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Celtic Fringe: 'Legendary Larry'
By James McKeefry
Larry Cunningham — From Nowhere At All — Ceol — CDC091 — 00353 1 8203255
 Close your eyes and listen to an unnamed CD and hopefully if the artist being played has that certain distinctive voice you will recognise them immediately.
This is certainly true for Daniel O’Donnell, Dominic Kirwan, Johnny Loughrey, Mick Flavin, Eamon McCann, Declan Nerney, Philomena Begley and Susan McCann, to name just a few of the most popular artists on the country and Irish scene.
And it is certainly true for our artist this week — Larry Cunningham.
Born in Granard in Co. Longford on February 13, 1938, the deep velvet tones of this midlands man have delighted audiences not only in Ireland, but all over the world, where exiles eagerly await the visits from Ireland’s top performers.
Larry first came to prominence with The Mighty Avons in the early 1960s and they were one of the most popular country and Irish bands on the ballroom scene.
They had consistent chart success thanks to Larry releasing a succession of Jim Reeves’ covers and original songs mixed with good old Irish chestnuts that are loved by audiences as long as they are well performed.
Larry was gaining considerable airplay with his Jim Reeves’ songs when he released Lovely Leitrim, which went on to sell over a quarter of a million copies — thus ensuring that Larry was firmly established himself as one of Ireland’s top drawing artists.
In 1968 he formed a new backing band, The Country Blue Boys, before announcing his retirement in 1985.
But good old country and Irish performers just cannot retire permanently and Larry has continued to appear at top festivals and dance halls throughout Ireland and Britain.
He has also received the honour of being voted Europe’s Top Country Singer at the now defunct Wembley International Country Festival in 1974.
With this latest release Larry reminds us of just how individual a voice he possesses and despite having celebrated his 66th birthday this year, you would not hear those years in his voice.
Just like a good wine Larry has continued to mature with age and experience and, once sipped, then his vocal offerings demand return visits.
From Nowhere At All has 14 tracks, opening with the title song which features an old-fashioned brass introduction reminiscent of the original Ballrooms of Romance with their large local orchestras before the days of the Showband boom.
Where The Grass Grows The Greenest and Old Ireland Is The Only Place For Me are exiles’ delights, while Tribute To Jim Reeves and Tribute To JFK highlight the love and admiration many in Ireland hold for two of America’s deceased heroes.
Standards such as My Kathleen, This World Is Not My Home and Heartaches By The Number intermingle with Jim Reeves’ classics Don’t Let Me Cross Over and Snowflakes, while a trip to Annaghdown in Co. Galway concludes the album.
Larry still tours occasionally and if you find out he is going to be doing a show in your area then make sure you get yourself down to the venue and see a piece of live country and Irish history in action.
Logic — Carrickfergus — 01767601398
Originally from Belfast, Davy and Valerie Smyth, who form Logic, now reside in Bedfordshire and are extremely busy playing the local clubs around that area.
Having read my column, Davy decided to forward a copy of his first album, Shores Of Ireland, and quickly followed that initial recording with this offering entitled Carrickfergus.
The cover picture is a watercolour of the castle in my home town and the insert includes a photograph of Davy and Valerie sitting on the steps of Carrick Castle — bringing back many youthful memories of late-night music sessions on the castle green under warm, sultry northern skies.
Well we all can dream — there were more nights of running for cover from the rain but the music still played on!
This album does, of course, include the world-famous Carrickfergus and as the remaining nine tracks are all standards that are requested nightly by Logic’s audiences, then it seemed only logical to have an album ready to satisfy their audience’s appetite at the end of each gig.
Heart Over Mind, Old Flames, Whiskey In The Jar, Danny Boy, The Galway Shawl, Blue Eyes Crying In The Rain, Pretty Little Girl From Omagh, Maggie and After All These Years are singalong favourites, with Davy and Valerie sharing the vocals to the delight of the listener.
It really is a considerable investment of time and money for local artists to record albums, but Davy and Valerie Smyth have shown that having built up a reputation they were then prepared to commit their resources to making sure their fans are pleased.
And their fans and indeed myself are very much delighted they had the good sense to lay down their voices with excellent backing from the best of local musicians for our entertainment.
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