Biography
Earl Heywood earned recognition as "Canada's Number One Cowboy Singer" and helped lay the groundwork for Canadian country music. A farm near Exeter, Ontario, marked the site of his birth on March 12, 1917. His professional path opened in 1941 when he began hosting a daily radio broadcast on Chatham's CFCO. The move to CKNX in the Wingham region followed in 1942, and the association lasted four decades. Serving as lead vocalist and musical director on the weekly CKNX Barn Dance established him as the station's most popular act, an advantage reinforced by frequent live sets at dances and gatherings throughout southwestern Ontario. In 1946 he also took the helm of CKNX's Serenade Ranch, a program that continued for seven years. RCA Victor signed him in 1948; backed by the Serenade Ranch Gang, he placed self-penned hits including "The Alberta Waltz" and "The Tears of St. Anne." Across his career he wrote and recorded roughly 300 songs, among them sessions for Rodeo and Banff issued under the Heywood Family name and featuring wife Martha together with children Patricia and Grant. Television expansion at CKNX led to his starring role on the musical showcase Circle 8 Ranch, while additional appearances included The Range Riders Show and Western Roundup. The Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame inducted him in 1989. He co-founded the Wingham-based Barndance Museum and Entertainment Society and, with Martha, kept hosting traditional country dances through the 1990s. He died on September 17, 2006, at the age of 89.