Forwarded from Pat Hutchinson:
“Johnny Cunningham passed away on the night of the 15th December, from a heart attack.”
Ar dheis de go raibh a anam uasal.
Fiddler extraordinaire. Born in Portobello, Scotland in 1957, he was a founding member of Silly Wizard.
http://www.johnnycunningham.com/
He recently came and visited our session at The Field down in San Diego. Such a nice guy and great player. We’ll miss him.
M
Real sad news..my wife and I were treated to his playing as a suprise guest of Kevin Burke at the Blarney star NY…what a great fiddle player with an infectious sense of humour. He will be sorely missed.
Johnny didn’t strike me as being that old. He always seemed to be bouncing off the wall with energy.
I got to hang out with him a couple of years ago when Celtic Fiddle Fest. came through town. Johnny’s sense of humor is way out there…I mean off the chart, but he certainly knows how to keep an audience laughing (or in suspense). The others in the band seemed resigned to the fact that he would/could steal the show…and just by talking, or storytelling, apart from his fiddling.
We have a fine fine concert hall in town (donated by Mr. Carnegie himself) that holds about 1300 people. When it came time for his band to open the show, the curtains parted but Johnny was nowhere to be seen, just the other members of the band. After a call over the P.A. system, Johnny came strolling down the isle, waving his fiddle in the air, laughing, wearing his long white hair down behind and dressed in a black formal suit. He walked up the steps and sat down as if it was planned…a real spectacle! A Willy Nelson x10
I’m sure he’ll make a good harp player!
Wow, that news certainly takes the wind out of the sails. Condolences to his family and friends. I had just broken out a pile of old Wizard records last week as well…He and Phil on ‘Live Wizardry’ are certainly nothing short of the title. Wish I could have met him. -r
A Willy Nelson x10
- Lorenzo
…
I don’t know what Willie is like personally, although I’m told he’s quite the people person - can relate to folks of all stripes.
Johnny would certainly fit that description - the wife and I found ourselves sitting next to him in a pub after he did a show in Denver 2 years ago, and I remember telling her that I had to get up and walk away after 15 or 20 minutes, to let my “laugh headache” subside. He had the entire group falling off the chairs.
He just did a show in Denver with Susan McKeown a couple of weeks ago…
He’ll surely be missed.
RIP, Johnny.
[quote=“Lorenzo”]Johnny didn’t strike me as being that old. He always seemed to be bouncing off the wall with energy.
lorenzo, he was 46. therefore, he was not “that old”. when you get to 46 you too will not think it is “that old” . his family and fans lost him as a young man.
meir
I was walking up to a Celtic Fiddle Fest concert here in Corvallis, Oregon a few years ago and came across a young lady outside holding up a cardboard sign to try and find spare tickets. Just then this sort of unkempt man in a dark overcoat came upon her from the other direction, paused, and told her “I wouldn’t bother, they’re not really that good” before he went inside.
Of course it was Johnny, out for a smoke I think.
I hope she found tickets that night, because the show was outstanding. Johnny was certainly the extrovert of the bunch.
Trent