Wilf Carter (musician)

Wilfred Arthur Charles " Wilf " Carter ( born December 18, 1904 in Port Hilford, Nova Scotia, † December 5, 1996 in Scottsdale, Arizona) was a Canadian singer, songwriter, and yodeler. He is regarded as the "father " local country music and one of the most successful artists of the genre in his homeland. But even in the U.S., he could under the name Montana Slim to celebrate their successes.

In his long career he took in addition to numerous pieces in old-time style mainly cowboy oriented title and one of the pioneers of Western Music. He also gained importance as a virtuoso yodeler, especially in his self-developed echo- yodeling - or three- in-one style.

Life

Childhood and youth

Wilf Carter was born on December 18, 1904 in Port Hilford as one of nine children of a Swiss Baptist preacher and his English wife. Since the family was very poor, he had been since the age of eight years working in various jobs on the family farm and neighboring ranches. With about 10 years, he had an experience that would shape his life: During a cattle drive he saw a performance of Uncle Tom's Cabin, in which an additional attraction occurred a name unknown Swiss yodel, who called himself The Yodeling Fool. From this point on, the young Wilf had found his calling and would not be deterred by the strict upbringing of his father which, incessantly to practice yodeling: " I yodeled upstairs and downstairs, in the parlor and in the apple orchard and in the lane. Dad could not stop me even though he wore out more than a dozen slippers on the seat of my pants. "

At age 16, he left because of a dispute with his father finally his hometown to in the Canadian Rocky Mountains to work as a cowboy. There he entertained his colleagues with his vocal performances and also performed at rodeos. Finally, he went to Alberta, where he performed at the radio station CFCN in the program The Old Timers since 1930. He usually accompanied his singing with an autoharp or singing without accompaniment.

Carter was also affected by the rising star Jimmie Rodgers yodel and also enriched his music with blues and jazz elements. In contrast, Carter emphasized more strongly the original Alpine style, which he developed with time on his own style. Due to the popularity acquired during his performances he got CFCN a new job as a radio presenter. Now once a week his show, The Voice Of The Prairies was sent, in the Carter also sang himself. Shortly thereafter, he joined the radio station CBC and the way he signed a contract with the Toronto Publishing House. However, he survived despite its jobs in modest circumstances. In order to improve his lifestyle, he worked for the Canadian Pacific Railway, the trips to the "Wild West Canada " organized. Since he enjoyed rising popularity, Carter was offered a recording contract by RCA Records, but he could not muster the funds for the trip to New York, so let RCA the offer fall again.

Career

Raged But Right, 1956

Finally he came in 1933 but to a contract with RCA. The ship on which Carter worked at the time, made a stop in Montreal. He played there before the Canadian RCA cable, which then gave him a contract. His first album he released in 1934 with My Swiss Moonlight Lullaby on the A- side and The Capture Of Albert Johnson on the B-side. The single was a hit in Canada, but in the U.S. the plate remained largely unnoticed. In 1935 he joined the CBS radio station in New York to act as Montana Slim. The name of a secretary had thought, when it came time to publish the song composed by Carter A Cowboy's High Toned Dance. Immediately reached his records in the United States high sales figures. From that point on, his records were published in Canada under the name of Wilf Carter, in the U.S. under the name Montana Slim. There now began a busy time for Carter, during his long career, he wrote nearly 500 songs, covering a variety of areas of that music, but mainly dealt with the then very popular cowboy theme. Besides this he continued to meet regularly on the radio and at concerts.

1937 Carter married the former nurse Bobbie Bryan, with which he bought a ranch in Alberta. 1940 Carter suffered a serious car accident, from which he indeed completely recovered, but he could only make 1947 LP recordings and until 1949 to continue his work for radio and go on tour. During this recovery period, he concentrated on his livestock and the education of his two daughters, Sheila and Carol. As early as 1947 had moved because of commuting between Canada and the U.S. to New Jersey Carter and his family. In the same year he completed his first and only appearance on the Grand Ole Opry, the most famous radio show in America. His subsequent tour of the USA was a great success and in 1953 he began with his daughters the traveling show The Family Show With The Folks You Know to operate. 1952 RCA had terminated the contract and Carter moved to Decca Records, where he recorded until 1957 drives him. His sessions were held in Nashville, Tennessee, as background musicians often stars like Chet Atkins and Grady Martin were present.

The late 1950s, Carter's popularity took off in America; However, in Canada, he was consistently successful. Until the 1980s, Carter released records and toured Canada. In 1971 he was accepted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame. After the death of his wife in 1989, he moved gradually from the public.

Wilf Carter aka Montana Slim died on 5 December 1996 at the age of 91, shortly after his doctors had diagnosed him cancer. He was inducted for his services to the country music in Canada in the Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame.

Legacy

Wilf Carter applies not only to Hank Snow as the most successful Canadian country musician, he also is regarded as the "father " of the Canadian country music that was barely emerged from the shadow of its southern sister before him. However, he made ​​a lasting impression in the field of yodeling and Western Music. With his self-developed echo- yodeling - or three- in-one yodeling he differed markedly from the previously practiced in the vaudeville style, which eventually became the Blue Yodeling should hervorgehehn. In a way, he took the later common in the Singing Cowboys sophisticated Joder anticipated. But the so-called voice -break singing, that is, the breaking of the voice while singing portions of the text remains, associated with his name, for example. using the song A Little Log Shack I can alway call my Home His recordings of traditional and own cowboy songs that make up the bulk of his work, mark the transition from the realistic ballads of Carl T. Sprague to the romantic, idealized titles with which artists such as Gene Autry and Roy Rogers mid -1930s, Hollywood should conquer. It is therefore widely appreciated despite his Hobo and hillbilly numbers as one of the great pioneers of the Western genre, "one of the all-time great western singers. "

Known titles

More Awards

• Acceptance into the Western Music Association Hall of Fame (1991 )
• Admission to the Nova Scotia Country Music Hall of Fame (1997)