KING GANAM and his Sons of the West 78s

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

Back in September of last year I posted all the available LP tracks by the late fiddler, King Ganam (click here). While all his albums are comprised of instrumental fiddle tunes, he apparently released some singles featuring vocals as well. I have been able to track a couple of these rare 78s down, which I am presenting in this post.
The first, on RCA Victor's Canadian Bluebird series, contains the song "Forever In My My Heart" which credits Ganam as composer. The vocal is by Pete Vitelli, about whom I can find absolutely no information. The flip side is "The Island Breakdown", a tune which never made it to any of his LPs. I don't have an exact date for this record, but it would be around the mid fifties.
The next 78, on RCA Victor's Canadian 56-3200 black label series (usually reserved for pop material) features two vocal performances by a young Tommy Hunter. Hunter's CBC-TV show ran from 1965 to 1992, and was beyond popular. The Canadian Encyclopedia states that he made his first recordings with Ganam in 1958, so it's a pretty safe bet that these tracks were among them. Tommy sings the pop-like ballad "Teenage Love Is A Losing Game" which again is credited to Ganam. It's hard to say if King wrote these songs, or was simply savvy enough to copyright them in his own name. On the flip Hunter performs the Hank Williams composition "I Don't Care (If Tomorrow Never Comes)", originally recorded by Molly O'Day (it can be found here).
I would like to thank the Attic's good friends Andyrama and Stephen of Cedar Island for providing access to these records which have allowed me to share some rare vintage Canadian country.

Tracks:

1. Forever In My Heart
2. The Island Breakdown
3. Teenage Love Is A Losing Game
4. I Don't Care (If Tomorrow Never Comes)

*download here*