Manitoba is well-known for being a breeding ground for some of the top country music acts in Canada.
Canadian Country Music Hall of Famer Ray St. Germain? Born and raised in Winnipeg. Multiple Canadian Country Music Award winning band Doc Walker? They call Westbourne home. Juno Award winner William Prince? Born in Selkirk and raised on Peguis First Nation.
And what about Bob Nolan? Bob who, you may be asking?
Few artists have had a more profound influence on country music than Nolan, who was born Clarence Robert Nobles on April 13, 1908 in Winnipeg before moving to Tucson, Arizona as a teenager. He was a founding member of the band Sons of the Pioneers along with fellow musicians Tim Spencer and Leonard Slye, the latter of whom would one day be known as Roy Rogers. The band produced a string of country and western standards including hits like “Tumbling Tumbleweeds” and “Cool Water.”
Nolan was also a movie star. He appeared in more than 90 movies beginning with In Old Santa Fe in 1934 and shared screen time with the likes of Rogers and Gene Autry on multiple occasions. He also wrote and sang numerous western songs that were used in those films.
In 2012, Nolan was inducted posthumously into the Manitoba Country Music Association Hall of Fame, which recognizes long-term contributions to the growth and development of country music by a Manitoban.
Current MCMA president Miles Trach says Nolan’s selection was never in question.
“Bob was the first name that came to mind because he was the original. He was there right at the beginning, at the forefront. Country music didn’t really exist before that,” he says.
“He was a trailblazer when it came to country music.”
Fittingly, Nolan’s Hall of Fame Award was presented to the present day members of the Sons of the Pioneers by Trach and then-MCMA president Chris Ising during a ceremony in Winnipeg in 2012.
“They were just so thrilled to have that happen, to have one of their original members inducted into the Manitoba Country Music Association Hall of Fame,” recalls Trach.
“They were very honoured by it.”
It’s an appropriate time to reflect on the MCMA and its Hall of Fame.
The MCMA’s 2024 Manitoba Country Music Awards show will take place Nov. 10 at Club Regent. The event will feature live performances by some of the biggest current names in Canadian country music including Doc Walker, Brandi Vezina, Catie St. Germain, Derek Peters, Desiree Dorion, Jade Turner, JR Charron, Nelson Little, Quinton Blair, Ryan Keown, Austin Ryder and the Sean Taylor Band.
The show will also pay tribute to the province’s country past. This year’s Hall of Fame inductee is the late Debbie Ross, a former MCMA Female Artist of the Year. Ross was a respected singer and bass player who was an integral part of numerous bands including Jack Nelson & County Line. She will join previous Hall of Fame inductees Nolan and St. Germain (2012), Ray Martin (2015), Betty Thorsteinson (2016), Eric Irwin (2018), Cindi Cain (2019), Bruce Leperre (2021), The Younger Brothers (2022) and Wayne Link (2023).
Trach says while the awards show is about celebrating some of country music’s biggest current stars, it’s also an important opportunity to reflect on past stars and the contributions they made.
“It’s important to do so because we have to understand where we came from if we really want to understand our path forward,” he says.
“We have to honour the people whose shoulders we’re standing on now and bring recognition to the fact that if it weren’t for the work that they had done in the past, we wouldn’t be able to do what we’re doing now. They deserve that recognition. They blazed the trail for us.”
Tickets for the 2024 Manitoba Country Music Awards are available through Ticketmaster (ticketmaster.ca) as well as the Club Regent and McPhillips Station box offices. They can also be purchased through the Manitoba Country Music Association’s Facebook page.