Sonny Knowles

Dublin-born Sonny Knowles is a legend in Irish pop, with a career stretching over 50 years. Getting his start in the 1950s as a clarinetist and sax player in bands such as the Earl Gill Showband and the Pacific Showband, Knowles eventually went solo and recorded and released albums for Pye. His vocal stylings were enough to carry him over eight successive successful albums for that label, records that continued to sell in high numbers as late as 1994. In addition to record sales, Knowles performed regularly with national orchestras, and in 1973 performed at the Split International Song Festival in Yugoslavia. Tours of the United States followed, as well as shows all over Europe. But it would be television where he would make the most impact at home, presenting the TV show Cabaret for three years and making regular guest appearances on light variety shows for decades. In 1989, Knowles received the Man of the Year Award from the Dublin Society of New York, and in 1999 he received the Hall of Fame Award at that year's National Entertainment Awards show in Ireland.