Tommy Hunter
, CM, O.Ont (born Thomas James Hunter
March 10, 1937 in London, Ontario) is a Canadian country music performer, known as "Canada's Country Gentleman".
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TOMMY HUNTER TICKETS
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Career
In 1956, he began performing as a rhythm
guitarist on the
CBC television show,
Country Hoedown
.
The Tommy Hunter Show
began as a CBC radio program in 1960 and went on to replace
Country Hoedown
on CBC television in 1965; Hunter's show was picked up by
TNN in 1983 and ran on CBC until 1992. The book
Cue the Elephant
by
Knowlton Nash (1996, McClelland & Stewart) featured some disparaging remarks from the show's make-up artist. "He could sell himself terrifically but there was no love lost between Tommy and the crew. Some of the guys loathed him ... Everybody made snide remarks behind Tommy's back ... people might say he was the biggest jerk in the world. But that was not my experience. For me, I saw a very easy down-to-earth manner. But Tommy does generate anti as well as pro feelings from people ... he didn't trust people around him, he became a monster to some."
People who performed on
The Tommy Hunter Show
early in their careers include:
- Garth Brooks
- Shania Twain, then known as Eileen Twain
- The Judds
After his show was cancelled by the CBC, Hunter continued to tour with his band,
The Travelling Men
. He continues to perform concerts as of January 2009.
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Awards and recognition
Tommy Hunter was inducted into the
Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame in 1984. In 1986, Hunter was made a Member of the
Order of Canada. He has received three Canadian
Juno Awards and one
Gemini Award. In 1990, he was given a place in the
Country Music Hall of Fame's "Walkway of Stars". A street ("Tommy Hunter Way") was also renamed in his honour in his hometown of London, Ontario, in the late 1990s. He became a member of the
Order of Ontario in 1996. In 2005 he was honored with a
GMA Canada Lifetime Achievement Award. The award is handed out annually by the . (
GMA Canada)
References
- Canada's country gentleman a long way from done