Don Ramsay
Encyclopedia
Don Ramsay was a Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario
personality who had a 45 year career primarily on CJIC radio and CJIC-TV
. Ramsay became well known as "your old saddle pal" and as "the dean of country music
".
Ramsay's efforts to promote "western
", "hillbilly" and "old-time music
" were a part of the early movement to bring country music more into the mainstream. In 1952, Ramsay was one of 35 founding members of the Country Music Disc Jockey Association, the forerunner of the Country Music Association
.
On CJIC-TV
, he hosted and sang on the weekly program Down Yonder Ranch from 1956 to 1959. This show featured a wide variety of local and celebrity performers of the day.
Beginning in 1953, Ramsay began hosting what became one of the longest running programs on Sault Ste. Marie radio, his annual New Year's Eve Salute To Hank Williams. The program ran until 1986 and the final show featured guest appearances by Audrey Williams and Hank Williams Jr..
Don Ramsay retired from his on air duties in 1986, but remained active as an adviser to many local artists and touring acts. He also continued to work as the host and MC of many local country music events.
Don Ramsay died on September 5, 2001 at the age of 78.
, Johnny Cash
, Flatt & Scruggs to name a few. Hank Williams appeared in the Sault in 1949 at Ramsay's invitation and performed at two sold out shows.
Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario
Sault Ste. Marie is a city on the St. Marys River in Algoma District, Ontario, Canada. It is the third largest city in Northern Ontario, after Sudbury and Thunder Bay, with a population of 74,948. The community was founded as a French religious mission: Sault either means "jump" or "rapids" in...
personality who had a 45 year career primarily on CJIC radio and CJIC-TV
CJIC-TV
CJIC-TV was a television station in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario. In operation from 1955 to 2002 as a private affiliate of CBC Television, it now operates only a repeater of the network's flagship station in Toronto, CBLT.-History:...
. Ramsay became well known as "your old saddle pal" and as "the dean of country music
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
".
History
Beginning in 1941 at the age of 18, Ramsay spent his years on air in Sault Ste. Marie introducing listeners to country music through programs such as Riding the Range, Country Gospel and Sunday on the Range.Ramsay's efforts to promote "western
Western (genre)
The Western is a genre of various visual arts, such as film, television, radio, literature, painting and others. Westerns are devoted to telling stories set primarily in the latter half of the 19th century in the American Old West, hence the name. Some Westerns are set as early as the Battle of...
", "hillbilly" and "old-time music
Old-time music
Old-time music is a genre of North American folk music, with roots in the folk music of many countries, including England, Scotland, Ireland and countries in Africa. It developed along with various North American folk dances, such as square dance, buck dance, and clogging. The genre also...
" were a part of the early movement to bring country music more into the mainstream. In 1952, Ramsay was one of 35 founding members of the Country Music Disc Jockey Association, the forerunner of the Country Music Association
Country Music Association
The Country Music Association was founded in 1958 in Nashville, Tennessee. It originally consisted of only 233 members and was the first trade organization formed to promote a music genre...
.
On CJIC-TV
CJIC-TV
CJIC-TV was a television station in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario. In operation from 1955 to 2002 as a private affiliate of CBC Television, it now operates only a repeater of the network's flagship station in Toronto, CBLT.-History:...
, he hosted and sang on the weekly program Down Yonder Ranch from 1956 to 1959. This show featured a wide variety of local and celebrity performers of the day.
Beginning in 1953, Ramsay began hosting what became one of the longest running programs on Sault Ste. Marie radio, his annual New Year's Eve Salute To Hank Williams. The program ran until 1986 and the final show featured guest appearances by Audrey Williams and Hank Williams Jr..
Don Ramsay retired from his on air duties in 1986, but remained active as an adviser to many local artists and touring acts. He also continued to work as the host and MC of many local country music events.
Don Ramsay died on September 5, 2001 at the age of 78.
Concert Promoter
As a promoter Don was responsible for bringing many early country artists to the Sault, some for the first time, including Hank Williams, Tommy HunterTommy Hunter
Thomas James "Tommy" Hunter, CM, O.Ont is a Canadian country music performer, known as "Canada's Country Gentleman".-Career:...
, Johnny Cash
Johnny Cash
John R. "Johnny" Cash was an American singer-songwriter, actor, and author, who has been called one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century...
, Flatt & Scruggs to name a few. Hank Williams appeared in the Sault in 1949 at Ramsay's invitation and performed at two sold out shows.
Awards
- Mr. DJ USA - 1954
- Johnny Cash Award of Merit - 1961.
- City of Sault Ste. Marie "Don Ramsay Day" - 1987
- Inducted into the Northern Ontario Country Music Hall of Fame - 1991
- Sault Ste. Marie Award of Merit - 1992