BIOGRAPHY:

Known as the “Father of Canadian Country”, Wilf Carter aka. "Montana Slim", became interested in music at the age of ten, when his father took him to see a traveling vaudeville act, “The Yodeling Fool”. Carter began his career in Alberta, entertaining at dances, bunkhouses and camps, eventually joining the Canadian rodeo circuit. By 1929, Carter had a full-time position singing once a week on Calgary radio station CFCN. His first big musical break came when he was hired to be the entertainment act on the Canadian Pacific Railway's S.S. Empress of Britain's maiden voyage. At a stopover in Montreal, Carter recorded, ‘My Swiss Moonlight Lullaby’ and ‘The Capture of Albert Johnson’. By the time he returned home from the voyage, the two songs had been released on RCA Victor and were enjoying commercial success, earning him the first ever bestseller by a Canadian country recording artist in 1934.

Carter continued to record extensively throughout his career, releasing more than 40 original and compilation LPs, all known for their cowboy, hobo and prairie imagery. Carter is widely recognized as having been one of the most skilled yodelers in history, and is credited with having invented a specialty speed yodel, which was nicknamed his “three-in-one yodel”.

Wilf Carter enjoyed international fame - his recordings in the U.S. were best recognized under the pseudonym "Montana Slim". His tours of Australia attracted great interest in his music and influenced the style of Australia's top stars of the day. Wilf Carter's recording legacy has been captured in a series of box-set CD releases issued by Bear Family Records of Germany.

During his lifetime, Carter was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Association Hall of Fame in 1971 and the Juno Awards Hall of Fame in 1985. Posthumously, he was inducted into the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2007.

Wilf Carter passed away on December 5, 1996, just two weeks shy of his 92^nd birthday.