THE VALLEY continued from pag 45
Still, this new Rock and Roll
bug seemed to be more of a big city phenomenon than a Valley one. In 1955 a new radio station called CJET opened in Smiths Falls, and the main item on the musical menu was Country, with a healthy dose of live Valley acts like Mac Beattie, Ralph Carlson, The country Cousins, featuring Ron McMunn “The Silver Fox”, and Irwin Prescott. With this extra media boost, the Valley country scene continued to expand, with more clubs, more bands and more artists moving into the recording studio. In 1961 The Happy Wanderers
TED DAIGLE
would pack venues like the British Hotel and Chamberlain Hotel on the Quebec side, and other clubs in the Valley. But when Elvis arrived, Hugh
Scott was just one of thousands of area kids who became hooked on the hip swinging cat from Tupelo, Mississippi. He adapted to the change, and was soon making the girls swoon with his Elvis impersonations at Fisher Park High talent shows. Hugh Scott became Ottawa’s first Rock and Roll star.
moved over to TV when CJOH ran a country music show called “The ShorGas Barn Dance”, hosted by the late Les Lye. Mac Beattie and his band also became TV stars, hosting a show called “Haylofter” on CJOH, and then a cross-Canada program called “Cross Canada Barn Dance” on the CTV network. He was also a familiar face on the legendary “Don Messer’s Jubilee” on the CBC network. Back in the Valley the scene was
booming. Bars and concert halls were packed, artists were getting radio play and recording studios were booked solid. Many players hooked up with major recording stars for tours or as backup musicians for established stars.
In July of 1972 a new milestone
for Country music was reached when radio station CKBY went on the air. Headed by singer Ted Daigle, the station mixed the classic country of George Jones, Waylon Jennings and Tammy Wynette with a good dose of local content. On air personalities like Doug Anderson, Ray Callahan, Hal “The Bear” Lee and Bill Inglis knew their music, and, more importantly, knew the Valley. The biggest star in those early days was a tall, lanky kid with an easy smile named Wayne Rostad, who would become known for his “Christmas in the Valley” radio series and a very successful recording, TV and philanthropic career. The most familiar voice on
CKBY during CKBY’s “Golden Era” of the 80s and 90s was Mark Papousek. His timing was perfect, arriving at CKBY just as the movie “Urban Cowboy” created a Country “tsunami”. Seemingly overnight, all the girls were line dancing and boys were wearing black hats, even if they did live in Kanata. Mark spend many a night judging mechanical bull riding contests at J.R. Dallas in Gatineau, or checking out bands like the Prescott Brothers at the Golden Rail on Montreal Road. Then Garth Brooks arrived, and
LIVE Music. Sunday Brunch.
34 Murray Street (ByWard Market) 613.695.5599 •
www.fatboys.ca
46 BOUNDER MAGAZINE
www.bounder.ca
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64