COUNTRY ROOTS
The Next Era Our ongoing review of the Ottawa Val- LARRY DELANEY
ley’s country music roots now brings us into the 1970’s-80’s era. Unquestionably the most productive years in the region’s history, thanks to the recording and performing successes of acts like Family Brown, Terry Carisse, Ralph Carlson, Wayne Rostad, and many more. As well, the establishment of country music industry support operations, such as radio station CKBY-FM, the record- ing studio and record label Snocan Records, the national country music publication Coun- try Music News, the Laurie-Ann Entertain- ment booking agency were big contributors. And let’s not forget the Ottawa Valley Country Music Hall Of Fame, which con- tinues to pay homage to the performers and industry people who helped make the Ottawa Valley a hotbed of country music in Canada.
Gary ‘Spike’ Spicer and Randall Prescott. Family Brown’s success on the national hit charts in Canada remains unmatched for a country group with more than 40 charted singles, including 5 #1 hits and 24 Top 10 hits. They first charted in 1971 with the Barry Brown-penned song R.R.#2, and continued their string of hits into the early 1990’s with such memorable tunes as Raised On Coun- try Music, Jukebox Lover, But It’s Cheating, Pioneers, etc. Remarkably, of the 40-plus charted singles, Barry Brown wrote or co- wrote 30 of them. The group was also the first Ottawa Valley-bred act (other than Lorne Greene’s 1964 novelty hit “Ringo”) to have their records hit the prestigious Billboard Country Hit Charts in the USA, placing sev- en of their RCA released singles on the charts from 1981-86. The Family Brown’s two- decade run earned them numerous Canadian Country Music Awards and induction into the Canadian Country Music Hall Of Fame (1997) as well as the Ottawa Valley Country Music Hall Of Fame (1991). The group also hosted their own Country TV show(s), pro- duced at CJOH studios in Ottawa. Following the untimely passing of ‘Papa’ Joe Brown on May 30, 1986, the Family Brown group remained active for several years, including reincarnations as The Lone- some Daddies, and later Prescott-Brown, both of which included the talents of Tracey Brown’s husband, Randall Prescott.
IT WAS ALL IN THE FAMILY The national spotlight on the Ottawa Val- ley country music scene in the 1970’s-80’s began to shine its brightest with the emer- gence of the group Family Brown, formed by ‘Papa’ Joe Brown following the demise of The Happy Wanderers. The group was front- ed by “Papa’ Joe’s three talented children, Barry, Lawanda and Tracey Brown, sup- ported initially by drummer/ manager Ron Sparling, bassist Dave Dennison and steel guitarist Bob Wingrove. Later configura- tions of the act included multi-instrumentalist
22 BOUNDER MAGAZINE
TERRY CARISSE - STILL THE STORY OF THE YEAR Ottawa-born Terry Carisse (1942-2005)
www.bounder.ca
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