Cowboy Larry remembers friends

Cowboy Larry has dedicated his new album in memory of two close friends who died within a few months of each other.

“Gene Stuart was a friend of mine for many years and one of the greatest people I ever knew in country music. He was truly a one-off, an absolute legend that could have graced the biggest stages in country music anywhere in the world. He was real class. Walter Currie from Down was another great friend of Gene and mine. We travelled to many shows together. To lose the two of them in such a short time was heart-breaking. The music was the heart and soul of their lives,” reflects Larry.

The 15-track album, entitled Lucky, is entirely traditional American country, with Larry’s strong love for the Old West much to the fore. Songs like Livin’ In The West, The Bottle and the Gun and Lovers of Lookout Mountain could be straight from a Louis L’Amour novel.

Larry includes a number of duet numbers on this album where he is joined by Gene Stuart, Jordan Mogey, Kerry Fearon, Melissa Hamilton and Uel Bailie.

James on Revelation TV show

Country and gospel singer James Kilbane will feature a Classic Praise Special on the Revelation TV series that broadcasts on Sky 581 and Freesat 692. The show will air in Thursday, 29 June, at 7.30pm and will be repeated on Sunday, 2 July, at 9am. James travelled to Malaga to record the show, which sees him in conversation with Gordon Pettie, the CEO of Revelation TV. He speaks of life in Achill and the driving forces in his career in music. The show will feature James performing live songs such as You’ll Never Walk Alone, The Wedding Song and Amazing Grace. The programme can also be viewed at www.revelationtv.com

Brendan’s golden jubilee

Showband legend Brendan Bowyer celebrated his golden wedding jubilee last week. The Waterford singer married Galway girl Stella Brennan on 22 June 1967.

Brendan and the Royal Showband were massive at the time, and his version of The Hucklebuck, recorded two years earlier in 1965, was to become the definitive song of the entire showband era. The Irish media converged on Galway for the occasion and hundreds of fans were present to see the happy couple. RTÉ covered the wedding, as did national and local newspapers.

Brendan and Stella have resided in Las Vegas for many years, but have also maintained firm links with Ireland through annual visits.

Heavenly days for Norah

It has been sometime since a traditional-style country gospel song has been released. Norah Hickey from Co Cork has rectified that matter with her debut song, Happy Days in Heaven. The song, composed by Cork poet and song-writer, Niall O’Brien, is in the mould of the American southern gospel music, with good lyrics and an infectious melody. The track was recorded and produced by Leo Fitzgerald and Niall O’Brien at Music Row Studios.