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The U.S. Station You Dx-ed That Had A Huge Influence On Cdn. Music
If you've ever turned the nighttime AM dial over the years, you've most certainly come across WLAC Nashville. Like many on that band, the clear channel giant is a shadow of its former self but the wattage still spills out of 1510. It's now a mostly right-leaning talk station and gives more emphasis to its simulcast FM signal than its 50K blowtorch on the other band.
But it wasn't always that way. This terrific article looks back at the importance of this single radio station and how it influenced so many future stars - including one who was listening right here in the GTA.
"Through the station, Howlin’ Wolf's music reached Gregg Allman in Florida, and in Minnesota, a young Robert Zimmerman heard the Staple Singers long before becoming Bob Dylan, according to a 2016 Mavis Staples interview.
"Two years before he moved to Chicago, Buddy Guy heard Chuck Berry's "Maybellene" for the first time on WLAC; Robbie Robertson tuned in from Toronto for songs that later helped define the sound and imagery of The Band."
WLAC: The powerhouse Nashville station that helped introduce R&B to the world
- paterson1
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Re: The U.S. Station You Dx-ed That Had A Huge Influence On Cdn. Music
"Huge" influence on Canadian music?? 
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Re: The U.S. Station You Dx-ed That Had A Huge Influence On Cdn. Music
paterson1 wrote:
"Huge" influence on Canadian music??
I would argue that Robbie Robertson did, indeed, have a huge influence on many Canadian musicians and the article notes he was very influenced by the music he heard on WLAC. I'm also willing to bet he wasn't the only future Canadian rock giant who tuned into the station during its glory years. Hence the use of the word.
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Thread Starter- paterson1
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Re: The U.S. Station You Dx-ed That Had A Huge Influence On Cdn. Music
"Huge" influence on Canadian music??
I would argue that Robbie Robertson did, indeed, have a huge influence on many Canadian musicians and the article notes he was very influenced by the music he heard on WLAC. I'm also willing to bet he wasn't the only future Canadian rock giant who tuned into the station during its glory years. Hence the use of the word.
Didn't mean to take anything away from Robbie Robertson and The Band, happy and proud that he and most of the band were from here originally. But in reality they and he had far more influence on American music than Canadian. Robertson and the Band are considered to be the key founders of the "Americana" genre of music.
During his most active years as a writer and performer, he was living and working in the US and this is where his success really came from and what he and the Band wrote about. The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down, Up on Cripple Creek, The Weight, Somewhere Down the Crazy River, Rag Mama Rag and others were all songs about the south. Robertson's and The Band's influence was felt much more in the US than Canada.
I have no doubt that Robbie growing up in Southern Ontario would listen to stations from across the border, and the music some of these stations played were an influence in his writing. But to say the station WLAC was a huge influence on Canadian music would 't be accurate.
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Re: The U.S. Station You Dx-ed That Had A Huge Influence On Cdn. Music
I would have put "The U.S. Station You Dx-ed That Had A Huge Influence On A Canadian Musician" but Boardhost only allows 70 characters in a title (including spaces) and it was too long. Hence the literary licence. However, to say Robbie Roberton did not influence many Canadian musicians is a major stretch to me. Like Randy Bachman, he had a lot of admirers, copycats and people who were influenced by his work in the 60s on both sides of the border.
Anyway, semantics. At least I wasn't running down the CBC or complaining about CanCon!
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Thread Starter- paterson1
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Re: The U.S. Station You Dx-ed That Had A Huge Influence On Cdn. Music
Hahaha, true you didn't do any of the other stuff. No doubt Robbie and The Band were an influence to others here, no argument, and people like Lightfoot and Ian Tyson were probably an influence on them as well. I just thought WLAC was given too much credit. The station in itself didn't really influence Canadian music that much, with or without The Band and Robbie. Canadian music was and is pretty varied and Robertson & The Band represents part of that. But again their influence was much more in American music than here. It is kind of cool that the Canucks were instrumental in founding the Americana genre of music.
- Dale Patterson
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"Life without echo is really no life at all." - Dan Ingram
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Re: The U.S. Station You Dx-ed That Had A Huge Influence On Cdn. Music
Thanks Dale. For years, I've heard about the legendary John R. But up until now, I've never really heard him on the radio during his prime.
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Thread Starter- Dale Patterson
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Re: The U.S. Station You Dx-ed That Had A Huge Influence On Cdn. Music
"The 50-thousand Watt Quartet"
(l-r) John R, Gene Nobles, Don Whitehead, Hoss Allen, Herman Grizzard, circa 1970
"Life without echo is really no life at all." - Dan Ingram