Canadian country music performer Tommy Hunter celebrates his 89th birthday today (March 20). From 1983 to 1992, he hosted the CBC program The Tommy Hunter Show, which showcased various country music artists each week. Garth Brooks, Shania Twain, and the Judds are just some of the country music legends to perform on Hunter’s show before they became household names.
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Inspired by Roy Acuff and the Smoky Mountain Boys, Hunter began pestering his father for a guitar at age 9. “I thought that all country performances stemmed from what Roy Acuff did,” he later said. “In those days he had probably the best road show of anybody. He made us feel as if we were very important people and ours was an important community to play.”
Hunter honed his skills at church until accepting a paid position in the “variety” shows that filled the time between features at local movie theaters. Eventually, his love for country music and performing collided when he auditioned for the “hillbilly singer” role in a play.
“I started to sing the ‘hillbilliest’ thing I could come up with, and they’d never heard anything like that,” Hunter said. “Well, they started laughing, and I walked out of there, just fuming.”
His friend talked him into returning, as producers were impressed with his performance. That ensemble would go on to win several regional and provincial drama festivals, and Hunter’s role would also lead to his first radio show appearance.
[RELATED: 3 Country Songs by American Artists That Were Bigger Hits in Canada]
The Tommy Hunter Show
In 1956, Tommy Hunter began performing as a rhythm guitarist on the CBC show Country Hoedown. Four years later, CBC invited him to host his own radio show, which is where The Tommy Hunter Show got its start.
In 1982, The Nashville Network picked up Hunter’s show, where it would run for nine years. One of the most popular variety programs to ever run on Canadian TV, the show earned a Gemini Award (the Canadian equivalent of an Emmy) before its cancellation in May 1992.
After his variety show ended, Hunter continued touring with his band, The Traveling Men, even performing at the Grand Ole Opry in 1997. He released 12 albums and won three Juno Awards before his retirement in 2012.
Hunter scored a No. 1 country hit in Canada with 1967’s “Mary in the Morning.”
Featured image by Michael Hurcomb/Corbis via Getty Images
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