IRISH SHOWBAND singer Larry Cunningham was fondly remembered as “an extraordinary character” and a leading light on the Irish music scene at the weekend.
The 74-year-old Longford native, who penned Lovely Leitrim, passed away on Friday following an illness. Cunningham was the first Irish-based artist to break into the British pop charts with Tribute to Jim Reeves.
His close friend Fr Brian D’Arcy remembered him with great warmth: “He was magnificent. He was just a wonderfully friendly man and I admired him greatly, both as a person and a friend.
“The first album I ever reviewed was Two Sides to Larry,” said Fr D’Arcy, “Larry was an extraordinary character, there was far more then two sides to Larry. He was a wonderful storyteller.”
Once when asked whether he was still busy, Cunningham told the interviewer, “I haven’t seen a floorboard in years,” Fr D’Arcy recalled. “The great thing about Larry was his stories were always far better then the truth.”
A carpenter, Cunningham grew up near Granard. He was a promising Gaelic footballer and a talented musician. His Irish breakthrough occurred in June 1963 when the band he was fronting, the Mighty Avons, were supporting Jim Reeves in Lifford, Co Donegal. Upset over an out-of-tune piano, Reeves walked off stage and Cunningham completed the set, cementing his status as Ireland’s Jim Reeves.
“That was a big turning point for him because they were just there as a backing band,” explained Tony Allen of Foster and Allen. “To the Irish people, he was Jim Reeves. He was a lovely man, always great craic to be with, a great man to tell stories from the old days,” Mr Allen recalled.
When Reeves died in a plane crash in 1964, Cunningham honoured the singer with Tribute to Jim Reeves. The song was a huge success. However, Lovely Leitrim is arguably his most popular hit in Ireland. The song was inspired by his mother, a sean-nós singer from Leitrim.
During his 50-year career, he played in Wembley alongside Johnny Cash, Hank Williams jnr and Loretta Lynn. He also performed for Princess Grace and Prince Rainier of Monaco.
Larry Cunningham is survived by his wife, Beatrice. The couple have four children: Sinead, Regina, Lorcan and Barry. He will be laid to rest following noon funeral Mass at St Colomba’s Church in Mullinalaghta tomorrow.