Charlie Major, the Juno Award-winning singer-songwriter who changed Canadian country music with his 1993 debut album The Other Side, was born on this day in 1954 in Aylmer, Quebec.
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At just 12 years old, Major was involved in a pellet gun accident that left him blind in one eye. Two years later, he wrote his first song at age 14.
“It was a very bad song, very bad,” Major said in a 2014 interview. “Hopefully I have improved since then.”
Major’s double-platinum debut album, The Other Side, made quite the splash upon its 1993 release, sending all six singles to the top of the RPM country chart in Canada. Those chart-topping hits included “Nobody Gets Too Much Love,” I’m Gonna Drive You Out of My Mind,” and the title track.
Additionally, he has collected three Juno Awards (the Canadian equivalent of the Grammys) for Country Male Vocalist of the Year. Also a seven-time Canadian Country Music Association Award winner, Major gained entry into the Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame in 2019.
[RELATED: 5 Canadian Country Singers That Helped Define the Genre]
Charlie Major Did Things His Own Way: “I Am a Northern Boy”
In 1994, Charlie Major moved to Nashville, as many aspiring country artists did. While briefly signed with Arista Records, which released his first two albums, executives told the “It Can’t Happen To Me” singer that he needed to assimilate to the Music Row sound and vibe. Major refused.
“It is a business. They have ideas of how they want things done, right or wrong, and they aren’t into change a whole lot. I didn’t want to stick to their formulas,” he said in the 2024 interview. “I can’t be the next Alan Jackson. I’m not from Georgia. I sing and write about what I do. I am a northern boy.”
Eventually, Major, now 71, left Nashville for his home country. He went on to tour with ZZ Top and Kenny Rogers, and has released seven studio albums. Major’s last studio album of new material came in 2011 with On the Evening Side.
“I would have never endeavoured to make a go of the music business if I didn’t write my own songs. From my personal view, I always thought I had an OK voice and I am an OK guitar player,” he told Penticton Western News in 2014. “To have to rely on those two things without having songwriting as a tool, I don’t think I would have had the success I had.”
Featured image by Derek Leung/Getty Images
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