Born in 1938 in the rural townland of Clooneen, near Granard in Co Longford, Larry Cunningham went from being a carpenter to becoming a showband legend during the 1960s and 70s. He did what no Irish person had done before - break into the UK charts.
Humble beginnings Larry was one of seven children born onto a small farm of 50 acres. His parents, Michael and Julia, often had music in the house as his father was a fiddle player. Larry’s mother and her extended family were very good singers. He grew up listening to their ballads, many of which he recorded in his later years.
Despite being in England, he never lost touch with his Irish roots, and it was here where he first started playing music professionally. At night, he played traditional Irish music as part of a céilí band in local venues. Weekends were reserved for playing with the local Gaelic football team, and he won a senior championship.
Thankfully, Larry reversed this decision a short while later, and soon being a musician became his full time job. One of his inspirations was the American country singer Jim Reeves, who pioneered the ‘Nashville sound’ that most country songs still follow today. One night in June at a concert in Lifford, Co. Donegal, the piano was in such a bad state, it caused Jim to walk off stage in protest.
Larry and the Mighty Avons recorded the song and it became a massive hit. This song even broke into the UK charts, and they performed it on Top of the Pops in 1964, a first for an Irish band. “I often did 14 or 15 nights in a row and then maybe got one night off to record. It was crazy and I do regret that I did that, and I suppose that if I had been aware of it at the time, I certainly would not have pushed myself to the limits like that.”
He performed at Wembley stadium alongside big names like Loretta Lynn, Hank Williams Jnr and Johnny Cash in 1971, as well as taking to the famous Grand Ole Opry stage in Nashville.
Source: Entertainment Trends (entertainmenttrends.net)