Angus Walker

Walker's music career began at the age of 12, performing at local venues until 1953, when he began to appear with Ron Spencer, Cris Chisholm and Earl Chisholm as part of the Radio Rangers on CJFX Radio.[2] After 1956, he appeared as part of the West Virginia Jamboree Show with Charley Bailey and later toured with future Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame alumni Fred McKenna[3] and George Beck. Walker also participated and won the "CBC Talent Caravan", which was held at Saint Francis Xavier University and adjudicated by Glenn Sarty.[2] Next, Walker began working with The Birch Mountain Boys who consisted of Vic Mullen on banjo, Brent Williams on fiddle and Harry Cromwell on mandolin.[4] Walker and the group became one of the earliest performers of Canadian Bluegrass music in the early 1960s.[5] After disbanding in 1961,[6] Walker worked with Mac Wiseman and made appearances with Doc Williams[7] and The Border Riders with "The Countrymen" who consisted of Walker (lead vocal and rhythm guitar), Beck (bass), Mullen (fiddle and banjo), Chuck Lohnes (steel guitar) and Ross Broughm (lead guitar). The group was assembled via audition by CJCH and were part of "...the first cross-country television show of country music ever to originate in Halifax"[2] titled "The CJCH Countrymen Jamboree". Later, Walker re-united with Williams and Cromwell as part of Beck's "Maritime Playboys" on a weekly TV show for CHAU in Carleton, Quebec. In 1963, Walker transitioned to Montreal where he joined Dougal Trineer's band "The Hackamores" mostly appearing as a rhythm guitarist and harmony singer, along with Paul Menard on fiddle, June Davey supplying bass and vocals and Trineer as lead guitarist and singer. The group backed "...many of the country records out of Montreal" at the time,[8] in addition to playing at several venues in the Montreal and Toronto areas.

Four of Walker's singles charted above the top 50 in RPM Magazine's weekly ranking of Country music songs between 1965 and 1971. Cadillacin' Around, written by Will Odo and recorded with The Hackamores, plateaued at #2[9] and gained him "national popularity"[10] before winning the RPM Gold Leaf Award (later known as the Juno Awards) for "Most Promising Male Country Singer"[11][12] in 1965. Due to these successes, by 1966 he was receiving "much recognition as an up and coming country singer".[8] Peaking at #35 in 1970 was Crazy Tricks[13], written by Merv Smith and produced by Dick Damron and recorded in Edmonton. During this time in Alberta, Walker continued to have popularity in Quebec and the Atlantic provinces.[14] In 1971, two of Walker's recordings reached the top 50 starting with the self-penned Canadian Country Music Man which featured Marie Babin (vocals) and "first call"[15] studio lead guitarist Mickey McGivern, reaching as high as #22.[16] Later that year, Parliament Hill, written by Ben Kerr and produced by Trineer, peaked at #18 on RPM Weekly's Country song listing.[17]

In the fall and winter of 1970 and 1971, now known as Canada's Prime Minister of Country Music, Walker made appearances on CBC's Countrytime [18] and on May 12th, 1971, Walker joined notable folk performer and television personality Don Messer on a tour across Canada. [19][20] Additionally, Walker performed Parliament Hill on an episode of The Don Messer Show that aired on January 29th, 1972 on CJAY-TV.[21] Walker also spent time playing at The Dunes nightclub in Hawaii, starting in 1972[22] along with Bobby Munro on piano and Doug Lewis on bass. Upon returning to Canada, Walker assembled his own exclusive band known as "The Cabinet" featuring lead guitarist Steve Lau whom he had met during his time in Hawaii and brothers, Larry and Henry Brennan, on drums and bass, respectively. In 1975, Walker received "heavy east coast airplay for his Diesel Drivin' Man single",[23] recorded with The Cabinet[24] and also made an appearance on The Ian Tyson Show backing Jim and Don Haggart.[2] Walker began an indefinite hiatus from his music career due to medical issues in 1977.[23]

• Angus Walker discography at Discogs