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Remembering Johnny Cunningham

February 16, 2011

By Staff Reporter

The acclaimed Scots fiddler, composer, and record producer died at age 46 of a heart attack just 10 days before Christmas. No words of mine can do justice to his, so I’ll let some of Johnny’s own words convey his unique humor and spirit.
About five years ago at the Turning Point in Piermont, N.Y., he and button accordionist Joe Derrane gave their only concert as a duo. Introducing Cunningham, who performed first, I summarized some of his talents, including that of raconteur. When he took the stage, he feigned confusion. “Raconteur? What’s that? Some sort of gardening implement?”
His reality-tilting quips, anecdotes, and stories had the audience in stitches. “Joe and I are on an East Coast tour together,” he said. “This is our only gig. That’s because we’re old now. We’re calling this the ‘Born to Be Mild’ tour.”
Then Cunningham spoke about the traditional tunes he was going to play. “They all sound the same because, in fact, they’re all the same tune,” he said.
In talking about his grandmother, Johnny mentioned how she suddenly adopted a more healthful approach to life after reading a magazine article about it. “My granny is 93 this year,” he said, “and she cut back on her smoking at age 75, going from three packs of unfiltered cigarettes a day to one pack of filtered cigarettes. She also read that walking is good for you, so since age 75 she’s been walking 6 to 9 miles a day.” After a pause, he added, “Of course, we don’t know where the hell she is now.” Another pause. “She could be here.”

Enduring memories
Fiddler Kevin Burke also brought up Johnny Cunningham’s wit. “He said part of his heritage was Irish and the other part was Scottish, so half of him wanted a drink and the other half didn’t want to pay for it,” Burke recounted with a laugh from his home in Portland, Ore.
Over the past decade, Burke toured and recorded three albums with Johnny Cunningham and Christian Lema

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