Album / Title
Live, The Lost Recordings
By: Al Cherney (Alexander Peter Chernywech)
Origin: Medicine Hat, Alberta → Mississauga, Ontario, 🇨🇦
Insight
Liner Notes
Al Cherny “Live”? Yes, it’s true, here it is some thirteen years since one of Canada’s greatest fiddlers was cut down in his prime by the dreaded cancer. Al was always a very energetic person, a going concern who seemed to find it hard to sit still. Very highly professional at his chosen career, he could make a fiddle sing like few before him or after him. You’d never hear that Al Cherny would miss a date, or that he didn’t conduct himself professionally at all times. But for all his seriousness, Al enjoyed life to the fullest and was himself a bit of a practical joker.
A Canadian Westerner from Medicine Hat, Al’s first professional touring groups were The Sons Of The Saddle, also The Stoltz Brothers. In fact Al recorded The Orange Blossom Special with The Sons on a 78. Then Al got a call from Earl Heywood that a fiddler was needed for the small musical empire that revolved around CKNX in Wingham, Ontario. Al caught the first train out and from that time on there was no looking back. He played in the Barn Dance Gang, under Earl Heywood, then with Slim Boucher’s legendary Golden Prairie Cowboys and numerous TV and radio shows like The CKNX Barn Dance, on TV’s Western Roundup, etc. He took part in The Shelburne fiddle contests and came out the winner numerous times. Then came the CBC shows out of Toronto. Meanwhile the recording had started, and after a single or two on Quality, he did his first album for Arc. RCA eventually snapped Al up for a number of albums on the Camden label. Tommy Hunter signed Al up for his TV show, and Al stayed as a regular for almost 30 years, until his untimely death.
Now about this album, up to this time Al had never done a live album. We were fortunate to discover a treasure trove of live Al Cherny cuts from various CKNX TV shows, that someone at the station had taped directly from the board and so we had recording quality tapes of the great Al Cherny in the early days of his career. What a treat it is to hear the musicians whoop it up along with Al on some of these great fiddle standards, there’s certainly no lack of exuberance and spontaneity in these cuts, listen to this version of the Orange Blossom Special and you’ll know what I mean. These shows were live on the air, not pre-taped like they do today, the enjoyment of the music came through loud and clear. Announcing the shows are some of the greats from CKNX like Jack Kingston, Johnny Brent, Earl Heywood or even Al himself. And through the miracle of modern recording we would like to share these great sounds with you.
Thanks to Marion Cherny for her generous co-operation on this project.
Gallery
Images
3 images
Al Cherney (Alexander Peter Chernywech) / Live, The Lost Recordings OUTER
Al Cherney (Alexander Peter Chernywech) / Live, The Lost Recordings INNER
Live, The Lost Recordings
Media
Videos
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Credits
Musicians
Al Cherny: fiddle
Production
Restored and engineered by Mike Stiver at Freightyard Studios
Produced by Lynn Russwurm and Grant Heywood for The Barn Dance Historical Society
Manufacturing and Distribution
Manufactured and distributed by Holborne Distributing Co. Ltd., Mount Albert, Ontario
Liner Notes
Thanks to Marion Cherny for her generous co-operation on this project.
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