The Bruce-Grey Music Hall of Fame will hold its grand opening at the historic Hepworth-Shallow Lake Legion in Hepworth Sunday.
Harry Parker Sr., Alfie Fromager, Jim Patterson , Elmer & Wilma Beckett, Hugh Elder, Clara Adlam, and Brian Pawley will be the first class inducted into the hall, which will be housed in a venue originally called the Hepworth Country Music Auditorium.
In fact, the venue was dubbed ‘Nashville North’ in the 1960’s when a number of country music’s best played at the auditorium.
Former Bruce-Grey-Owen Sound MPP Bill Murdoch serves on the hall of fame’s committee.
“There were about six or seven people that got together back in the 1960’s, and they wanted to build this big hall and have people from Nashville come up here to sing in the summertime, and they did.”
Murdoch says Mel Tillis, Whispering Bill Anderson and Leroy Van Dyke were some of the most well-known musicians that performed at the hall.
However, the most notable performer in the hall’s history wasn’t plucked from Nashville’s Music Row.
According to Murdoch, Canadian music legend Stompin’ Tom Connors got his start at the auditorium.
“He was travelling through town, and this was way before he was famous,” Murdoch tells CKNX News, “He came in and there was a band playing and when they took a break he asked the people looking after the dance if he could go up and play during the intermission. From then on he just took off [in popularity], so we sorta claim we got Tom started.”
A picture of Stompin’ Tom at the event will be featured in the hall of fame.
The now-deceased Connors mentioned Hepworth in several of songs during his career as one of Canada’s prolific country and folk singer-songwriters
The most notable being “Around The Bay And Back Again”, a song that also mentions Tobermory, Owen Sound, Meaford and Collingwood.
https://youtu.be/jbyxx9QFpUY He also recorded a song titled “The Hepworth Country Auditorium Song”, which can be heard below.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a6TDv9YVsgs
