Photo courtesy of THE BOYZ
Members of the singing group, The Boyz, include (from left): Ted Burchfield, Larry Wise, Mike Fitzgerald, Larry Goss, Kevin Cunningham, Joe Barnes, Bob Schwarz, Ed Beaver, Greg Cunningham, Dave Long, and Will Angenent. Not pictured: Doug Foltz, Jason Sieber and Dave Stimeling.

MIFFLINTOWN — Kevin Cunningham never imagined that 30 years after taking the stage to sing with a handful of male teachers at a school function, that he’d be still hanging out with the boys.

Make that The Boyz.

Cunningham, a former music teacher at Juniata High School, was part of a group that decided to perform “My Girl” at the annual May Day Show in the spring 1994.

The teachers enjoyed performing together so much that day they decided to form what would eventually become the ultra-popular, all-male singing ensemble appropriately named The Boyz.

“Through the decades, the group has included not only teachers, but also administrators,” said Cunningham, who lives in Mifflintown. “In recent years, we have welcomed non-educators as group members and the current group numbers 14 total members.”

If you’d ask Cunningham 20 to 30 years ago, if he’d envisioned this venture as a long-term one, he would have likely told you no.

“I imagine that I would have said to give it five or so years before the excitement of singing and local community members showing interest wears down a bit,” Cunningham explained.

“However, when seeing how community members initially welcomed this group and seemed to enjoy their performances, I am now not surprised at all,” Cunningham added. “Please know that we do not take ourselves too seriously … for we simply enjoy singing and greatly appreciate the community’s showing of interest for much longer than what I might have initially imagined would be the case.”

Over the years, the group’s lineup has changed a bit. Cunningham remains one of three original members of The Boyz with Ed Beaver and Larry Wise.

“Sadly, since we first began performing for school and community events, two valued members – Terry Burkett and Curt Houtz – passed away,” Cunningham said. “Both Terry and Curt loved singing and I thoroughly enjoyed having them as members of our group.

“Throughout the past thirty years, the singing group’s roster has changed a number of times and in recent years, the group roster has increased to 14 members,” he added.

While there have been lots of boy bands over the years, there has only been one of The Boyz.

“I can recall us thinking about a name and joking about being boys,” Wise recalled. “So, I suggested the name ‘Boyz’ and it stuck. We were and are far from boys.”

Initially, the group only performed at the annual Juniata High School May Day Show, but that public performance quickly gained the group notoriety throughout the community.

Local service and church groups then began asking them to provide entertainment at special events, such as Christmas dinners, spring club meetings and special church anniversary events.

“Since I was involved with a number of other groups that were previously involved with the annual county fair worship services, I made arrangements for The Boyz to provide special music at the annual county fair church service and those appearances led into our singing of the National Anthem at the fair’s opening ceremony,” Cunningham said.

Their rise in fame could be tied to the choice of music.

“We have only performed covers of popular music of days gone by, as well as familiar Christmas music and hymns,” Cunningham explained. “I cannot place a label on this group’s musical style … for when performing for important church anniversary celebrations, we include music that would be appropriate for the occasion.”

When performing for some fun community events, don’t be surprised if they slip in tunes like “Lost in the Fifties Tonight” or “Margaritaville.”

Despite being retired, Cunningham remains very active in the local music scene. He is personally involved with a number of different performing groups. That can limit his availability with The Boyz.

“Shuffling my own personal time can be a challenge at times,” Cunningham said. “Having said that, while The Boyz have performed at the annual Juniata County Fair opening ceremonies and community church services, along with occasional community events, December seems to be the busiest month.”

Singing the national anthem at the fair has become an annual tradition for The Boyz.

This month, The Boyz have five scheduled performances, including the Festival of Ice from 6 to 7 p.m. Friday and their annual Christmas Caroling stroll through The Clubhouse Grill and Restaurant from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. on Dec. 13. Their other dates are for community organizations and church Christmas dinners.