-

. {he Stompin’ Tom Con-
-nors story begins in ‘New
-Brunswick, in the hungry
30’. when a young unwed

mother gave birth to a long,
lean baby and named him .

Tom. For a while the mother
struggled to make a way for
herself and the child, but the

- times were rough and soon

the authorities stepped in
and placed young Tom in a
New Brunswick orphanage.
Life in the home was not
preat by any means, but
‘Tom began to develop his
own personality and held his

own. .
" Eventually, he was
“adopted out” to Mr. and
‘Mrs. Russell Alyward of
Skinners Pond, P.E.1., and
so his beloved Prince Ed-
ward Island became his
-. home. Tom lived in Skinners
Pond and helped Russell
with his farm for the next
few years of his life. Even in
these early days, Tom
developed a great affinity
for Country Music, He knew
all the songs which he heard
on the Aylward’s radio by:
heart, and tried his hand at
making up tunes. while he

did his chores. But though .

the basic interest was there,

it was.a long way from.
- ‘Skinners Pond to becoming

the top country entertainer
in Canada.
When he reached 13, a
sense of adventure overtook
- Tom and he longed to see
what lay across the Straits
of Northumberland. ‘I had
some disagreements with
my folks,’’ Connors says

today; “‘and I left for Saint —

John. I guess I had a little

-". sense, for I kept to my

schooling, at least for a

couple of years, supporting

myself by working after
school and with help from
the Children’s Aid”. -

In Saint John he shared a
rooming house with. a
French-Canadian dock
worker who “sort of played
the guitar’. Tom bugged the
fellow until he finally

: ‘showed him a couple of

‘chords. Tom saved ‘his
money and bought a second

“hand. guitar of his own, and.

‘although he discovered that

“the chords his friend had .

taught him were both
wrong, he was off on not
only an adventure on the
road, but a long and
illustrious career. .

So it was that Tom hit the
_road for the first time since

“settling” in Saint John..
Though he was big for his

agé,; he was still very young.
_-He travelled light with a few
belongings and his guitar
which he was now
‘mastering well. Sometimes
che travelled with a friend,
‘and sometimes he met
travelling companions along
‘the way. But he always had
his songs to keep him

compariy, as Tom tells it, “I.

‘guess you could say I

became a bum. I worked for

a while on the coal boats
down east, I came to Ontario

“to work: the tobacco fields. I

worked.in a rubber factory,
asa lumber-jack, on

(building jobs, and at many |
.other things. I just thumbed |

iand bummed’ my wa
through Canada, and all
over the’ United States as
well. I didn’t care where |

6, ENTERTAINMENT, THE HERALD, Wed. Aug. 18, 1976

Stompin Tom Connors

was poing, you know, if
there was no traffic down
one side of the road, I’d just.
cross over and hitch a ride
going the other way.”

His first. hike across
.Canada lasted for the better
part of seven years. During
this time, Tom saw a little
bit of everywhere and a lot
of someplaces. He grew to
love Canada more and more

and delighted people by |

‘making up little songs about
the places he would visit. He
soon found out that these
songs were popular with the
people he would meet on the

‘ road. This was all very well

and good when he had his
‘guitar, but ‘Well, there
were times when I had to
pawn it for a meal. The
- trouble was that I found that
I missed the damn thing so
much. and I- soon forgot
about the meal that I'd

eaten.”’ And as Connors kept

working at his guitar

playing, he found it was |

becoming easier to think up

songs — a talent he soon
_-discovered could be turned

into a handful of quarters,
or, at best a goed meal.
“Now I’m no guitarist’,
he tells you quite firmly. “I
can play the hell out of the

thing but I can get enough.

out of a guitar to accompany
myself, and that’s all I need.
But I started into writing
about the people I knew, the
stories I heard on. the road.
They seemed to make good
songs, and when I'd sing
them, people could un-

derstand what they were -

about.” _
Wherever he went, people

listened to the latest

Stompin’ Tom songs along

with a growing repertoire of

‘country and western

classics by people like Hank.

Snow and Wilf Carter..
Then, in 1964, he found

himself in Timmins, On-

tario, and figuring on one
beer. for the road, he
dropped into the Maple Leaf

- Hotel, found that he had 35

cents in his pocket and that
beer was 40 cents.

“T asked the waiter-if he'd
make up the nickel for me,
and he asked whether I
could play the guitar I had
with me. I said I could, and

he said, ‘‘Look, you sing us.

alla couple of songs, and I'l]
pay for the beer.” So I sang,

and he went to fetch the.

boss, and he came in and
listened. and asked me how
I'd like to sing at the hotel

- for a week for money.

“So I started that night.
No microphone, no stage;

of the tables in a corner and
stood me there to sing, They
gave me a bed,.one meal a
- day and $35 a week, I stayed
for 14 months — and by the
time I left, the place had

. been packed every night for |

well over a year. They had a

stage for me, and a sound |

system and they were
paying me $105 a week.”
-Thinking back on the days
in Timmins, Connors
evidences no surprise about
his success. “You see,” he
explains carefully, ‘‘I
believe. that country music
is enormously popular in
Canada, but not among the
people who dictate what you

ear on records and radio _

in the best-ever

~

Stompin’ Tom Connors and his wife sporting a chip off
the old stompin’ board,-Tom Charles Connors, Jr. The
baby was born on June'14 at the General Hospital in
Guelph, Ontario and weighed in at 7 Ib. 2 oz. Poppa
Tom will be stompin’ up a ‘storm in the R.E.M. Lee
Theatre tonight, August 18 at 8:30 p.m.

and television. The people
‘who run the music business
just don’t like it, so it doesn’t
‘get the exposure that it
deserves. But I know one
thing:. The -people like
country music — certainly
they love it outside the big
cities, and there's people in
big cities who-like it too.”’

“When I started to play at
the Maple Leaf in Timmins,
none of the other bars had
country music. They had go-
go girls and rock and roll
and God knows what else.
Nobody was playing country

up there until I started and.

began to write songs about
the area, and that’s why
people came to hear me, not
because I was so all-fired
good.” co,

In 1965, ‘Connors was on

the road again, but this time .

he had his own tran-:
sportation, a car, a station
wagon, and .then a truck
with a camper on the back
where he could sleep in
between jobs. In Northern
Ontario, he packed them in
everywhere . he went.
Business was good, but his

‘The ‘man who. has
dominated the country

‘music scene for nearly. 20
years will be a source of

doubie delight for visitors to
this year’s Pacific National

‘Exhibition. |

Johnny Cash, the dynamic
eagle, will be’ playing two
shows. at the Pacific
Coliseum on Saturday,

August 28th.

_' The appearances of Cash
and the Cash-Carter Family

Spectacular’”’ will. be one of
-the highlights of the ’76 Fair

August 2ist through Sep-
-tember 6th.

Another highlight will be
the PNE's Salute to Hawaii

‘in which thé public is being ©

‘Star .

stomping feet didn’t keép

‘the club floors in good repair

—and one club owner threw
him out and other owners

insisted that he stand on a
sheet of plywocd as a carpet
saver. This simple device,
which also makes for an
adequate rhythmic ac-
companiment, later became
known .as a
board”. He now visits the
lumber yard once a week to

_get a new one to replace the
beaten sheet of plywood his

stomping foot has
destroyed.

Connor’s nickname came
in Peterborough, Ontario.
One night the waiter where
Tom was playing on the

microphone, and as a joke

. he shouted ‘‘Well ladies and

gentlemen, here he is,
Stompin’ Tom”! ‘And I
thought right there, whether
I like it or not, I’m, going to
be stuck with that handle
because of the way it struck
the people, and I -have’
been,” :

Although he has
threatened yearly to “take it

_ easier next year’, the pace

asked to join in the fun by
wearing Hawaiian dress.

No matter how gaily
colored the audience, there
is little doubt that Johnny
Cash will be dressed in his
trademark — black.

The son of an Arkansas
cotton farmer, Cash first
soared to stardom with his

“Folsom Prison Blues”, a -

song that has served as his
vocal signature.

“Cry, Cry, Cry’, “Hey,
Porter”, ‘Ring of Fire” ...a
trio of a chain of hits for the
superstar of country music.

Appearing with Johnny at
‘the: Coliseum will be his
wife, June Carter, a star in
her own right. Their duets of
“Jackson” and “If 1 Were a

‘stompin’ |

at R.EM. Lee tonight

has not slackened for Tom’

Connors. He has continued —

to make records, films,
concert tours and television

shows ata frightening pace. —

He has won more awards
than his lovely, wife Lena
knows. what to do with. He
has been honored by his
beloved Prince Edward |

Island, which named him - .

“Ambassador of Goodwill”
in their Centennial year of
1973, In that same year, he
was presented to their
majesties the Queen and
Prince Philip in Charlot-
tetown. Every year since
1970, he has been named top
male country vocalist in
Canada by, RPM Magazine.
In 1974, CBC signed him to
his first television series
called ‘“‘Stompin’ Tom's
Canada’’, and the offers are
still pouring in for pérsonal
appearances and com-.
mercial work, while record
sales seem never to stop.,

Tom has in all recorded 28 :

albums, including two five
album sets of traditional
country-music. Most of the

other albums contain only

his own work. In addition to
his many tours across
Canada, he has done con-.

‘certs in a number of other

countries as well, and has
been received with great
enthusiasm everywhere. —
Tom now invests much Oot
his earnings helping other
performers through his
recording company ‘‘Boot
Records’’. The company
will record young per-
formers who show promise,
even if they are not ex-

perienced professionals. In:

this way, Tom is able to
stimulate the Canadian
Music industry, and help
youngsters and oldsters
alike avoid the problems he
faced when trying to start

his career, As Tom puts it, .

“Now that I have a little

success, I want to share it -

with my fellow. Canadians.
It took mea devil of a long
time to become an overnight

_ success in this business, and .

maybe I can shorten the .
time for some of the other
performers who are
struggling along out there”’.
Tom still insists that he’s
going to take some time off
next year. But, if he holds

true to form over the last

few years, he and Lena will
be lucky to get away at all, -
unless it’s for another tour!

Johnny Cash, Carter family at PNE

they just cleared away one —

Carpenter’ are highlights of
every show. — 7
And, with them on stage
will be the highly talented
Cash-Carter Family.
The first Cash-Carter

- show is at 2-p.m. when

tickets are priced at $6, $5

and $4, The evening per-'.
formance starts at 8 p.m. ,

with tickets at $7, -6 and -5.

All tickets may be pur-
chased at Vancouver Ticket
Centre and all its outlets. If
purchased

tickets include’

Want a summer protect? Work.
for your heart. Free literature”: —

at B.C. Heart, 1881 West,

Broadway, Vancouver,... ~~ °

in advance, |
PNE :.
grounds admission of $1.75. ~