Diane Hamilton, and in 1956 the Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem released their first album, The Rising of the Moon, with only Paddy's harmonica as musical accompaniment. However, the Clancys and Makem did not become a permanent singing group until 1959. In the meanwhile, Paddy Clancy signed and recorded established folk artists for Tradition Records, including Alan Lomax, Ewan MacColl, Paul Clayton, Ed McCurdy, Oscar Brand, and Jean Ritchie. Tradition also produced Odetta's first solo LP, Odetta Sings Ballads and Blues, which Bob Dylan (a friend of the Clancys) later cited as his inspiration to become a folk singer. Carolyn Hester's self-titled album with Tradition led to her first public recognition and her signing with Columbia Records. In addition to planning what the label would record, Clancy edited many of the ensuing albums himself. While still president of Tradition Records, he went as a cameraman on an expedition to Venezuela in search of alluvial diamonds, ostensibly as part of a documentary crew. Clancy Brothers In the late 1950s, Clancy with his brothers and Makem began to take singing more seriously as a permanent career, and soon they recorded their second album, Come Fill Your Glass with Us. This album proved to be more successful than their debut album, and they began receiving job offers as singers at important nightclubs, including the Gate of Horn in Chicago and the Blue Angel in New York City. The group garnered nationwide fame in the United States after an appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show, which led to a contract with Columbia Records in 1961. Over the course of the 1960s, the Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem recorded approximately two albums a year for Columbia. By 1964, Billboard Magazine reported that the group was outselling Elvis Presley in Ireland. Two of their albums, In Person at Carnegie Hall and The First Hurrah!, were also hits in the United States. Paddy Clancy considered In Person at Carnegie Hall to be their best record. The group performed together on stage, recordings, and television to great acclaim in the United States, Ireland, the United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia until Tommy Makem left to pursue a solo career in 1969. They continued performing first with Bobby Clancy and then with Louis Killen until Liam left in 1976 also to pursue a solo career. In 1977 after a short hiatus, the group reformed with Paddy, Tom, and Bobby Clancy