25 Years of Stony
Plain
Blues
Maria Muldaur's new release (her 25th recording) is the exquisite centrepiece of Stony Plain's 25th Anniversary releases which include their 25 Year Anniversary CD with over two hours of the best roots music to come from or through Canada. Maria plays the first of four Stony Plain nights at the Horseshoe on Wednesday, April 11. Thursday Night features The Holmes Brothers, Friday, David Wilcox and Ray Bonneville and Saturday, Tom Landa and the Paperboys on a double bill with The Rockin' Highliners.
The Toronto Blues Society's first Canadian (and first non-musician) recipient of the Blues With a Feeling Award after B.B. King, Willie Dixon and John Lee Hooker, was Holger Petersen, founder of a Canadian record company that was putting out our kind of music. That was 1986, and Stony Plain had only begun to fulfill its mission, to spread a lot of great music across this blues-deprived country. Given the dominance of the handful (currently, five) multi-national record companies in Canada, the 25-year survival and relative prosperity of an independent record company must certainly be seen as remarkable, if not close to miraculous.
Holger has encouraged countless Canadian artists by producing and releasing their music and made licensing deals for US masters of blues classics so that buyers would not be saddled with inflated import prices (if they could get the recordings at all).
Over the years, the label has released over 270 albums with a wide range of music by such well-known Canadian artists as Ian Tyson (10 releases to date), Long John Baldry (four releases), The Paperboys (two albums), Prairie Oyster (two albums), Spirit of The West (three albums), Rita Chiarelli (three albums), Downchild Blues Band (two albums), Amos Garrett (four albums), Sylvia Tyson (two albums) and dozens of others. Artists released by Stony Plain have earned nine Juno Awards for their music on the label.
Holger came to Canada from Germany as a young child and grew up in Edmonton where he attended Northern Alberta Institute of Technology and soon was working as a record producer, student broadcaster and musician. He had a blues radio show on CKUA, the Alberta public radio network, and he got to meet the artists who came through town, share a meal or a drink with them, and, better still, he got to interview most of them.
And thus came about what was the first record Petersen produced. Walter Horton, one of the great harmonica blues players of all time, was in town with Willie Dixon's Chicago Blues All Stars. Horton had a reputation as a taciturn man who did not trust too many people, but an introduction from Dixon and half a bottle of Teacher's excellent whiskey seemed to break the ice, He agreed to take part in a recording session with a local band called Hot Cottage. In short order, other records with other blues artists - Roosevelt Sykes, Johnny Shines - were completed, and it became obvious that Petersen ought to start his own label.
The first artist on the new label, however, was a friend called Paul Hann who, with Pete White, wrote light-hearted country folk, and helped Petersen explore other kinds of music. In the first years there were singer-songwriters, blues artists, some Irish music, some folk, a taste of rock and roll, and even a contemporary pop album by a band called Crowcuss (which had two members of The Guess Who).
The early years were not without incident. There were a couple of occasions when the label nearly sank, but lucky breaks kept it alive. A good friend of Petersen's, Alvin Jahns, became a chartered accountant, and worked part time with the company, but as it grew he came its business manager and partner.
It wasn't until the mid-'80s, however, that the company found itself on firm ground, thanks to the amazing success of Ian Tyson's classic album, Cowboyography, which became Stony Plain's first platinum album. In the years since, the label has released (or re-released from other sources) no less than nine Tyson albums. He remains the best selling artist on the label.
In 1993 Petersen met Duke Robillard at the Winnipeg Folk Festival, and built a continuing relationship that has resulted in a dozen albums for the label. Not only did Duke record Duke's Blues to the label, but went on to produce Stony Plain albums with the late Jimmy Witherspoon, the great Kansas City bandleader and pianist Jay McShann, Rosco Gordon, Billy Boy Arnold, The Rockin' Highliners and a wonderful duet album with the veteran jazz guitarist Herb Ellis. Duke is now signed to Stony Plain for the world, and continues to deliver wonderful music to the label.
Blues fans across the country feel like they know Holger personally from his national CBC Radio show, Saturday Night Blues , now in its 14th season. One has only to listen to the phone-in requests from every corner of Canada to know the respect and affection which he has earned from blues fans.
A compilation of music by Canadian artists featured on the show won a Juno Award in 1992. Some 40 per cent of the music played on the show is by Canadian artists, and regularly features live performances by Canadian blues artists. He has also hosted a weekly show (Natch'l Blues) on CKUA, the Alberta provincial public radio network for 31 years; during this time he has not missed a single broadcast (although he frequently tapes shows in advance to accommodate his work and travel schedule). For the last three years, Holger has been programming the Blues Channel on the Galaxy Radio Network.
In addition, he gives generously of his time to music industry organizations. He's been a director of SOCAN, Canada's performing rights society, for more than a decade, as well continuing an active role with the Canadian Independent Record Production Association (CIRPA) that began in 1983. Along the way, he helped found the Edmonton Folk Festival (and was its artistic director for three years), and was a founding director of the Alberta Recording Industry Association.
We'll leave the last word to legendary producer Jerry Wexler: "Holger Petersen has cultivated a stony plain and brought forth wondrous fruit. Celebrating 25 years of existence, Holger and his wonderful label are endangered species in a threatening environment. In the milieu of monolithic mergers he has flourished against damn near insuperable odds, holding on - and holding out - in a his Edmonton fortress, a virtual Masada of Canada."
Come out to the Legendary Horseshoe Tavern April 11, 12, 13 or 14 to help Holger celebrate his remarkable achievement - and you'll hear some great blues to boot.
- Brian Blain