Charlie Major officially enters Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame
CALGARY — Country legend Charlie Major will officially be inducted into the Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame in Calgary Friday night.
The CCMA gala dinner will also see Anya Wilson, a longtime publicist inducted in the builder category.
Both were originally announced as this year’s inductees in June but will be presented with their plaques at the event during the Country Music Week festivities.
Major has been a fixture in Canadian country music since the early ’90s when he became the first Canadian artist to score six No. 1 hits with his debut album, The Other Side, in 1993. He had nine more chart-toppers after that, releasing more than 20 singles and seven studio albums.
Major has sold nearly half a million records in Canada, has won three Juno Awards and seven CCMA Awards.
“It is an honour to be inducted into the Canadian Country Music Hall Of Fame with so many of my heroes and mentors like Ian Tyson, Gordon Lightfoot, The Good Brothers, Terry Carisse and Murray McLauchlan to name a few,” said Major. “I’m sincerely humbled and look forward to celebrating with everyone in Calgary.”
The other inductee, Anya Wilson, began her music career in the U.K. working in publicity and radio promotion, working with legendary artists such as David Bowie and T.Rex. She later moved to Toronto and broke ground as the first independent female radio tracker in Canada.
She has served on numerous CCMA committees, helped establish a radio presence at the annual CCMA conference and voluntarily became the organization’s first publicist. She was also a driving force in the creation of the Country Music Association of Ontario and served as its vice-president for several years.
“I couldn’t be more pleased and humbled by this honour. I’m so used to operating behind the scenes that it feels equally strange and wonderful to be publicly recognized for my contributions,” said Wilson.
Inductees of the Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame are chosen annually by a selected Hall of Fame Electors Committee, comprised of over 70 industry peers.
The induction ceremony will take place at a private event held during Country Music Week.