Wilf Carter (musician)

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Wilfred Arthur Charles Carter (December 18, 1904<ref name="LarkinCountry"/> – December 5, 1996),<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> professionally known as Wilf Carter in his native Canada and also as Montana Slim in the United States, was a Canadian Country Country and Western singer, songwriter, guitarist, and yodeller, who was said to have pioneered the transitional bridge between authentic cowboy folk music and the carefully composed romantic Hollywood singing cowboy genre.

In 1984, He was inducted into the Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame<ref name="CSHF"/>

He wrote over 500 songs.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>and is an inductee to the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame<ref name="CSHF">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

In 1971, Wilf Carter was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame.<ref name="LarkinCountry"/> Widely acknowledged as the father of Canadian country music, Carter was Canada's first country music star, inspiring a generation of young Canadian performers.<ref name="allmusic">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Early years

Carter was born in Port Hilford, Nova Scotia, Canada.<ref name="LarkinCountry">Template:Cite book</ref> One of nine children, his father was Swiss.<ref name="Sentinel" /> He began working odd jobs by the age of eight in Canning, Nova Scotia, but started singing after seeing a traveling Swiss performer named "The Yodelling Fool" in Canning.<ref name="LarkinCountry"/> Carter left home at the age of 15 after a falling out with his father, who was a Baptist minister.<ref name="allmusic"/><ref name="canadianencyclopedia">Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref>

In 1923, at age 18, after working as a lumberjack and singing with hobos in boxcars, Carter moved west to Calgary, Alberta, where he became friends with Pete Knight and found work on the Davis ranch, near Brooks, as a cowboy.<ref name="LarkinCountry"/> (In 1979, Carter was the grand marshal at the Calgary Stampede.) He made extra money singing and playing his guitar at dances, camps, performing for tourist parties, and traveling throughout the Canadian Rockies.<ref name="canadianencyclopedia"/> It was during this time that he developed his own yodelling style, sometimes called an "echo yodel" or a "three-in-one".

Radio years (1929–1940)

"Down the Old Cattle Trail" by Wilf Carter

Carter performed his first radio broadcast on CFCN Alberta in 1929.<ref name="LarkinCountry"/> Soon after, he was heard locally on CFAC and nationally on the CRBC. Two years later, he was entertaining tourists as a trail rider for the Canadian Pacific Railway, who promoted horseback excursions into the Canadian Rockies.<ref name="LarkinCountry"/> Carter soon became very popular in the region.<ref name="canadianencyclopedia"/>

In 1933, he was hired as an entertainer on the maiden voyage of the British ship S.S. Empress.<ref name="LarkinCountry"/> Later that year, he stopped off in Montreal and made his first recording: "My Swiss Moonlight Lullaby" and "The Capture of Albert Johnson".<ref name="LarkinCountry"/> After signing with the Canadian branch of RCA Victor, "My Swiss Moonlight Lullaby" became the first hit record ever by a Canadian country performer.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> That same year, Carter also wrote and recorded "Pete Knight, The King of the Cowboys," which also became a hit.<ref name="canadianencyclopedia"/>

For seven years (1934-1940) he hosted his own CBS country music radio program in New York City. His announcer was Bert Parks.<ref name=Sentinel>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> CBS changed his the name to "Montana Slim,"<ref name="LarkinCountry"/> to appeal to American audiences.<ref name="canadianencyclopedia"/> In 1935, Carter also performed on WABC radio. In 1937, Carter returned to Alberta, where he purchased a ranch. He continued to appear on CBC, NBC, and CBS until CBS dropped him in 1940.<ref name="canadianencyclopedia"/>

In 1940, Carter seriously injured his back in a car accident in Montana.<ref name="LarkinCountry"/> He was unable to perform for much of the decade,<ref name="LarkinCountry"/> but his popularity was sustained by the periodic release of new recordings.<ref name="canadianencyclopedia"/>

Recording sessions

He had a recording contract with RCA-Victor for five years (1947-1952) and then moved to Nashville where he recorded with Decca from 1954 to 1957.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

He sold his ranch in 1949 and moved his family to a Template:Convert farm in New Jersey.Template:Citation needed

Touring (1949–1991)

In 1949, Carter resumed live performances with tours in Canada and the United States.<ref name="LarkinCountry"/> In 1950, he attracted over 50,000 people during a week at the Canadian National Exhibition bandstand in Toronto, Ontario.

In 1953, Wilf Carter started touring with his own show called, 'The Family Show with the Folks You Know.' His daughters, Carol and Sheila, worked with him as dancers and back-up singers.<ref name="LarkinCountry"/>

In 1964, Carter performed for the first time at the Calgary Stampede.<ref name="LarkinCountry"/> He also became one of the most requested guests on the TV show hosted by Canadian country singer Tommy Hunter.

In the 1960s and 70s he toured with Hank Snow.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

In 1980, Country Music Queen Kitty Wells and her husband Johnnie Wright encouraged Carter to tour with them, which was billed as Carter's 80th Birthday Tour. From 1980 to 1985 he toured different parts of Canada.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

In 1985, Carter toured with Slim Whitman.<ref name=Sentinel/>

In 1991 Wilf toured across Canada in his 'Farewell Tour' aptly title "The Last Round-Up"

Recordings

Wilf Carter recorded over 40 original and compilation LP records for RCA Victor including Nuggets of the Golden West, Christmas in Canada, Songs of the Rail and Range, Songs of Australia, Wilf Carter Sings Jimmie Rogers, and Let's Go Back to the Bible. In 1983, he re-recorded many of his most popular songs for Fifty Golden Years.

In 1988, Carter recorded his last album, What Ever Happened to All Those Years. In 1991, at age 86, he made his last concert tour, appropriately called 'The Last Round-up Tour', with shows throughout Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Ontario, and Manitoba. He retired the following year, due to his loss of hearing. Wilf Carter died in 1996 in Scottsdale, Arizona, 13 days before his 92nd birthday.<ref>Carter, Wilf. The Yodelling Cowboy. Toronto: Ryerson, 1961</ref>

Business

In 1952, he moved, this time to Orlando, Florida, where he opened the Wilf Carter Motor Lodge, a venture that lasted only two years.

Honours and awards

In 1971, Wilf Carter was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame.<ref name="LarkinCountry"/>

He was inducted into the Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame in 1984, and the following year, he was inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame and the Juno Awards Hall of Fame.

He was made an Honorary Chief of the Stony Indian tribe.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

A video documentary was released in 2000, called The Last Round-up: The Wilf Carter Story, which examined Carter's distinguished career.

Legacy

He wrote hundreds of songs covering a wide range of themes, including traditional country western, cowboy, folk, and hobo songs. His recordings of "Blue Canadian Rockies" and "You Are My Sunshine" are among the most popular.<ref name="canadianencyclopedia"/> Fellow Canadian country artist Ian Tyson considers Carter an influence on his music.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Another Canadian artist, Stu Davis, acknowledged the importance of Carter's mentorship early in his career and credited him with securing Davis's first recording contract with Sonora Records in New York.

Discography

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Year Album CAN Country
1960 The Dynamite Trail
1960 Songs of the Calgary Stampede
1962 Reminiscin' with Wilf Carter
1962 By Request
1963 Old Prairie Melodies
1964 Let's Go Back to the Bible
1964 Nuggets of the Golden West
1965 Christmas in Canada
1965 Yodeling Memories
1965 32 Wonderful Years
1966 God Bless Our Canada
1966 Golden Memories
1967 If It Wasn't for the Farmer What Would City Slickers Do?
1967 Waitin' for the Maple Leaves to Fall
1968 Hittin' the Track
1968 How My Yodeling Days Began
1968 Songs of the Rail and Range
1969 The Best of Wilf Carter
1969 Balladeer of the Golden West
1969 Wilf Carter Sings Jimmie Rodgers
1970 Sings Songs of Australia
1970 Away Out There
1971 Walls of Memory
1972 My Heartache's Your Happiness
1973 40th Anniversary Special
1973 Wilf Carter's Best / Wilf Carter's West
1974 The Wilf Carter Souvenir Album
1978 Walkin the Streets of Calgary
1979 I'm Happy To-day
1980 My Home on the Range 14

Charted singles

Year Single CAN Country Album
1973 "Shoo Shoo Shoo Sha-La-La" 60 My Heartache's Your Happiness
1976 "Have a Nice Day" 27 Have a Nice Day
1988 "What Ever Happened" 91 What Ever Happened

Other singles

References

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