TORONTO, Canada (CCMA) - The Canadian Country
Music Association (CCMA) today named the latest industry members who will be added to the long list of individuals inducted to the Canadian Country
Music Hall of Fame. This year's honourees are in the Artist, Builder and Broadcaster categories, and will be inducted during Country
Music Week in Calgary,
September 9 - 12. Additional biographical information and visuals for each inductee are available through the contact information that follows at the end of this release.
2005 Canadian Country
Music Hall of Fame Inductees
Induction into the Canadian Country
Music Hall of Fame recognizes long-term contribution to the growth and development of Canadian country music. The recipient may be living or deceased, an Artist, Broadcaster, or Builder, but must be recognized for his/her achievements as a Canadian in the industry.
GARY FJELLGAARD, ARTISTFor more than thirty years Gary Fjellgaard has been making a living on the road with a guitar and a song. He delights audiences throughout North
America and
Europe with masterful acoustic guitar, vocals, riveting yodeling, and tales of his life in the woods. Gary has always been known to deliver his music and performance with a passion and a rare sincerity that has delivered the career longevity many aspire to, but rarely achieve.
Raised on the Canadian Prairies, this award winning singer/songwriter is a champion of vanishing values and the frontier spirit. Cattle drives, wagon treks, windswept prairies, rushing rivers and working folks with ties to the land, have all been a source of inspiration for his songs. His western roots music has survived categorization, and a move to Canada's West Coast has brought a universal quality to his songwriting. He looks back on a rewarding career and many awards, and gratefully acknowledges the hundreds of towns and cities, and listen! ers who have been touched by his music.
R. HARLAN SMITH, BUILDER
R. Harlan Smith has been on the Canadian country music scene as singer, songwriter, producer, publisher, and record label executive for over 35 years. In 1974 with his business associate, he founded what is today one of country's most active record label/distributors, Royalty Records. For over three decades he has remained a pivotal member of the country music industry.
Born in Saskatchewan, R. Harlan Smith moved to Alberta where his career as a singer/songwriter and producer began. He has written over 200 songs, produced over 50 albums and 200 singles and received hundreds of awards for his talents including multiple CCMA Awards. His steadfast belief in Canadian country music led him to create the Canadian Country
Music All-Star Show which traveled throughout Canada and much of
Europe with artists such as
Laura Vinson, Gary Fjellgaard, Chris Nielsen and others being showcased to international audie! nces.
Harlan has donated his time to organizations such as the CCMA and is a founding member, holding multiple roles over the years, of the Alberta Recording Industries Association, Global Country Canada, and the Alberta Cultural Industries Association. He has been recognized for his accomplishments and contributions to the country music industry many times throughout his career and most recently he was named an "Industry Builder" by the Western Canadian
Music Alliance.
PAUL KENNEDY, BROADCASTER
Paul Kennedy was born in Saint John, New Brunswick and started his career in radio at CJLS Yarmouth, Nova Scotia in 1968. For the next 26 years he dedicated himself to country radio, with 20 years spent at CHFX-FM Halifax, both on air and as
Music Director. Throughout his career he has pursued as many opportunities as possible to speak with, and then air or publish, news and interviews from Canadian country artists. He recorded his first interview in 1968 with the legendar! y Anne Murray. Today he has also interviewed most of country's international stars such as
Waylon Jennings,
George Strait,
Toby Keith and continues to tirelessly promote rising Canadian country talent.
Paul Kennedy formed his own company in the mid-nineties, "Kennedy Artist Promotions" to further his work covering Canadian artist achievements, including radio reporting for national programming such as "Today's Country" and CBC. He has been a sought-after feature writer about music and specifically country music for publications such as the Halifax Daily News, Country Wave and has written a monthly column for Country
Music News since 1981 titled "East Coast Country". Country
Music News Editor Larry Delaney says "...as a news reporter Paul Kennedy is a tell-it-like-it-is kind of guy, with a no holds-barred approach to his reporting. His factual and lively commentary has always sparked keen interest. What makes Paul Kennedy so effective is his fairness, treating all ! artists with equal importance?country music fans and artists alike have long been the benefactors of Paul Kennedy's dedication to his craft."
Paul has won the CCMA
Music Director of the Year Award five times and On Air three times, and is proud to have reported from Country
Music Week every year since 1984.
