Artists:Valdy And Gary Fjeligaard

Valdy

Valdy, born Valdemar Horsdal in Ottawa, Canada has been part of the fabric of Canadian pop and folk music for over 34 years. A man with a thousand friends, from Newfoundland to Vancouver Island to Texas to New Zealand, he's a singer, guitarist and songwriter who catches the small but telling moments that make up life.

Remembered for Play Me a Rock and Roll Song, his bitter-sweet memory of finding himself, a relaxed and amiable story-teller, facing a rambunctious audience at the Aldergrove Rock Festival circa 1968, Valdy has sold almost half a million copies of his 13 albums, has two Juno Awards (Folk Singer of the Year and Folk Entertainer of the Year), a total of seven Juno nominations and four Gold albums to his credit.

Valdy's recent CDs include "Contenders", a collaboration with friend and fellow singer/songwriter, Gary Fjellgaard, with whom he has an absolute blast touring, and a solo release, "Viva Valdy: Live at Last", a two-CD package, one live, one studio, with a total of 25 tunes, and a lyric booklet.

One of Canada's most influential songwriters, Valdy's composition A Good Song was recorded under the title Just a Man by the venerable Quincy Jones ( he sang lead on the recording!). Play Me a Rock and Roll Song has been recorded by a few artists, including John Kay of Steppenwolf.

Along the way, Valdy has taken his music to a dozen different countries, from Denmark to Australia and been an often-invited performer at the prestigious Kerrville Festival in Texas. His recent television appearances include Canada AM and Open Mike with Mike Bullard. Valdy has also been a panelist on Front Page Challenge, and played a lead role in an episode of The Beachcombers original series.

Today, he is based on Salt Spring Island, where he lives with his wife Kathleen, two dogs and two large cats. All three children are now grown, flown and doing famously living in or near Vancouver.

Also see Valdy.

Gary Fjellgaard

Singer-songwriter, guitarist, b Rose Valley, near Saskatoon, of Norwegian descent, 14 Aug 1937. He performed intermittently (eg, in 1958 as Gary 'Rock and Roll' Rogers with Evan Kemp and the BC Trailriders) while working in the logging industry near Prince George, BC. Forced by a back injury to quit logging, Fjellgaard turned exclusively to music in 1970. Although his songs and singing style show the influence of contemporary folk music, drawing comparisons to Gordon Lightfoot, his success came largely in the country field, taking him from bars and coffeehouses in Western Canada in the early 1970s to country and folk festivals and concert stages nationally by the late 1980s. He made several appearances 1988 and 1989 in Europe and received the Gram Award (Holland) in 1989 as most promising new international artist.

Through the 1990s Fjellgaard continued recording and touring, and signed with Edmonton's Stony Plain Records in 1996. He teamed with fellow singer-songwriter Valdy in 1999, a partnership that proved very popular with audiences throughout Canada and the US; the duo recorded an album in 2000, and perform together frequently. Fjellgaard produced a CD of cowboy songs in 2001 under his own label, Silver Creek Music, and he continues to record and perform. Fjellgaard has appeared at the Big Valley Jamboree, the Merritt Mountain Music Festival, and Canada Day celebrations on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, and he has toured with Johnny Cash and Ronnie Prophet.

Fjellgaard's influences include Wilf Carter. In addition, he draws from his own country background to write songs that capture the essence and romance of cowboy life. Fjellgaard is an accomplished singer and guitarist, and his skilled yodelling is a popular part of his live performances..