- Alberta Slim
Alberta Slim (b. Eric Charles Edwards, Feb. 2, 1910 - Nov. 26, 2005) was a Canadian
country music singer.Slim was born Eric Charles Edwards in
Wiltshire ,England , and emigrated with his family to Canada as a child. He was ahobo during theGreat Depression , riding therailroad s and playing on street corners as a guitarist andyodel er. [http://www.cbc.ca/arts/story/2005/12/06/alberta_slim_obit051206.html Yodelling Cowboy Dead at 95] . CBC, December 6, 2005. Accessed January 29, 2008.] He played in an amateurtalent show atRegina stationCKCK ; soon after, in 1938, he was offered a job singing there. After this he held radio spots atCFQC inSaskatoon from 1940 to 1944, and then on Regina'sCKRM from 1945 to 1947. [http://www.hillbilly-music.com/artists/story/index.php?id=13284 Alberta Slim] at Hillbilly-Music.com]Slim started a
traveling circus in the 1940s which included anelephant who could playharmonica , a singing dog, achimpanzee on abicycle , and a horse which Slim claimed could see the future. In 1949, he had his first hit on record, "When It's Apple Blossom Time in Annapolis Valley", released onGavotte Records . Later,RCA Victor signed him and released songs such as "Waltz Evelina Waltz", "You Say I'm a Fool", "My Annapolis Valley Home", and "It's Too Late to Care".After his career ended, he got a job in
British Columbia sellingreal estate . In 1997, he was asked to perform again at theVancouver Folk Festival . He continued to perform until he was 93; he died in 2005 at the age of 95.References
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