Johnny Cunningham (27 August 1957 – 15 December 2003) was a Scottish folk musician and composer, instrumental in spreading interest in traditional Celtic music. Johnny Cunningham was born on 27 August 1957 in

Portobello, Edinburgh Portobello is a coastal suburb of Edinburgh in eastern central Scotland. It lies 3 miles (5 km) east of the city centre, facing the Firth of Forth, between the suburbs of Joppa, Edinburgh, Joppa and Craigentinny. Although historically it ...

. He was raised as a member of the

Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a nontrinitarian restorationist Christian denomination and the largest denomination in the Latter Day Saint movement. Founded durin ...

, but later became inactive. He was a founding member of Silly Wizard, as well as a member of Relativity, The Raindogs, and

Nightnoise Nightnoise was a music ensemble active from 1984 to 1997. Their original blend of Irish traditional music, Celtic music, jazz, and classical chamber music inspired a generation of Irish musicians. They released seven albums on the Windham Hill ...

. Throughout his career, Cunningham was a

fiddler A fiddle is a bowed string musical instrument, most often a violin or a bass. It is a colloquial term for the violin, used by players in all genres, including classical music. Although in many cases violins and fiddles are essentially syno ...

, composer, and producer. His younger brother, Phil Cunningham, also a former member of Silly Wizard, is a multi-instrumentalist best known for his piano-accordion and whistle playing. Johnny Cunningham died of a heart attack on 15 December 2003 in New York City at the age of 46.

Discography

* ''Thoughts from Another World'' (1981) * ''Fair Warning'' (1983) With Phil Cunningham * ''Against the Storm'' (1980) With Silly Wizard * ''Silly Wizard'' (1976) * '' Caledonia's Hardy Sons'' (1978) * '' So Many Partings'' (1979) * ''Live in America'' (1985) * ''Golden Golden'' (1985) * '' A Glint of Silver'' (1986) * '' Live Wizardry'' (1988) With Relativity * ''Relativity'' (1986) * ''Gathering Pace'' (1987) With Nightnoise * '' Shadow of Time'' (1993) * '' A Different Shore'' (1995) * '' The White Horse Sessions'' (1997) With Celtic Fiddle Festival * ''Celtic Fiddle Festival'' (1993) * ''Celtic Fiddle Festival: Encore'' (1998) * ''Rendezvous'' (2001) With Susan McKeown * ''Peter & Wendy'' (1997), also with

Seamus Egan Seamus Egan is an Irish-American musician. Early days Seamus Egan was born in Hatboro, Pennsylvania to Irish immigrants Mike and Ann Egan. At the age of three his parents moved the family back home to County Mayo, Ireland. He learned accordi ...

, Karen Kandel and

Jamshied Sharifi Jamshied Sharifi (born October 17, 1960) is a Tony Award-winning American composer, conductor, musician, and record producer. Born in Topeka, Kansas to an Iranian father and an American mother, Sharifi was exposed to music at an early age, lear ...

* ''A Winter Talisman'' (2001) * ''Sweet Liberty'' (2004) ''With Thomas Moore (spiritual writer)'' * ''The Soul of Christmas'' (1997), also with

Kathy Mattea Kathleen Alice Mattea (born June 21, 1959) is an American country music and bluegrass singer. Active since 1984 as a recording artist, she has charted more than 30 singles on the ''Billboard'' Hot Country Songs charts, including four that reac ...

, Susan McKeown, Cathie Ryan and

With The Raindogs * '' Lost Souls'' (1990) * '' Border Drive-In Theatre'' (1991) With others * ''To Warm the Winter's Night'', with

Áine Minogue Áine Minogue (born 27 May 1977, Borrisokane, County Tipperary) is an Irish harpist, singer, arranger, and composer, now living in the Boston area. She has recorded thirteen solo albums in styles generally categorized as Celtic, world, folk, spir ...

(1995) * ‘’Love and Loss’’, with Steve Payne (1999) * ''Live on 11th Street'', with

Casey Neill Casey Neill is an American musician. He leads Portland, Oregon-based band Casey Neill & The Norway Rats, singing with a raspy vocal quality and playing electric and acoustic guitars. Neill's style, folk-punk, mixes influences from punk, Celtic a ...

Band (2003)

Composer

In the 1990s Johnny worked with the New York-based theater company Mabou Mines on a theatrical production, "Peter & Wendy". He composed music and lyrics for this musical adaptation of J.M. Barrie's play "''Peter Pan''," which won two OBIE Awards. The soundtrack album from this innovative production was recorded and released nationally in 1997. Productions of "Peter & Wendy" have been presented and revived numerous times.

References

External links

Official Johnny Cunningham website's "In Memoriam"

Kennedy Center videotapes of Johnny Cunningham performances

Scotsman.com obituary

World Music Central bio
*https://www.maboumines.org/production/peter-and-wendy/ 1957 births 2003 deaths People from Portobello, Edinburgh Scottish fiddlers British male violinists Scottish folk musicians British record producers 20th-century violinists 20th-century Scottish musicians Silly Wizard members The Raindogs members Relativity (band) members Nightnoise members 20th-century British male musicians Green Linnet Records artists Musicians from Edinburgh {{Scotland-musician-stub