Charlie Major

A leading figure across Canada, Charlie Major earned repeated chart-topping singles along with multiple honors, among them the Juno Award for Country Male Vocalist of the Year, which he claimed three consecutive times starting in 1994. He committed to a music career in 1974 and spent the following fifteen years honing his songwriting and instrumental abilities while performing constantly on the road. During an extended stay in Spain he entertained visitors and assembled several country ensembles. After returning home he entered a 1986 songwriting competition and took first place, a victory that included the chance to cut and issue a single. Canadian artists such as Matt Minglewood and Patricia Conroy soon began covering his material. During a 1989 trip to Nashville he laid down tracks, one of which—“Backroads”—reached the top of the charts for Ricky Van Shelton in 1992. Major’s Canadian debut album, The Other Side, arrived in 1993, achieved double-platinum status, produced six number-one singles, and collected several prizes, including the Canadian Country Music Association’s 1994 Album of the Year and Single of the Year for “I’m Gonna Drive You Out of My Mind.” He relocated to Nashville the same year, signed briefly with Arista Records, then saw Imprint Records acquire the contract and release his second album—the U.S. debut Here and Now—in 1996. Everything’s Alright followed in 1997, and he returned in early 2000 with 444.