// by Larry Delaney // (born: August 2, 1944 – Toronto) (#67 in the Ontario Pioneers Series) BLAKE EMMONS is likely best known for hosting the TV series “Funny Farm”, a short-lived (one season-1974) Canadian-produced answer to the long-running Nashville TV show “Hee Haw”. For diehard country music fans, Blake Emmons will also be remembered for a pair of albums – I Wish You Love, released in 1976, and First Flight, a 1983 album on Columbia Records. The debut album, released on Canadian label Condor Records, contained five songs written by Blake Emmons, including his two biggest chart hits: “Let Me Do Something Lord”, which peaked at #9 on the RPM Charts, and the follow-up single “Sunchild”, a Top 30 hit. The album also contained […]

// by Larry Delaney // (1922-1965) (Born: Kirkton, Ontario) (#66 in the Ontario Pioneers Series) There have been many Canadian-made songs that have become standards and earned mega-play worldwide… One, however, that often flies under the radar, is the fiddle instrumental, “Maple Sugar”, composed by the late Ward Allen. Most fiddle players in North America and beyond have either recorded or performed a live version of “Maple Sugar” – the tune is immediately identifiable by fans and enthusiasts of fiddle music. Ward Allen’s “Maple Sugar”, originally recorded and released on the Sparton Records of Canada label, was so popular and far-ranging that it also earned a release on the famed Texas-based D-Records label, operated by Pappy Daily. Warden Amber (Ward) Allen was born May 11, […]

// by Larry Delaney // (Born: Cornwall, Ontario) (#65 in the Ontario Pioneers Series) Cornwall, Ontario-born singer/songwriter/producer GILLES GODARD is one of Canadian country music’s best all-around success stories. He began as a musician (steel guitar), was a prolific songwriter, an in-demand record producer, and completed the picture by forming his own record label, Book Shop Records, which became a home to many Canadian recording artists. By the mid-1980s, he was making Nashville his base of operations, where he not only became a hit songwriter but also a music publishing executive. To better grasp Gilles Godard’s massive career, one must review his accomplishments somewhat chronologically. After graduating from the Royal Conservatory of Music as a master steel guitar musician, still in his teens, Gilles formed […]

// by Larry Delaney // (Born: Sackville, NB – Home: Oshawa, Ontario) (#64 in the Ontario Pioneers Series)   Shirley Eikhard is blessed with musical blueblood. Her mother is famed fiddle player June Eikhard; her father, the late Cecil Eikhard, was also a gifted musician. Shirley has further blossomed as a singer/songwriter/musician, with career credits the envy of many. Born in Sackville, NB, the family relocated to Oshawa, Ontario, when Shirley was in her pre-teen years. She quickly followed in her parents’ musical footsteps as a singer, a guitarist, and above all, a songwriter. Shirley, as a 12-year-old, performed at various fiddle contests where her mother was a headline attraction, and at a songwriters’ venue at the famed Mariposa Folk Festival, which led to TV […]

// by Larry Delaney // (Born: Toronto, ON) (#63 in the Ontario Pioneers Series) Albert Pink was born in Toronto. As an aspiring singer/songwriter he honed his talents under the guidance of Fred Roden – owner of The Record Corral, a popular record store outlet and music venue in Toronto – presenting live entertainment during the 1950s and 60s by visiting country music legends Ernest Tubb, Carl Smith, Wilf Carter, etc. Albert Pink wanted to pursue a career similar to the “stars” he was meeting. The first step on his trip to stardom was a name change and Albert Pink became “Clint Curtiss”. Clint Curtiss was soon touring country music venues with his band, The Clintsmen, and in the recording studio cutting his first album, […]