Sonny & Friends

                                                                 

SHORT BIO OF SONNY MCGILLIVARY

            I met Sonny early in the 70’s. 
We were playing for Opasquia Indian Days 
in the old Mystic hall. We were extra spare musicians 
backing up the talent show and Ahab Constant. 
Sonny was playing rhythm guitar and singing with everybody. Finally Sonny got to the front and sang Luchenbach Texas 
and the crowd went wild. 
Thus the beginnings of our relationship 
as musicians started.

            Sonny began playing with the Country Cousins band about the same time and added a style to the band that was very charismatic. Sonny was very musically ambitious 
as he was always playing and if the band broke up, 
he would have another band organized 
to continue to play within a week.

            Sonny liked to hunt and fish, 
but he mostly liked to play his guitar and sing. 
Normally after a gig most musicians would 
go home to sleep but not Sonny. 
He would carry the party on to someone’s house 
or his own and play and sing till the sun came up 
on quite a few occasions.

            I played off and on with Sonny and the Cousins 
until the early 80’s 
when I ended up playing with him steady for about two years.

Sonny was a regular at Teddy Bob’s in Winnipeg 
and would more often win the talent show staged on the weekends. I had the privilege of playing with him at the Westbrook once, years ago and we were rubbing shoulders with the likes of the C Weed band, Robby Brass and Red Wine 
and Billy Joe Green. 
This was a very excellent part of my musical life.

            A funny story was when Sonny 
and our bass player Gilles went out hunting ducks one evening. Just toward the end of the twilight there was a big flock of ducks that flew over. The boys took a couple of last shots and Gilles fell out of the boat. The water was only a few feet deep 
so Gilles jumped back in the boat really quick and Sonny said without any expression on his face---
“heard a shot, heard a splash, too big for a duck”, 
and then he chuckled in his own inevitable fashion. 
We really miss him and his humour.

Sonny kept us playing steady and it got to be a part of our lives. 
When we weren’t playing for a week 
we wouldn’t know what to do with ourselves.

            We went to Century 21 recording studio in Winnipeg one year and produced a couple of 45’s. 
Sonny and his band at the time also recorded a song at our home studio, Black Rose Studio for the North of 53 Album produced in ’82. Unfortunately we didn’t record anything more professionally over the years 
but we have old tapes and memories.

            Sonny was always a positive kind of guy. 
He would make the most out of any situation and had no worries about his life and spirituality.

            The last time I seen Sonny, he had just returned from Winnipeg where he was taking business administration. A few days later he and his brother were going down river to fish when their boat tipped and Sonny and his brother drowned.  Thus a long standing relationship with one of the finest individual I ever knew came to an end. Sonny will be missed as he was well known all over Manitoba as a hard working and well liked local country musician.

            God Bless you Sonny. We all miss you and hope you are playing in that big band in the sky.