April 10, 2024
// by Larry Delaney // (#83 in the Ontario Country Music Pioneers Series) Singer/songwriter CON ARCHER was born Conrad William Archer, November 8, 1941, in Bourlamaque, (Val D’Or), Quebec. He later moved to Orillia, Ontario where he first worked as a barber, and then pursued a singing career, initially performing with the local group, The Fairlanes, singing Country and Gospel music. By the early 1970s, Con Archer headed up his own group, “The Sundowners”, and began his recording career, which would see him release seven albums and a series of nationally-charted hit singles. A debut album, “The Many Moods Of Con Archer”, was released on the Dominion Records label in 1970. The album was produced by Jury Krytiuk and recorded in Nashville studios. The […]
February 8, 2023
// by Larry Delaney // (#71 in the Ontario Country Music Pioneers Series) Murray McLauchlan and the music he makes cannot be pigeon-holed into one category… he pretty much covers all popular musical genres – Folk, Pop, Rock, Cabaret – and, oh ya, COUNTRY. In fact, his “Farmer’s Song”, and its recording, is about as Country as it gets!! Murray McLauchlan was born June 30, 1948, in Paisley, Scotland. He came to Canada with his family when he was five years old, settling in Toronto. By the time he was in his early teens, he was learning his craft as a singer/songwriter/musician while haunting the coffee house scene in Toronto. After a brief stay in New York, Murray returned to Toronto and in 1970, he […]
January 17, 2023
// by Larry Delaney // (#70 in the Ontario Country Music Pioneers Series) Ronald (Ron) James Harry McLeod was born in Hamilton in 1933. Music always played a large part in his life. At age 15, he won a Gold Award playing the accordion at the Waterloo Music Festival. He was first discovered by Canadian dance band leader Slim Gordon, who hired Ron as an accordion player for his band. After honing his skills with the band, he joined up with Johnny Davidson and added Square Dance calling to his talent list. He also called for The Brady Square Dancers. Ron McLeod’s early career fame was likely best achieved when he became a regular on the Main Street Jamboree. In 1958, he spread his […]
December 21, 2022
// by Larry Delaney // (#69 in the Ontario Country Music Pioneers Series) If you had the good fortune to be a radio listener in the late 1950s and through the 60s, you would have been treated to a steady stream of hit songs by rockabilly singer JACK SCOTT. Hit tunes like “Leroy”, “The Way I Walk”, “Goodbye Baby”, “Midgie”, “My True Love”, “Geraldine”, “Save My Soul”, “With Your Love”, “What In The World’s Come Over You” and many more, helped make Jack Scott one of Canada’s most recognizable voices with music fans around the world. What made that hit list even more impressive was that Jack wrote all those songs. Jack Scott was born Giovanni Domenico Scafone, January 24, 1936, in Windsor, Ontario. At […]