After sold-out shows in St. John’s and Halifax in 2019, well known Afro-German-Caribbean disco and funk vocal group Boney M. featuring Liz Mitchell return to Atlantic Canada for seven ‘Holiday Favourites and Classic Hits’ shows this November and December.

Tickets for Halifax, Moncton, Charlottetown, Truro, and Sydney go on sale this Friday, September 23 at 10 a.m. and tickets for Corner Brook and St. John’s go on sale this Friday, September 23 at 12 noon.

Tickets for the Corner Brook show will be available online at cbciviccentre.com

Tickets for the St. John’s show will be available at the Mary Brown’s Centre Box Office (50 New Gower Street), by calling 1-709-576-7657 and online at mbcentre.ca

Originally founded in Germany by writer and producer Frank Farian, Boney M. was one of the disco-oriented pop acts which dominated the European charts throughout the late seventies and early eighties with a string of hits well remembered to this day. The band has sold more than 100 million records worldwide and their discography of hits is extensive. The group had eight #1 hits on the European charts, including Daddy Cool, Sunny, Ma Baker, Belfast, Rivers of Babylon, Brown Girl in the Ring, Rasputin, and Mary’s Boy Child. In addition to the successes of Boney M’s singles was the success of three #1 albums in the European market.

Now in the 21st Century, there is obviously no doubt that songs from the past are far more popular than ever before. Boney M’s international success during the past thirty-five years has proven that their hits belong to the collection of timeless classics. In 2022, Boney M. featuring Liz Mitchell is still a phenomenal live act drawing huge crowds across Europe.  The live show is as spectacular as ever and they are currently making live appearances in concert halls, arenas, and festivals around the world.

Boney M. live in Atlantic Canada is presented by VaughCo Entertainment: vaughncoentertainment.com

Newfoundland & Labrador’s Weary explores the sonic pangs of heartache through the atmospheric stylings of sophomore album, Hush. Complete with emotive, lingering guitars and swooning melodies that, as described by creator Kate Lahey, offer up songs of loving, losing, longing and change. 

Following up their acclaimed debut album Feeling Things, which was nominated for MusicNL’s Alternative Album of the Year in 2018, Hush continues the trajectory for a project equal parts emotionally resonant and artistically striking. 

A nominee for MusicNL’s Rising Star of the Year in 2018 as well as earning a 2016 long listing for the Borealis Award, and with noted performances at East Coast Music Week Rising Star Stage, Flourish Festival, Bloom Fest, Lawnya Vawnya, Halifax Pop Explosion, Out of Earshot Festival, and MusicNL week, Weary’s trajectory continues to rocket skyward, as does their way around a tune that tugs at the heartstrings as well as engaging the mind.

Lahey caught up with The Herald for the latest in our album deep dive series, diving into the inner workings, and meaning, behind Weary’s Hush. 

Big Love 

This song is about struggling with mental illness, particularly watching a loved one struggling with mental illness and feeling both helpless and full of hope for their beauty, resilience and spirit. This song is about how we can feel trapped or limited by our minds, while our hearts are overflowing. 

Body 

This song deals with intergenerational loss from my perspective as a Newfoundlander. I wrote this song after my maternal Nan passed away, who I loved dearly. Making sense of the ways the memory moves across generations, how we hold multitudes, I attempt to work through my desire to remain connected to all that came before me, particularly my ancestral relationship to this island. 

Broken Window

Working through my relationship with my teen years, particularly my relationship with addictions, this song explores how loss and longing shaped my experience with trauma as a young person in Newfoundland. Images of smoking cigarettes, listening to The Strokes, skateboarding and even overdosing lace this song with fragments of memory that reflect the effect of brokenness I felt at that time in my life. 

Twin Flame 

Chris Meyers, who is the guitarist for Weary and also a co-vocalist on this song, is also my partner. It has been a long journey of finding how music fits into our relationship and how our relationship fits into music. This song was a really special opportunity to have those worlds interact creatively as we reflect on the many expressions of our connection. 

Trust

Trust explores a moment where my past and future collided. Love asked me to take a leap of faith into the unknown, while trauma filled me with fear. Working through a claustrophobic sense of flightiness, trust explores the ways in which our past can overwhelm our desire for a better future. In my search for belonging, security and safety, I found myself scared of the very things I long for because of their unfamiliarity. Trust is not about trusting someone else with your heart, but about learning to trust yourself. 

For all things Hush and Weary visit weary.ca and all official social medias.

Jim Cuddy has seen it all in a hall of fame worthy career atop the pantheon of Canadian songwriting royalty. What’s now foreign to the frontman of the legendary Blue Rodeo is stillness, an involuntary byproduct of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Once it started happening (in 2020), staying still, that’s my first year of staying still in 35 years,” Cuddy shared in a sitdown with The Herald ahead of Blue Rodeo’s return to St. John’s on the Many A Mile Tour. 

“We have a little rural place that’s north of the city, so I was there sitting in this one seat and just playing and writing songs and thinking what I would do with them and how I was going to do this, but not worrying about the final result, just writing songs. And yes, I think that had a very beneficial effect on all of us, because whatever little injuries go along with touring all the time, they cleared up and whatever little complaints you have about, ‘oh, I don’t like this hotel’ or, ‘can’t we stay in Montreal instead of Ottawa?’ All that bulls**t, it doesn’t matter anymore because the essence of what you do is gone, the essence of playing live.”

Blue Rodeo would release their whopping 16th studio album in 2021, Many A Mile, though Cuddy is open to the idea that, pre-pandemic, the reality that the band had released their final record loomed large.

Charge up the lifeblood

“We could never go out and just do the songs that we’d already committed to in the past. I think we’d just feel like a jukebox and so it’s always necessary to charge up the lifeblood a little bit and get everybody playing together,” Cuddy shared. 

“These guys are fantastic players, and just to hear them create is inspiring. But I don’t know. It’s definitely a waveform that two years ago, before this pandemic started, I was pretty sure we were never going to make another record. And then halfway through the pandemic, I was less sure. And of course I was proven wrong. I’m sure we’ll do it again.”

2022 marks milestone anniversaries for seminal Blue Rodeo albums, including 1987’s debut record Outskirts, which marked the shift for the group from applauded bar band to full on national treasure.

“I think that when we made Outskirts, first of all, we were very pleased to be making a record, but that wasn’t the end all, be all. We weren’t going to be super disappointed because we’d already been disappointed. We’d been a band for seven years at that point, and we were a really successful bar band at that point, and we really enjoyed ourselves playing in The Horseshoe, playing the Big Bop. So making the record was a step, and then it kind of failed at the beginning, but being taken out by the record company and being told you’ve sold 5,000 copies, which made us go wow, 5,000 copies! That’s more than you sell off the stage. But then ‘if you don’t sell more we’re going to drop you,’” Cuddy recalled.

Dealing with hits

 “And then Try comes out and it becomes a hit and that changes our lives. But we’re not aware of how it’s changing our lives. But I look back and I realize that all that we had done in the bars and how we formed ourselves as a band, that was the training period and that was over.”

Returning to St. John’s at Mary Brown’s Centre on Sept. 10th (a rescheduled date from earlier this year), and Cuddy laughs when we jokingly thank the consummate gentleman and national treasure for continuing to include ‘The Rock’ in the band’s touring itinerary.

“It’s one of those things you can feel embarrassed being thanked for. Because we’ve always loved coming to Newfoundland,” Cuddy shares with a smile. 

“We used to come and play Memorial University to play the pub there, and you had to go for two nights and Gary Clark would bring us out and it was a thrill. We got treated just like every other band. We were super abused a couple of times at the beginning and then people liked us and then we got invited to parties and we got our education about St. John’s and Newfoundland in those times,” he said.

“I think just generally for us, we started to tour Canada because that’s what we were offered. We toured the States a lot because that’s what we were offered, but it didn’t open our hearts the way touring in Canada has. There’s few exceptions to this – we really loved everywhere we’ve been and everywhere I’ve been on ‘The Rock’ and have really enjoyed it. I have friends now that have places there from Ontario, which is crazy, right. And it’s a way of life. It’s a type of person and it’s a natural beauty there. So we should be thanking you for being there and for also having such enthusiasm for music.”

For all things Blue Rodeo visit bluerodeo.com. For tickets to see the band with special guest Jenn Grant on Sept. 10th at Mary Brown’s Centre visit mbcentre.ca 

Legendary guitarist and instrumental musician in Canada’s rock culture, Randy Bachman is animated in recounting the story of how he was reunited with his long-lost Gretsch guitar after 45 years.

“A guy emailed us from one of our YouTube (live streams) and said ‘I found your lost Gretsch.’ I’d been searching for it for 45 years.”

The icon behind The Guess Who and Bachman-Turner Overdrive first bought his 1957 Gretsch 6120 Chet Atkins, in a gorgeous orange, when he was a 19-year-old upstart in Winnipeg, Manitoba. It would be stolen from a locked hotel room during a BTO performance in Toronto in 1977.

The Gretsch

Decades later, and a fan out of B.C., William Long, used facial recognition technology to track down the exact Gretsch, tracing it all the way to Japan, where it was now in possession of renowned guitarist Takeshi. 

With the help of his daughter-in-law Bachman would contact Takeshi, and over a zoom call would see his treasured instrument for the first time in four and a half decades.

“The guy brings my guitar on the zoom and I can’t breathe. I haven’t seen this guitar for four plus decades. He shows me the guitar and I say ‘that’s my guitar!” He says ‘I’m an honourable guy, I’ll give it back to you’. I said, ‘Well, I’ll give you a brand new Gretsch’, and he says ‘I don’t want a brand new Gretsch.’ ‘Well what do you want?’ ‘I want the same guitar. Can you find its sister?’

Easier said than done, but when you’re Randy Bachman, corners of the musical community are more easily reached. 

Through a vintage guitar dealer in Ohio, Bachman would procure a 1957 Gretsch with only two digits off from the serial number of his original. 

Takeshi, overjoyed, agreed to the trade, but with one caveat. Bachman would have to travel to Japan to collect. 

The swap would take place on Canada Day in the Canadian Embassy at Tokyo’s Oscar Peterson Theatre.

“They won’t let me see him until the day. And I say why not? They said ‘this must be like a wedding. The bride does not see the groom until she walks down the aisle with her father and he goes, Oh, man, is she rockin’ beautiful!’

“So they wanted that first reaction, so I don’t get to see this guy or my guitar. So on Canada Day (Takeshi) goes up and plays a couple of songs,” Bachman recalls, emotionally. “Then he plays Takin’ Care of Business a little bit and he stops. I walk out, meet him on stage. I look at him, he’s got my guitar. I’ve got the twin sister guitar. I get my guitar back. I can’t move, I can’t breathe. I’ve got it. It’s beautiful. He gets the twin sister. We both finished playing Takin’ Care of Business. We’re both in tears. We’re both pretty verklempt. This is like a really incredible moment.”

The entire situation – from the loss, to the long-awaited reclamation – has the noted storyteller nearly lost for words.

“I tried to find the guitar for 40 years and couldn’t. And then the guitar found me,” he shares with a smile.

Lost & Found

The incredible story will be the subject of an independent documentary, with Randy and his son, fellow rock-star success Tal Bachman, set to write songs for the proposed film, Lost and Found, with the famed guitar-god joking that his son contends that his father “lost his magic” when his guitar was stolen in 1977.

“Tal contends that when that guitar was stolen in ‘77, they stole my magic. With that guitar, I learned to play guitar. I learned my vocabulary, so to speak…

“And then every song I wrote and recorded; These Eyes, Laughing, is all on this guitar. So when it was stolen my son said to me, ‘You haven’t had a number one hit since American Woman and You Ain’t Seen Nothing Yet. Your magic is gone, but when it gets back!’”

Overcoming COVID-19, whooping cough and double pneumonia in recent years, Bachman, at age 78, is as active now as he was in his heyday between reunion-esque tours alongside Burton Cummings, continued successes in radio (Vinyl Tap anyone?) and perhaps most notably, his father-son tandem Bachman & Bachman.

“We wrote basically a retrospective album as what has happened to me as the father, what’s happened to my son who’s followed kind of in my footsteps in and out of bands and up and down and good manager, bad manager, label signing, label dropping, all that stuff. What we went through with our family, with our domestic divorces, because all rock and roll leads to divorce. 

Bachman & Bachman

“You’re never with your wife or your family all the time. Unfortunately, that’s the big downside of it. And you look at these women you loved and they loved you, but you stopped the love because of the gigantic distance between you physically and in mileage, if you know what I mean, like not being there. And so we wrote what you call an Americana album with very touching lyrics.”

Pillars of our rock n roll history like Bachman continue to reap the rewards of a lifetime of entertaining adoring fans. Catching up with The Herald before his island return at the Churchill Park Music Festival (which he rocked!!!), the architect of American Woman and Let it Ride explained that, in the pandemic era, the world seems primed for a rock renaissance.

“I think the Roaring Twenties are coming back because if you look at the Roaring Twenties a century ago, it was after a war, it was after a pandemic. People were dying from the flu and everything, and they were all restricted. They couldn’t go out. They were all vaccinated. It’s happening again,” Bachman shared, impassioned.

As for the man who more than a few musicians can call mentor, role model and overall inspiration, there’s more than enough gas in the tank for a man who’s still Takin’ Care of Business. “I always said I don’t want people saying, ‘I wonder what he’s doing now?’ I want people saying ‘look at what he’s doing now!’”

For all things Randy Bachman visit randybachman.com. For part one of our interview visit our website at nfldherald.com

The incredibly gifted performer, Owen Mac, returns to Newfoundland with special guest Desi Mac and the Keltic Storm Band. 

Proudly presented by Vaughnco Entertainment, Mac can be seen onstage at Arts and Culture Centre’s in Corner Brook on August 31, in Grand Falls-Windsor on September 1 and in Gander on September 2.  On September 3rd, Mac will be in St. John’s performing at Holy Heart Theatre for his highly anticipated return.  

Friendly & welcoming

During his last visit, Mac performed at both Princess Sheila NaGeira Theatre and at Holy Heart, he recalled.  

“I remember coming back home to Ireland with my family wanting to return (to NL) as the people over there are so friendly and welcoming and it feels very much like Ireland … I can’t wait to perform again in both those venues and more as I return at the end of August,” he said.

At just 19, he has had quite the career. “I remember growing up, I knew that I always wanted to pursue a career in music,” Mac said, recalling that his  first performance in front of a live audience was at 12-years-old.

“Music has always been in my family, so I think that’s how I had such a love for it. My daddy used to sing a lot, and I grew up listening to him perform, so I think music has always been in the house for me.”

The talent comes from many sources, he continued, and he has a few musical inspirations. 

“I have always been influenced by a lot of country and gospel singers and of course singers back here in the Irish country scene. People like Vince Gill and traditional artists like Jim Reeves and Merle Haggard.”

What can fans expect to see when he takes the stage on September 3rd? The best of the best, he shared! 

Performing for fans

“This year I am bringing out my seventh studio album and I can’t wait to share it with everyone,” he said. 

Mac shared that returning to NL means a lot after COVID and he’s excited to visit and perform for fans. 

“I just can’t wait to see everyone while I am back over again and I hope that everyone enjoys the show.”

For tickets and more visit vaughncoentertainment.com, holyhearttheatre.com or the various ACC websites in your region 

Gin Blossoms frontman Robin Wilson has just returned from the road, touring North America alongside Canadian gems Barenaked Ladies. He’s deep in a remodel for his Long Island home, a byproduct of a tragic fire that claimed his property in 2021. 

Through it all he remains upbeat with a pitch-black humour, joking, “The tour was a breeze compared to being at home.

“I enjoy that kind of touring where we’re doing five shows a week. We stay in a bus, we’re playing with other bands on a package tour. It’s where I absolutely am at my happiest and give my best performances. So that’s easy. It’s hard being home and having to go to Home Depot twice a day and, you know, deal with my son and my ex-wife, and have to just deal with being alive at home. The road is much more simple. 

“I only have to know two or three things a day. What time is the meet and greet? What time does the show start? I have some responsibility to be healthy and prepared to give a good performance, but my life is very simple out on tour.”

Wilson’s sitdown with The Herald came in advance of Gin Blossoms’ return to Newfoundland and Labrador for the first time since 2015, when the 90s charttoppers would take the stage at the inaugural Churchill Park Music Festival. 

‘A beautiful community’

Wilson, for his part, expressed enthusiasm to perform alongside fellow rockers Our Lady Peace, also quipping that the island boasts “a beautiful community and a lovely countryside.”

But the much-hyped festival was only the tip of the iceberg for a defining year for the band. 

2022 marked the 30th anniversary of Gin Blossoms breakout album New Miserable Experience, a record that conjurers up bittersweet memories in no small part due to the tragic suicide of founding guitarist Doug Hopkins in 1993.

“Yes, it’s very heavy,” Wilson admits of revisiting their sophomore record, one that spawned the hits Hey Jealously, Until I Fall Away and Found Out About You. “There’s a lot to think about, there’s a great deal to unpack when thinking about New Miserable Experience. Of course, most of it is pride and pride in the band for surviving and for continuing our career, but there are many bittersweet memories associated with recording New Miserable Experience. Losing Doug, and then just the grind of being on tour in the van for two years promoting the record and just never being home and always being on tour in the van and sleeping in the van, driving all night. A very unhealthy lifestyle.”

The push towards platinum status  would be an arduous one for Wilson and co., with the album not becoming an overnight success, but rather a byproduct of grinding from gig to gig.

“We were in that van so much, we were always getting sick. And it just went on for, as I say, like almost two years. And it was rewarding, but it was incredibly hard work,” Wilson recalled. 

“It was a real sacrifice to just be away from home all the time for so long and to be in such discomfort, crammed in the van with everyone all the time. It’s not a lot of fun and it’s a real sacrifice to dedicate yourself to breaking the record. And so when the album did finally break and we had a hit, I feel very justified in saying that we earned it. Not only through the making of the record and the writing of those songs and keeping the band together, but all of the touring and promotion and self-sacrifice. It’s not easy. And I can wrap this up by saying that again mostly what I feel is very proud.”

‘Important as artists’

While the band and their global audience of fans toast three decades of New Miserable Experience, Wilson is adamant that all hands refuse to rest on their laurels, with new music on the horizon.

“I’d like us to make a record sometime in the next few years,” Wilson shared. “I don’t expect it to sell. It’s just not a thing that seems to happen much anymore, record sales. But it’s important as artists to continue to record and write new music, and I look forward to that process. In fact, I’ve already got songs in the can. I’m ready to go as soon as my band mates want to get into it.”

For all things Gin Blossoms related visit the group’s official website at ginblossoms.net

Local musician Ryan Snow, a Harbour Grace native now living in South River, is no stranger around a tune. A longtime member of Sheila’s Brush, Snow has branched out solo with his latest effort Tales from the Lighthouse.

Produced and engineered by Brad Tuck with collaborators Ryan Baker and Ray Legere, Snow’s collection is a proper taste of home perfectly paired with come home year festivities.

We caught up with Snow for an in depth look into the new record for the latest in our album deep dive series.

Sea Legs

This was the first song written for the album. This song was written about an excursion I had with my wife and friends out by Harbour Grace Island trying for some elusive codfish. My friend took us out jigging and the wind picked up after I was whistling. He blamed the wind on my whistling. Nonetheless, the water got choppy and I got feeling a little sick. I had to get brought ashore and then home to lie down. Having ‘Sea Legs’ is a rite of passage for most Newfoundlanders and Labradorean’s, I just didn’t get them. I did finish the song with a better ending than I had, as he became quite proud of the ones that he had grown (unlike myself). 

Tales from the Lighthouse

Modern technology in marine travel is becoming more advanced by the day. The use of lighthouses over the course of time have saved many distressed travelers and fisherman alike. 

This song uses the words “The lighthouse keepers eye’s upon us” referring to the actual light from the lighthouse as a metaphor for the lighthouse keepers watchful eyes.

Audrey’s Adventure

This song came about in a funny way. I was writing music one morning and my little girl, who was six at the time, asked how come I haven’t written a song about her? I told her to grab a scribbler and write down some things she would like to have in her song. 

So in her six-year-old fashion, she had fictional characters like witches and wizards and trolls and dragons, like you would. We created an adventure where she went off in a hot air balloon to see all kinds of magical places to end up finding some unicorns in the sky.

The Storyteller

We all have people in our lives that can captivate us in their stories and keep us hanging on for more. This was inspired by my good friend Jim Pike who’s never stuck for words and my father Wendell Snow who always has a great story to tell. I wrote the song in a type of executive summary style format where two stories are introduced (“Of broken hearts and shattered sails”) and the following verses in the song elaborate on their stories.

Music that Makes Us

This is a tribute to all the great music that has shaped so many of us. I can remember being a kid and my dad would have Irish/Newfoundland music always playing in the kitchen. It has shaped the music I play and the music I love – and now the music I make. The song has a start similar to Simani’s intro in Outport People and takes a turn of its own. In this song there are 29 song references to well-known Irish/Newfoundland folk songs. Some songs are easy to pick out while some others are more difficult. See how many you can able to identify!

Jigs in Full Sail

A great representation of the accordion skills of Ryan Baker. Ryan is from Marystown and has played with the likes of The Ennis Sisters, Natalie MacMaster, and even at Casino Nova Scotia where he performed a tribute to Harry Hibbs. His playing ability is one of the best I’ve ever seen. You can even hear the banjo skills of Brad Tuck following along. Brad’s presence is all over the album with various instruments and vocal harmonies. Brad is a professional multi-instrumentalist and a well-known singer and songwriter. I was fortunate to get introduced to both of these guys and will be forever grateful for their contribution to the album.

Dawn

I had to finish off the album with a sad song I wrote for my aunt that has passed. She was my godmother. She had a lengthy battle with cancer and had it defeated many times. Ultimately, she couldn’t take anymore and succumbed to it. I was asked to play a song at her funeral, but I couldn’t think of a song that would fit, so I wrote this one that evening instead. The day after I had it finished and was prepared to play it, I was informed that I was not allowed to play it in the Catholic Church as it was against their rules. I did play it in the funeral home at her wake and haven’t played it live since then.

Born in the rural town of Parker’s Cove, Albert Murphy, aka Al Eagle, buttoned up one of his signature jumpsuits to perform an Elvis tribute show at the Parker’s Cove 2022 Come Home Year, just in time for The Herald’s annual August tribute to Elvis Presley. 

Born and raised in Parker’s Cove, Murphy grew up with a mother who admired Elvis, as many Newfoundlanders did in the 60s, 70s, and even today. 

When Elvis died in 1977, his interest in the King of Rock and Roll peaked after seeing his mother cry over the passing of a musical legend. In the same year, when Murphy was only 13-years-old, his own father passed. 

With four sisters and seven brothers, most of them were placed into foster homes across the island. Murphy lived with a foster family in Corner Brook where he has vivid memories of the 1979 film Elvis, starring Kurt Russell, airing on the television. 

“This movie finally gave me the chance to learn who Elvis really was. Elvis became a father figure to me. When I purchased the soundtrack, I would play the record over and over everyday after school and this had a huge impact on me,” Murphy shared in a one-on-one interview with The Newfoundland Herald. 

“Later that year, my school G.C. Rowe was having a talent show. This was my first performance on stage, I sang “Old Shep” and won second place.”

Moving On Up 

Murphy eventually moved to Marystown, and although he was very young, his determination found him walking into a club and making it up on stage to perform Blue Suede Shoes with the local band. 

This was Murphy’s first time singing with a band, but he went on to perform many shows including a 1994 tribute show with the band Midnight Highway at The Mustang Saloon in Hamilton, Ontario, and his most memorable show Images of the King in Memphis, Tennessee circa 1993. 

“People from all over the world loved Elvis. Elvis had something for everybody. He opened the doors to many musicians and different sounds of music,” Murphy shared. 

“His hairstyle and clothing stood out from everyone else. His generosity, his faith, and his charisma. Elvis was devoted to his fans, and we loved his music.” 

It’s a fact that Elvis was well-known as a fashion icon throughout the years, wearing outlandish attire one day and seeing it become street fashion the next. 

If he wasn’t head to toe in black leather, the King wore flashy and eclectic handmade shirts and jumpsuits, topped off with bedazzled belts and jewelery. Any great tribute artist knows you have to embody and embrace the style of said artist, and while Murphy does just that, he also plans on adding his own little Newfoundland touch. 

“How I go about choosing what to wear when performing is, once I get my song list completed, I decide which outfit goes with that era to be electrifying on stage. Some of my suits I purchased from a Canadian company, and I’ve put together some outfits on my own,” he explained. 

“I did create my own suit called the Golden Aloha suit, and I have ideas for some suits that are cultural here to Newfoundland and Labrador, one being an “iceberg suit.”

No Place Like Home

Murphy, aka Al Eagle, has gone on to make a name for himself and become a familiar face across the province and beyond. After many towns and communities had to postpone Come Home Year due to the pandemic, 2022 Come Home Year across the island is one reunion we’ve all been waiting for. 

Not only was Murphy able to return to his hometown to perform a gospel show and an Elvis tribute, it was the first time he was able to visit his childhood home and see much of his family in years. 

“When I first walked into my childhood home, it felt as if I never left. It was like a family reunion seeing my sisters, nephews, aunts, and uncles. The gospel show had a lot of old friends there, and it was very emotional at times,” Murphy shared. 

“When I did my Elvis Tribute I felt very proud. To perform in front of old friends and family was an honour. I was at ease knowing I was home singing on the ground I’ve walked many times, many years ago.  The support was calming. Paying tribute to Elvis for 44 years now, and not stopping anytime soon.” 

The mayor of Parker’s Cove, Harold Murphy, reached out to The Newfoundland Herald to show his appreciation for Al Eagle and both his gospel and Elvis performances.

“The Town of Parker’s Cove welcomed many former residents to come join locals in celebrating our Come Home Year activities. One of these former residents was Albert Murphy, aka Al Eagle. He performed Elvis in our Sunday morning gospel hour and at our afternoon car show. Albert had to leave the community as a teenager after his fathers’ sudden death. It was so nice to catch up with him and witness his amazing talent.” 

You can visit Al Eagle’s Facebook page for updates, or contact manager Debra Murphy directly for inquiries and bookings at ccelvismemory@gmail.com or 709-730-9967. 

Proud dad Chris Snelgrove extended the invite to one and all.

“Good morning. My son Ryan was the recipient this year of the Hair Factory Fund to pay for his driver training. The fund was awarded to him in conjunction with the Newfoundland and Labrador Autism Society.

‘Pay it forward’

“On (July 23rd) Ryan has organized an afternoon/evening of entertainment here in our back yard to raise money to help the next driver(s) in training; ‘Pay it Forward’ for the want of better way to explain his thoughts,” he shared.  

There was food and beverages and 14 entertainers – including Ryan himself.

Ryan and his mom Susan were busy setting up for the event when The Herald stopped by their home-turned-concert-venue in Heart’s Delight-Islington. Ryan, who’s 19, spoke first. “Today we’re having a bunch of performers here in our back garden. As people come in, we’re going to have a donation box set up so that they can drop as much money that they want to donate in there for  a great cause.” 

Kids do great things

Because Ryan was a recipient of the Hair Factory fund to pay for his driver training, he wanted to give back. 

“I thought what they did was very nice so as a thank you, I decided that I would make some more money to give back to them so someone else can take advantage of the same training and opportunities that I had.”

Wayne Button and his bandmates from A Black and White Night: a Tribute to Roy Orbison, were there to perform. So was Rodney Slade and Ryan’s cousin, Ben Diamond. 

Susan, Ryan’s mom, shared that this was “a great day” and she was so proud of her son. “He felt that because he was given this great opportunity and given the money from (the Hair Factory Fund), he would like to pay it forward so if two people next year want to get their license, then they can through these donations. It’s all in the aid of autism and autism awareness to spread the word that these kids can do great things.”

For more information visit asnl.ca 

There’s moments in life that just stand out in each generation. For folks in their 50s and up, the moon landing in 1969 was one of the bigger events, but the passing of the King of Rock and Roll, Elvis Presley, on August 16, 1977 at the age of 42 was one of those  lifetime moments when hearts were broken around the globe. 

The death of Elvis was different than the moon landing or any other significant historical event because there was no competition when it came to the beloved musical icon. There was no Russia vs America to contend with, it was simply the much-too-early loss of one of the most brilliant and talented – and complex – musical performers of all time. That he was – and remains to this day in the minds and heats of many – the best musician there ever was left little room for debate.

Back on the big screen

In the film Elvis, told from the perspective of his manager, Colonel Tom Parker, the story is again introduced to a new generation. The film, which has  grossed $217.2 million worldwide against its $85 million budget, is now the second highest-grossing music biopic of all-time behind Bohemian Rhapsody.

The tale of his last days on earth still captivates. The morning before his death, Elvis apparently played racquetball with his cousin Billy. It had been raining when they arrived, the story goes, and Billy told Elvis he wished it would stop. The King, it is said,  held out his hands and replied: “Ain’t no problem, I’ll take care of it.” 

The rain stopped, to which Elvis added: “If you have a little faith, you can stop anything.” If only that were true. 

After the game, Elvis sat behind a piano and played two gospel songs followed by Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain; apparently the last song he ever sang. His last book read? Frank Adams’ The Scientific Search for the Face of Jesus. 

Hours later, Elvis was dead. Shortly before his death, it’s reported that the megastar had expressed his greatest fear to ex-wife Priscilla: that no one will remember him after he’s gone. As we all know, that never happened. 

I was eight when The King died, and my friends and I gathered playing Old Shep as we mourned. Hard to believe that was 45 years ago. Like a line in that very song says, ‘the years fast did roll.’ 

Still, not all things change with time.  Elvis was loved then. He’s loved still. And to this very day, Elvis is still the best selling solo artist in history.

Pam Pardy, The Herald’s Managing Editor, can be reached by emailing pghent@nfldherald.com