Patrick Sky

Patrick Sky (born Patrick Linch; October 2, 1940 – May 26, 2021) was an American musician, folk singer, songwriter, and record producer. He was of Irish and Native American ancestry, and played Irish traditional music and uilleann pipes in the later part of his career.

Early life Sky was born in College Park, Georgia, on October 2, 1940. He was of Muscogee and Irish descent. He grew up near the Lafourche Swamps of Louisiana, where he learned guitar, banjo, and harmonica. He moved to New York City after military service in the early 1960s, and began playing traditional folk songs in clubs before starting to write his own material.

Being politically radical, Sky wrote, recorded, and released the satirical Songs That Made America Famous in 1973 (the album was recorded in 1971 but rejected by several record companies before it found a home).

Sky gradually moved into the field of Irish traditional music, producing artists, and founding Green Linnet Records in 1973. He was recognised as an expert in building and playing the Irish uilleann pipes, often performing with his wife, Cathy. Sky edited a reissued version of the important 19th century dance tune book Ryan's Mammoth Collection in 1995. This was followed up with a reissue of Howe's 1000 Jigs and Reels six years later.

Sky released his final full-length studio album, Through a Window, in 1985.

Personal life Sky married Cathy Larson Sky in 1981. They met three years earlier and moved to North Carolina six years after getting married. Together, they had one child, Liam.

Sky died on May 26, 2021, while in hospice care in Asheville, North Carolina. He was 80, and suffered from prostate cancer and bone cancer prior to his death. He had also been diagnosed with Parkinson's disease in 2017. Patrick Sky Vanguard 79179, (1965)