Clancy Dunn

About Clancy

Clancy Dunn is an Australian singer, songwriter, guitarist and fiddle player, with a lifetime of experience in T.V., radio, recording, and performances in clubs and concerts all across Australia and the U.S.A. Formerly known as Larry King, Clancy is a dual Australian/U.S. citizen and has written for T.V. and radio in both Australia and the United States, with a number of compositions published by J. Albert & Son and A.B.C. Schools Broadcasts.

Irish/Australian Songs and Fiddle Tunes

Born and raised in rural Tasmania with Irish roots dating back to the First and Second Fleet, Clancy grew up listening to fiddles and accordions, and an eclectic collection of Irish songs, many of which were home grown. This sowed the seeds for his extensive Irish/Australian repertoire which features a number of original compositions. For years, a regular at both Timmy Nolan's and Ireland's 32 in Los Angeles, Clancy's Irish/Australian performances have been equally as popular in 5 Star hotels from California to New York City.

The Life of the Drover

Clancy's teenage working years were spent in the Australian cattle country, where he was known as 'Lanky'. (The name 'Clancy' was later given to him by some city friends as a send-up of his bush attire and seeming naivety.) Working first as a Jackaroo and then as a drover in the Queensland Gulf, Clancy made his way to Western Australia where he travelled with two separate contractors on what is generally recognised as the last cattle drive down the notorious Canning Stockroute. Later, back in the Queensland Gulf, Clancy was seriously injured in a cattle rush (stampede) and flown to hospital by the Flying Doctor Service where he was warned to change careers or risk permanent paralysis. It was then that his droving mates insisted he move to the city and find work as a singer.

A Different Mob

In order to qualify for university, Clancy enrolled in Power Coaching College in Brisbane. His studies, however, were interrupted by a major talent quest win which landed him on Brisbane's television show 'Anything Goes' and onto the fledgling Gold Coast club scene, including Lennon's Hotels, The Currumbin Playroom and The Beachcomber on Cavill Avenue. His working name 'Larry Wood' was changed to Larry King by a management company who set him up as the front man to the import Polynesian showband 'The Royal Tahitians'. His association with the group was his introduction to major rock venues, intimate night spots and, inadvertently, the Sydney underworld. It was later in the U.S. where an abundance of Larry Kings made working as a writer/musician under that name extremely difficult, that his earlier nickname 'Clancy' was adopted legally, with the addition of his ancestral family name 'Dunn'.

"There's only two kinds of music..."

Duke Ellington's assessment of music as "good music and all that other stuff" has been Clancy's credo. Through the years he's played Jazz, Latin, Blues, Rock, Country and Folk songs, always respecting the integrity of the music. Although he loved working the local nightclubs, he realized he knew too much about too many people; so he just left. His chance meeting with a couple of American folk singers on a train led to their travelling the country together playing folk music, and when they returned home Clancy continued working solo, later joining Alex Hood as 'The Prodigal Sons', specialising in Australian songs, working steadily in schools, clubs, concerts and on television and radio.

'Avagoodweegend:

Clancy's environmental song 'I Shot an Arrow Into the Air and it Stuck There', released on MCA, led to a brief but successful career making radio and T.V. commercials, including the iconic ''Avagoodweegend' for Aeroguard and the award winning 'Almost as Soft as Love' for Johnson's Baby Powder. An invitation to work in the U.S. followed, where Clancy made radio I.D.'s for KBBQ Ventura, and KFM-102 Las Vegas, before trading jingles for a stint on the road playing cover music, including variety lounges in Las Vegas, blues in Mississippi, Mexican songs in Texas, and country in Nashville. Then came the Aussie invasion which brought him back full circle playing his favourite Australian songs.

Press Quotes:
• 'The roving ambassador in moleskins and Akubra.'
  Australasian Post
• 'One of the last of the old-timers...'
  Professor Manning Clarke, from an interview with Clancy in 1963.
• 'Clancy Dunn could easily entertain any crowd with his fine lyric voice, but add on the exceptional musical talent and well-honed Aussie humor and you have an extremely rounded performer.'
  Chicago Tribune
• 'He has the same initials as that other well-known Aussie, but this man is the real deal. His songs and yarns about the bush had many of us thinking about a call to Qantas.'
  Las Vegas Gambler
• 'What a superb ambassador for Australia! We were not only thoroughly entertained; we came away knowing more about 'The Land Down Under''.
  Phoenix Gazette
• 'Dunn's performance on the fiddle had the audience screaming with excitement.'
  Laughlin Entertainer
• 'If you're anything like the rest of us, you'll not only want to catch more of Clancy Dunn, you'll want to visit his homeland.'
  San Diego Examiner
• 'Clancy, with his charming melodic voice, delightful Aussie humour and wealth of tales, continues to delight adult and children audiences here in the USA.'
  Australian Expatriate - Los Angeles
• 'Clancy Dunn moved The Voice Australia judges to tears with renditions of Elvis Presley and Bob Dylan classics.'
  Daily Mail Australia

• For Clancy's own story here's a link:  Autobiography
• Current home base: Sydney, Australia
• Contact Clancy:  clancydunn@outlook.com
• U.S. Contact: aussieproducts@aussieproducts.com