He was one of the great pioneers of rock music. Some knew him as the lead singer for The Hombres, the band who had the smash, multi-million seller "Let It All Hang Out". Others knew him as a kind, generous, good natured, honest easy going, sweet, hardworking man. After the Hombres, Cunningham started working at the Sounds of Memphis Studio where he started doing audio engineering, first working with the group Felicity which included a young Don Henley. He stayed with the studio until 1971 when he moved to California to work at Independent Recorders, but returned to Memphis four years later to start House of Foust.

Cunningham joined with Jerry Lee Lewis' band in 1997 and has been touring with them since. In 2003, he released the solo album Hangin' In.