Omar Blondahl [1923-1993] Listings (V)=video
Omar Blondahl [1923-1993] Listings (V)=video
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Concerning Charlie Horse (V) The Half Door ~ Traditional, but possibly Blondahl Kitchie-Coo (Bill Wiseman) ~ Traditional Prison Of Newfoundland ~ Johnny Doyle Sig-i-nal Hill (Citadel Hill) ~ Traditional The Southern Shore Queen ~ Gertrude Carew Cahill (V) Biographical Notes Omar (Sagebrush Sam) Blondahl was born in Wynard, east of Saskatoon, in the province of Saskatchewan of Icelandic parents. Folksinger and guitarist, he studied piano and violin in his youth, and voice later in Winnipeg. Taking the name Sagebrush Sam around 1944, he sang country music on radio throughout western Canada until 1951, then worked as a folksinger until 1953 in Hollywood, CA. He lived from 1955 to 1964 in St. John's, NL, where he developed a repertoire of island folk songs, some of which he collected himself. Adopting a Newfoundland accent and employing a simple vocal and guitar style, Blondahl performed locally and, in broadcasts from Halifax and Toronto, on national radio and television, popularizing Newfoundland songs throughout Canada. Under his own name and as Sagebrush Sam he made several 33-1/3 rpm LPs of Newfoundland material for Rodeo, Arc, and Melbourne records. He also edited Newfoundlanders Sing!: A Collection of Favorite Newfoundland Folk Songs (St. John's, 1964). Blondahl subsequently lived in the Arctic, and in 1979 settled in Vancouver. ~ From Omar Blondahl's Contribution To The Newfoundland Folksong Canon, by Neil Rosenberg, Canadian Folk Music Journal, vol 18, 1991. |
