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Dick Damron was born 22 March 1934, Bentley, Alberta, Canada. Damron's father was the head teacher of the school at Bentley a small village mid-way between Calgary and Edmonton. By his own admission during his childhood, Damron was frequently in trouble and on several occasions, he ran away from home. His father played fiddle and his mother taught piano and he learned guitar as a child being helped by an uncle and an elder brother. He grew up inspired by Wilf Carter's recordings and later recalled these memories in "The Wilf Carter Song". (In 1981, the veteran Carter recorded Damron's nostalgic "The Last Of The Rodeo Riders" on The Chinook Wind). He formed his first band at 15 comprising his brother Bob (guitar/accordion), girlfriend Martha Ohlson (piano), and he took vocals and played fiddle and guitar. They learned the hard way as he later recalled "For the next few years we played every little country hall for miles". In 1954, he and Martha married and the following year, a daughter Barbara Jean was born. Realising the small pay from the band's appearances was no longer sufficient; he tried working on the oil rigs in Drayton Valley. Eventually he reverted back to his music and with a band played on CKRD Red Deer, which gained bookings in the area but meant a hard existence living in a small caravan during harsh winters. For a time his style of music began to change and when, in 1958, he made his first recordings, they were two rockabilly numbers "Gonna Have A Party" and "Rockin' Baby". By 1964, the band had changed from old time country dances to playing 50s rockabilly in the style of Chuck Berry and Jerry Lee Lewis with Martha cleverly adopting the piano style of Lewis. The band eventually folded and throughout the 60s, he played with various groups over many parts of Canada even for a time playing banjo in a bluegrass band. He continued to write songs. He made trips to Nashville in 1961 and 1963 where, in the Starday Studios, he recorded with session musicians such as Pete Drake and Hargus Robbins. In 1965 these recordings constituted his first album. He played the Calgary Stampede many times and with a band embarked on trips all over the country billed as Dick Damron's Cross Country Mystery Tour. The life style began to take its toll and things started to go wrong. His wife left him, his drummer shot himself, and his father was dying from lung cancer. Damron later recalled "I was eating Librium and Valium like it was popcorn. I combined that with all the Bacardi. I would laugh myself off stage, cry myself to sleep and wake up in the middle of the night and take a few more pills". He once tried (unsuccessfully) to commit suicide by overdosing and leaving the gas tap turned on. In 1968, he gained the first of many awards with a BMI Songwriter Award for "The Cold Grey Winds Of Autumn" but the change in fortunes came in 1971, when George Hamilton IV's recording of Damron's "Countryfied' became a Top 40 international hit. In 1972, he toured with other Canadian artists including fiddler Roy Warhurst to West Germany where they were well received. In 1976, Damron made his first visit to Great Britain, where he toured, literally, from John O'Groats to Land's End with UK country band Colorado. The excellent Soldier Of Fortune was reissued by Gordon Davis" Westwood label to sell on the tour (the first of several albums reissued on that label). Further European tours followed including further visits to the UK in 1978, 1979 and 1983. Although occasionally, he still had some problems with drugs and/or drink, he kept up a hectic schedule throughout the 80s and 90s. He toured extensively and continued to write and record. Damron's undoubted main assets lie in his fine songs. They often relate to incidents in his life such as the lonely time in London, which gave the inspiration for "If London Were A Lady" or to happenings such as "The Ballad Of T.J.'s". This refers to a musician being shot dead in a bar because he did not know the requested song. Over the years other singers have recorded many of his songs. Damron freely admits that God helped him through the dark days and he has written and recorded some fine gospel numbers none better than the wonderful "Jesus, It's Me Again' (SOCAN Song Of The Year 1984). (Damron recorded a new version, which was included on 1995"s The Anthology). He admits this number has helped him through many bad times and in his song "The Vanishing Point", he comments "What good is life if you can't hear the music, what good is mine if I can't sing my songs". In the 90s, he released two volumes of gospel songs. In 1996, Damron began making annual visits to Mexico where he said "I am coasting along waiting for the Great Spirit to move me into writing another chapter for my book". Although he has never achieved a Billboard country hit, he has picked up numerous CCMA (Canadian Country Music Association) awards. They include Male Vocalist Of The Year 1983, Songwriter Of The Year 1984, Entertainer Of The Year 1985, Instrumentalist Of The Year 1989 and induction to the Canadian Hall Of Fame in 1994. Dick Damron is currently produced by Nashville record producer Lonnie Ratliff whose production style has fit well with Dick's style of music and many music critics say their partnership has come as close to capturing the the real Dick Damron as anything so far.