Radio ... and Me - 5

In the mid-1950s, the music from the U-S-A played locally was called ‘Country & Western,’ and featured such singers as,
-- Eddy Arnold, the ‘Tennessee Ploughboy,’ with Cattle Call, and Bouquet of Roses; His later R-C-A recordings, such as Make the World Go Away, helped introduce the ‘Nashville Sound’ ,
and were among the first to feature a full string section, a bold move which met with some opposition. His reaction was, ‘We ended up selling 90 million records, so we must have been doing something right.’;

Radio ... and Me - 4

We listened to a lot of homegrown country music on local radio in the mid-1950s.
Two singers had already reached great international fame:
-- Hank Snow, ‘The Singing Ranger,’ hailed from the South Shore, N.S., and first worked as a fisherman on the Grand Banks. His first musical break came in the 40s, when he had a regular show on CHNS Radio, in Halifax. He later moved to Nashville, but failed to catch on, until 1949, when he found 'overnight' fame with I’m Movin’ On,

Cape Breton Tour

We’ve just returned from a delightful four-day trip to Cape Breton.
Most folks would visit in the summer, when it’s warm and all the Cape Breton Island tourist places are in full swing, or in the Fall, for 'Celtic Colours,' when the foliage puts on a spectacular show and there are nightly music concerts all over the Island!

Remembrance Day ... on Radio

Songs of war on the radio were -- and still are -- usually clustered around Remembrance Day, when veterans and other folks gather to recall their experiences, and remember departed comrades.
My parents were no exception; as my Dad had served in the Merchant Marine in the First War and in the Royal Canadian Navy in World War II. As I was growing up during the decade after the war, they both recounted vivid personal stories of life during the wars -- such as: blackouts, rationing and the death of loved ones in the service. There was an added bonus for me: my Mom’s sang all the war songs.