Biography
A renowned Canadian vocalist, tunesmith, and six-string player, Terry Carisse launched his stage career during his early teenage years. Partnering with lyricist Bruce Rawlins proved an ideal creative fit once he began composing original material. Their initial joint success arrived in 1971 when the pair supplied the Mercey Brothers with the chart-topping country number “Hello Mom,” the first of numerous hits Carisse would co-author across subsequent decades. By the close of the 1970s he had stepped forward as a lead performer and finished a striking debut long-player on which every track had already been issued as a charting single. Throughout the following ten years the Carisse–Rawlins team accumulated an impressive collection of industry trophies, many awarded to Carisse individually for his solo vocal work; the honors also included induction into the Ottawa Valley Country Music Hall of Fame. After Rawlins succumbed to cancer in 1987, Carisse sustained his songwriting output without his longtime collaborator.
Carisse’s earliest public performances occurred at community festivals and talent competitions, where he honed his vocal delivery and stage presence. Before long he incorporated guitar into his routines and secured a place in his first ensemble. Developing original material felt like the logical progression. A late-1960s acquaintance with Rawlins matured into a twenty-year songwriting alliance.
Carisse cut his first solo 45, “Been Thinking,” in 1976 and issued it on his own imprint. He followed two years later with “Lonely Highway Blues.” Also in 1978 he joined the country outfit Tenderfoot, whose tours carried the group across Canada and abroad, raising his profile. Upon returning home he signed with MBS Records, the label owned by the Mercey Brothers. Between 1978 and 1983 he placed nearly a dozen singles and two albums with the company, among them The Story of the Year, which earned Big Country Awards nominations for Album of the Year, Top Country Male Vocalist, and Single of the Year. Its successor, We Could Make Beautiful Music Together, captured Album of the Year, Male Vocalist of the Year, and Top Country Single of the Year honors while Carisse maintained an active touring schedule fronting his own band, Tracks.
Once MBS Records ceased operations by 1984, Carisse moved to Savannah Records, where he completed additional albums and a lengthy roster of singles. Across a prolific career he collected multiple awards, scored numerous hits, and supplied still more successful recordings to fellow artists. Most of those years were spent in country music, guitar at hand and cowboy hat in place, though he occasionally ventured into gospel, as demonstrated by the album A Gospel Gathering.
Carisse’s earliest public performances occurred at community festivals and talent competitions, where he honed his vocal delivery and stage presence. Before long he incorporated guitar into his routines and secured a place in his first ensemble. Developing original material felt like the logical progression. A late-1960s acquaintance with Rawlins matured into a twenty-year songwriting alliance.
Carisse cut his first solo 45, “Been Thinking,” in 1976 and issued it on his own imprint. He followed two years later with “Lonely Highway Blues.” Also in 1978 he joined the country outfit Tenderfoot, whose tours carried the group across Canada and abroad, raising his profile. Upon returning home he signed with MBS Records, the label owned by the Mercey Brothers. Between 1978 and 1983 he placed nearly a dozen singles and two albums with the company, among them The Story of the Year, which earned Big Country Awards nominations for Album of the Year, Top Country Male Vocalist, and Single of the Year. Its successor, We Could Make Beautiful Music Together, captured Album of the Year, Male Vocalist of the Year, and Top Country Single of the Year honors while Carisse maintained an active touring schedule fronting his own band, Tracks.
Once MBS Records ceased operations by 1984, Carisse moved to Savannah Records, where he completed additional albums and a lengthy roster of singles. Across a prolific career he collected multiple awards, scored numerous hits, and supplied still more successful recordings to fellow artists. Most of those years were spent in country music, guitar at hand and cowboy hat in place, though he occasionally ventured into gospel, as demonstrated by the album A Gospel Gathering.