Sonny Knowles (2 November 1932 – 15 November 2018) was an Irish singer who performed show band and

cabaret Cabaret is a form of theatrical entertainment featuring music, song, dance, recitation, or drama. The performance venue might be a pub, a casino, a hotel, a restaurant, or a nightclub with a stage for performances. The audience, often dining o ...

songs. Knowles was born in

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 c ...

to Tommy and Mary Knowles. He was brought up in The Liberties in Dublin and moved permanently to Muckross Park in

Perrystown Perrystown ( ga, Baile Pheire) is a suburb in South Dublin, Ireland. It is in the Dublin 12 postal district and is adjacent to the areas of Crumlin, Greenhills, Kimmage, Templeogue, Terenure, and Walkinstown. Location and transport Perry ...

in south Dublin after his marriage. His early career began when he started playing the clarinet and

saxophone The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of Single-reed instrument, single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed (mouthpi ...

at the Dublin Music School. As a young man he joined the Johnny Butler Band followed by Earl Gill's Band, the Pacific Showband and then Dermot O'Brien's showband. His decision to go solo at the peak of the cabaret era, opened up his career. Knowles had two songs in the 1966 Irish National Song Contest scoring no points with both songs and finishing in equal 10th with himself. The two songs were "The Menace from Ennis" and an Irish Gaelic entry "Chuaigh mé suas don chluiche mór" (''I Went Up for the Big Game''). In the Irish final of 1971 he would again score no points with his song ''An fhaid a mhairim''. Knowles twice survived

oesophageal cancer Esophageal cancer is cancer arising from the esophagus—the food pipe that runs between the throat and the stomach. Symptoms often include difficulty in swallowing and weight loss. Other symptoms may include pain when swallowing, a hoarse voi ...

and after his most recent battle, curtailed his lifestyle somewhat but still performed. Knowles died on 15 November 2018 at his home, aged 86.

References

External links

Official record company biography
1932 births 2018 deaths Irish male singers {{Ireland-singer-stub