Information/Write-up
Scotty Stephenson was a Canadian hillbilly music artist, born in a little town called Onaway, but grew up in Lac Ste. Anne, which was near Alberta Beach, Alberta. He was determined to be an entertainer and was 15 when he left school to start roaming through the towns of Eastern Canada. He did that for about two years, getting advice from people he would meet in each town along the way. He was 17 when he arrived in Edmonton, Alberta on Christmas day in 1950. There, he formed his own band called the Rainbow Valley Boys. He signed up with a local promoter and got a start on radio.
He appeared on Saturday evenings, along with others, in a show that was broadcast over CFRN in Edmonton from 7:00pm to 8:00pm. On Saturday afternoons, Scotty hosted his own show of fifteen minutes called "Songs of the Saddle".
Scotty was a guitarist and vocalist, but could also write the tunes, too. He wrote such tunes as "Oilman's Lament", "My Pine Needle Sweetheart". Another tune, "Dear Little Alice We Still Think Of You", was written in the memory of his little sister Alice, who passed away when she was four.
Like many artists, music got into his blood at an early age. Scotty mentioned that he could remember he used to sing the old country songs when he was growing up and doing the chores around the farm. He said one of the favorite spots to sing was in the barn, milking the family's favorite cow, Bessie. He also worked at several lumber camps and ranches and there, they'd often call on him to provide some entertainment during the off hours and at meal time.
Scotty got some help along the way in his career. Bill Reynold saw Scotty's natural talents for music and got him playing the guitar pretty good. But Scotty wanted to get petter, so he became a student of Sam Newman, a popular instructor up in Winnipeg, Canada. Later on, a popular musician Bert Lloyd (who was a friend of Wilf Carter, too) hired Scotty as part of a tour through Saskatchewan.
They sometimes referred to him as a 'lady's man' and enjoyed the company of lots of folks and was said to be easy to get along with. Even an artist can be a fan as would attest to the fact that Scotty met two of his inspirations - Hank Snow and Wilf Carter.
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