Recently I interviewed Don Graham by telephone and he was gracious enough to answer the following questions and many more that I have edited from this article. The Toronto Tunesmith Graham is leaving at the end of July to tour with Texas Troubadour Larry Patton in Norway, Ireland, and Austria.

KB:  Tell me a little bit about yourself – how does a guy from Montreal, Quebec end up in country music?

DG:  "I could only get one Country Music radio station in the 60's and even then it was only on a clear night.  It was WWVA in Wheeling, West Virginia.  I loved the commercials.  You could order 500 baby chicks for $3.99 or something like that; that fascinated me.  I really enjoyed hearing the music of Marty Robbins, and Hank Williams."

KB: You had a pick hit in Cashbox Magazine in the late -70’s – how does it feel to be on the cover now?

I recently had the pleasure of chatting with Larry Patton, a talented Texan now living in Nashville, Tennessee. This unassuming man, with the list a mile long of greats he has played with, is about to embark on a tour to promote his new CD, ‘A Strange Night’, on the Canadian-owned ‘Breakin’ Records label.

SG: tell me a little bit about yourself – how did a Texas born kid who grew up on rock and roll end up living and working in Nashville?

LP: My mother was not just a rock-n-roller, she was also an avid country music fan. She took me to every country music show that came to town. In June of 1957 we went to the Grand Ole’ Opry in Nashville and saw the Everly Brothers first appearance there. I moved to Nashville the first time in 1975, went to work with Ronnie Milsap and then later that year Hank Williams Jr. After Hank’s mountain climbing accident in August, and the band’s three months in New Mexico and Arizona, I moved back to Texas at the end of that year. In 1986, with several job offers in hand, I moved back to Nashville and have been here ever since.

New wave diva, wrestling maven, celebrity apprentice, Gay Pride Grand Marshall, anti-discrimination activist, “Time after Time”, Cyndi Lauper finds a way to stay in the public eye. Mostly through a series of re-inventions, and for her latest, the lady sings the blues.

On the line from NY, Lauper is bubbly and focused on Memphis Blues, a collection of classic Stax-era tunes given the Lauper treatment. Lest you think this is a serious changeup for the lady, she says it ain’t so.

“My interest in the blues goes back to a kid in her bedroom singing the songs of (Fifties r’n’b shouter) Big Mabel, who’s had a place in my music ever since. In the Nineties I was mixing pop with hip hop which put me in a place close to where I could think of this album again”. The genesis of this long-coming album is a 1987 dream starring pianist Oscar Peterson.

In  Canada, we have the tradition of the May 24 long weekend, in honour of Queen Victoria. Being the Commonwealth country, we still uphold this holiday, but not so much as a Birthday recognition of a long ago Monarch, but as the tradition of cottages opening up for the season, gardens getting prepared for the summer flowers, holidays being planned and always the music.

Summer brings the radio stations back to playing hits from the past that we all identify with the season approaching. ‘Summer in the City’ by The Lovin’ Spoonful, ‘Summer Breeze’ by Seals and Croft and of course the Canadian summer anthem ‘Sunny Days’ by our very own Lighthouse. Since Cashbox Magazine was known for Charts in it’s heyday, Cashbox Canada has compiled a list of the Top 30 Songs that represent the summer season.

On first encounter with the speaking voice of Andy Kim, you can hear the richness and passion in his words. And he is not even singing. Kim is a combination of amazed and excited about the release of his new CD, ‘Happen Again’, distributed by E1 Canada.

“The CD was recorded in Los Angeles, but it all came to life when I met Eric Alper last November, and E1 expressed serious interest in promoting and marketing Andy Kim and my new product”, explains Kim. ‘’ I have been living in the U.S. for many years, but Canada has always been my home. It is quite fitting that my launch of this new product is right here – in my home country”.

The country market is filled with great singers, talented songwriters and larger than life performers. That is why it is refreshing to hear a CD that has it all.

This new CD by veteran country rock artist, Don Graham (a founding member of Graham County) has it all. Great story telling songs, amazing production, infectious guitar lines and most of all a voice that will keep you hooked from the first song.

The first track, “GOT WHAT IT TAKES”, says it all. ‘An everyday man of everyday means at home in my t-shirt and my old blue jeans’ captures the image of an average man who is comfortable in his own skin.