Country bass player Wally McDonald celebrates his 95th birthday this month, and he’s being given a special birthday present.
Bill Cameron of Golden Memories Film Club is throwing the country gent a tribute party today from 3 to 8 p.m. at the Stanley A. Milner Library.
McDonald is best known for having performed with Jimmy Wakely, the singing cowboy who recorded Skip Along, a five-million record seller.
“He has contributed to the western music scene for decades without any recognition and we thought it would be a good idea to give him a tribute,” says Cameron.
St. Albert’s Marty LeBlanc, formerly of the Mustangs, will tune his guitar for the event along with music partner Ray Dusomme. They draw their inspiration from the classic country repertoire of Merle Haggard, Johnny Cash, Ferlin Husky and Gene Watson.
There is no charge for this event. The library is located at 7 Sir Winston Churchill Square in Edmonton.
Just how patriotic are you? ATB Financial, Alberta Music and CKUA are looking for the next Alberta song to crack the charts — something in the vein of Ian Tyson’s Four Strong Winds or Corb Lund’s Hurtin’ Albertan.
“We’re looking for a memorable song that’s artful and resonant about Alberta. It could be about our geography, our climate, a city, a neighbourhood, a church, or a mall or a school team, or a single Albertan — famous, infamous, invented or unknown. Surprise us,” said ATB spokesperson Shawn Ohler, a lifelong music aficionado.
And organizers are not messing around with prizes. The contest winner takes home $10,000 in cash from ATB and an additional $2,000 from Alberta Music goes towards a professional, radio-ready recording of the song.
The second-place winner gets $3,000 and the third-place winner receives $2,000.
For complete rules and regulations visit www.wearealberta.ca.
