Cunningham, Larry

by James Quinn

Cunningham, Larry (1938–2012), country music singer, was born on 13 February 1938 in Clooneen, Mullinalaghta, near Granard, Co. Longford, the second youngest of seven children (four daughters and three sons) of Michael Cunningham and Julia Cunningham (née Cosgrove), who farmed fifty acres. He was educated at Clooneen national school and Granard vocational school. There was musical talent on both sides of his family: several Cosgroves were accomplished fiddle and flute players, and Michael Cunningham was a fine singer who played the accordion. As a child Larry played the fiddle and tin whistle, and first sang in public in the parish hall aged twelve. A keen Gaelic footballer, he won a minor club championship medal when Granard beat Longford Slashers in the county final, and played for the Longford minor team. He considered becoming a woodwork teacher but left school aged sixteen to work as a carpenter in Derby, England. Continuing to play Gaelic football with St Colman's club, he won a medal with Derby in the emigrants' senior championship. He also played Irish traditional music in a céilí band, and made his first recording in 1954.

In 1958 he returned to Ireland and worked as a carpenter while playing part-time with the Gowna-based Grafton showband. He quit the band to farm and work as a building contractor, and in 1962 used his carpentry skills to build his own home on a fifty-acre farm at Cloughernal, near Granard. By this time Larry had developed a particular liking for 'cowboy songs', and in 1961 he was invited to become lead singer (and fiddler) of the Cavan-based Mighty Avons, who often covered songs by Jim Reeves and other country-and-western singers. Larry was particularly adept at hitting the low notes for which Reeves was renowned. The Mighty Avons supported Reeves when he played in Ireland in 1963, and impressed with their fine performances, especially on 7 June in Lifford, Co. Donegal, when Reeves cut short his set in protest at the dilapidated piano provided for him, and Larry calmed an irate audience by singing a medley of Reeves's hits.

After Reeves died in a plane crash on 31 July 1964, Larry's friend Eddie Masterson wrote the lyrics to a 'Tribute to Jim Reeves'; Larry added the music and recorded it with the Mighty Avons. In December 1964 it reached number nine in the Irish charts and also managed to climb to number twenty-seven in the British charts, selling 40,000 copies within two weeks of its release. Cunningham performed it on BBC television's Top of the pops (a first for an Irish-based act), and in 1965 was awarded a silver disc for 250,000 sales worldwide. This was the band's major breakthrough. Previously, their audience had been confined to Longford and surrounding counties, but afterwards they played all over Ireland and Britain in ballrooms and carnival marquees. A highlight of these years was performing on 4 July 1965 for Prince Rainier and Princess Grace of Monaco at Powerscourt, Co. Wicklow.

In September 1965 the Mighty Avons had another major hit with 'Lovely Leitrim'. Larry was taught the song by his mother, who was born in Ballinamuck near the Longford-Leitrim border. It was number one in the Irish charts for four weeks (dislodging the Beatles' 'Day tripper'). Traditional ballads had generally been looked down on by showband audiences, but 'Lovely Leitrim' became a great crowd favourite. With its blend of country music and traditional Irish elements, it helped pioneer a distinctive 'country and Irish' style, which many other artists subsequently adopted. Larry himself acknowledged the popularity of this hybrid with the albums Two sides of Larry Cunningham (1967) and Larry Cunningham sings country and Irish (1967), and consolidated his standing with other hit singles such as 'Among the Wicklow hills' (1966) and 'A pretty little girl from Omagh' (1969).

In addition to having a large following in Ireland, the Mighty Avons were also very popular in Britain and the USA, mostly among the Irish diaspora. On 17 March 1966, shortly after the success of 'Lovely Leitrim', they played at the Galtymore in Cricklewood, London, before a crowd of over 6,000, the largest ever seen at the venue. They were also the first Irish showband to play Carnegie Hall in New York, when engaged by Bill Fuller (qv) for a St Patrick's day concert in 1967. Cunningham's nostalgic and unashamedly sentimental songs struck a particular chord with the Irish abroad: he once recalled having to perform 'Lovely Leitrim' five times in a row for a New York audience. Rebel songs such as 'The old Fenian gun', 'The ballad of James Connolly' and 'The men behind the wire' also proved particularly popular with American audiences and were included on the live album Larry Cunningham in concert (1973) recorded at City Hall in New York.

By 1969 he was drained by constant touring and quit the Mighty Avons to spare his health and devote more time to his business interests, such as a supermarket and a dry cleaning business in Granard. Later in the year he joined the Edenderry-based band the Fairways to form Larry Cunningham and the Country Blue Boys. Although they toured regularly, they left time for recording such albums as Country my way (1970), Songs fresh from Nashville (1972), Tribute to Jim Reeves (1974) and Come back to Erin (1980).

There were also several notable live performances: in 1969 Larry first appeared at the International Festival of Country Music at the Empire Pool, Wembley (with the Mighty Avons), and again in 1971, alongside American country greats such as George Jones, Willie Nelson, Tammy Wynette, Loretta Lynn and Johnny Cash. In 1971 he also performed at the Country Music Festival in Nashville, and at the Grand Ole Opry, supporting Bill Monroe and his Bluegrass Boys.

On 9 February 1972 he married Beatrice Nannery, his business secretary, in St Bernard's Church in Abbeylara, Co. Longford. Soon afterwards he quit the Country Blue Boys to go solo, but rejoined in 1974. During the 1970s the popularity of showbands declined, and Larry last topped the Irish charts in 1971 with 'Slaney valley'. However, he maintained a loyal following and played to good crowds whenever he toured. Like many others, he was deeply shaken by the Miami showband killings at Buskhill, Co. Down, on 31 July 1975 (having regularly played the same venues as the Miami), and rarely appeared in Northern Ireland for the next twenty years. In the mid 1970s he and Margo O'Donnell toured with the Country Blue Boys, and recorded the duet 'Yes Mr Peters' (1975) and an album of the same name (1976). By the end of the decade, however, he was regarded by many younger music fans as somewhat unfashionable, a perception probably not helped by his decision to stand for Fianna Fáil in the 1979 local elections. His heart was never really in politics but the Fianna Fáil TD and ballroom owner Albert Reynolds (1932–2014) was a friend and Larry canvassed for him in the 1977 general election. He had his last Irish top thirty hit with 'Walk on by' in 1984 (number twenty-six). In 1986 he took part in a Mighty Avons reunion tour and afterwards continued as a solo performer and played on cruise ships and holiday resorts in Spain, Portugal and the Canary Islands.

A natural and unaffected man, he was a reluctant celebrity. Seeing himself as an artisan rather than an artist, he generally spoke with more animation about carpentry or football than about music. He was though a polished performer and a fine raconteur, who had a great rapport with his audience and insisted they be given value for money. He was also esteemed professionally and personally by fellow musicians. Admired for his charity work, he often played football with the Jimmy Magee all-stars (1966–91). He was among the country music stars received at Áras an Uachtaráin by President Mary McAleese in July 2001, and was voted Longford person of the year in 2004. Thereafter he devoted most of his time to his family and his business interests. He continued to enjoy carpentry and doing odd jobs in his children's homes. Loving music too much to give it up entirely, he undertook occasional short tours as late as 2010 (particularly to his loyal following in Britain) and released the album Showband memories (2011).

In the 2000s he overcame a number of health scares until his death on 28 September 2012 at St Vincent's Hospital, Dublin. He was survived by his wife Beatrice and four children. After funeral mass in St Columba's church, Mullinalaghta, Co. Longford, he was buried with his parents and grandparents in the nearby graveyard. There were many tributes from fellow performers: perhaps the most heartfelt from his contemporary Big Tom McBride (1936–2018), who described him as 'the pioneer of country music in this country and the rest of us all tagged in along with him' (Anglo-Celt, 2 October 2012).