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Everyone
loves a story of overnight success. Who wouldn’t be charmed
by the sweet combination of an instant stroke of luck and a dream
come true? The only problem is, when it comes to overnight success,
there usually is no such thing – As in the case of George
Canyon.
This
tall, modest 35-year-old Canadian cowboy singer placed second
in the USA Network’s Nashville Star
talent search in May 2004, instantly making him a household name
to millions of country fans. Soon after the show, he signed a
record deal with Universal South and a management deal with Garth
Brooks’ manager. Canyon was thrust into the spotlight at
warp speed, hitting the road with the Nashville Star Tour while
squeezing in songwriting, recording sessions and interviews. Canyon
loved this whirlwind, having never experienced anything like it.
But just to be clear, it really didn’t happen overnight.
"I
guess I officially started in the music business when I went on
tour with a country rock band 14 years ago," Canyon says.
"We played every little place in Canada you could imagine.
Sometimes, we’d have to each pay $50 at the end of a six-night
run just to meet our bills. But over time we did well and that’s
where I cut my teeth, which was an important part of my growth
as an artist."
Canyon
grew up in Pictou County, Nova Scotia, surrounded by folk, Celtic,
country and rock music. "It was just kind of what we did,"
Canyon says. "Everyone would sit around after church or whatever
you were doing and play and talk."
Even
though he’s been playing and singing since he was four-years-old,
becoming a professional musician was never a childhood fantasy.
At around 17 years of age, he started entertaining the thought
of a career in music. And even then, he mostly kept the ambition
to himself.
"While
I was growing up," Canyon says. "My dad said over and
over, ‘you go to work, you find a hard job and feed your
family.’"
Performing
on stage and writing songs with the goal of touching an emotional
nerve may not have fit Canyon’s father’s definition
of a hard job, but he earned his dad’s respect by sustaining
himself, and his musical career, with a series of demanding day
jobs. Canyon worked as a law enforcement officer, a slaughterhouse
beef inspector, a shipping receiver for Kraft and the owner/operator
of his own recording studio. Often, he held several of these jobs
at once, while continuing to pursue his music career.
Perhaps
his biggest test came when several years ago, Canyon and his wife,
Jennifer, whom he met at a concert, decided that he should make
a more serious push towards making music his singular job. Since
they had two small children (Kale and Madison), Canyon stayed
home during the day while Jennifer worked three jobs. Canyon played
music at night.
"I
got to be Mr. Mom for a little while." Canyon laughs. "Initially,
I had trouble with it. I was raised that you work, take money
home and feed your family. But I worked through it and came to
love that time a lot. Especially now that I don’t get to
see them as much."
Canyon,
who released two self-produced albums in Canada (two of the videos
made CMT Canada’s Top 10), calls this period of his life
the, "last kick of the can."
He
heard about the first round of Nashville Star second season auditions,
but didn’t consider going at first. "At some point
my wife said, “You really need to do this,” Canyon
says. "I figured I’d just go see some friends in Calgary
and at least try to make the first cut."
Several
months later, Canyon was standing on the stage with fellow Nashville
Star finalist Brad Cotter, waiting for the judges to announce
the winner on live television. Canyon whispered to Cotter, "I
think you’re going to win." Cotter smiled back at Canyon.
"I don’t think it matters now. We both won."
Indeed,
nothing about Canyon’s life right now is as it was before
this opportunity. His independently recorded single, "Good
Day To Ride" reached #12 and stayed in the Top 50 for more
than 20 weeks on Canadian Country Radio. The song won him a Canadian
Radio Music Award in March 2005, when he was honoured as Best
New Group or Solo Artist (Country) at the awards show during Canadian
Music Week.
His
first single from the album, “I’ll Never Do Better
Than You,” hit radio in late August 2004 and flew up the
charts to #5 at Canadian Country radio. His album, One Good Friend,
followed on September 28th, debuting at the top of the Country
sales charts in Canada and has sold more than 70,000 copies in
Canada to date. In September 2004, he was named the Chevy Trucks
Rising Star at The Canadian Country Music Awards, where he was
also nominated for Male Artist of the Year, and just one year
later he returned to the CCMAs to win SOCAN Song of the Year (for
“My Name”), Male Artist of the Year, Single of the
Year (for “My Name”) and the prestigious Cheez Whiz
Fans Choice Award. Along the way he also picked up two Music Industry
of Nova Scotia Awards in November 2004, for New Artist Recording
of the Year and Country Recording of the Year.
Canyon
is thrilled to have worked with celebrated producers and Universal
South Senior Partners, Tim DuBois and Tony Brown, who produced
One Good Friend. "I’ve always dreamt of getting a record
deal," Canyon says, "but never in my life did I think
I’d get to work with Brown and DuBois. But more importantly,
they just get it. I can see a long standing friendship developing
here."
His
second single from the album, “My Name,” was released
in late January 2005 and the video was instantly added to heavy
rotation on CMT Canada where it went to #1 on the station’s
Big 20 Countdown. The song, which was written with fellow Nova
Scotia native Gordie Sampson, was meant to help close friends
heal after a devastating miscarriage. The song is written from
the point of view of the unborn child and the message of hope
has touched so many people. Canyon performed the song live on
February 20th 2005 when he hosted the East Coast Music Awards
in Cape Breton. On the nationally televised show, which aired
on CBC-TV, Canyon took home three ECMAs, including the prestigious
Entertainer of the Year, which is voted on by fans. Canyon also
won the Galaxie Rising Star Award as well as Country Recording
of the Year. He would go on to win Entertainer of the Year again
in 2006. In September 2005, Canyon took home a SOCAN #1 Award
for “My Name” to celebrate it hitting the top spot
on CMT Canada.
In
early April 2005, George won the JUNO Award for Country Recording
of the Year at the Award dinner. Canyon won Canada’s highest
country honour for his album, One Good Friend, against a heavy
field consisting of Shania Twain, Carolyn Dawn Johnson, Paul Brandt,
and Terri Clark.
“Who
Would You Be” was released to radio in summer 2005 and became
another top 10 smash for Canyon. “One Good Friend”
followed on October 24th, 2005 with a fantastic new video by famed
video director Margaret Malandruccolo.
In
November, Canyon released Home For Christmas, a holiday EP that
held some of his personal favourite carols. CMT Canada produced
George Canyon’s Christmas, a holiday television special,
to coincide with the release and Canyon hit the road for a sold-out
36-show tour across the country. His single, “Santa’s
On His Way,” was a holiday hit at radio.
Canyon,
who says he has learned to mostly set small goals in his life,
nonetheless shyly admits to having big hopes for his new album.
For
further information:
Anya
Wilson Promotion & Publicity
416-977-7704
awilson@netsurf.net
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