage, Catholics who honor St. Pat, or just folks (and some pets) who get into the joy of it all, there are parades and celebrations galore. Here in New York, everybody, including me, is a little bit Irish today.

I’m not actually Irish, of course. But as a kid I grew up with a love of leprechauns because one of my parents’ favorite Broadway shows was “Finian’s Rainbow.” Several of their friends were in the musical, we had the cast album, and I knew the words to every tune. I even thought of it as my birthday play, because the original production premiered on Broadway in 1947, the year I was born.

For those unfamiliar, “Finian’s Rainbow” is a tale about a leprechaun’s pot o’ gold being stolen from Ireland, only to end up in the made-up town of Rainbow Valley, Missitucky, where the townspeople, white and Black alike, are poor and exploited, while the white politicians are openly crooked and racist. The leprechaun follows his gold from Ireland and all kinds of magic and mayhem ensue.

”Black Music Sunday” is a weekly series highlighting all things Black music, with over 200 stories covering performers, genres, history, and more, each featuring its own vibrant soundtrack. I hope you’ll find some familiar tunes and perhaps an introduction to something new.