Al Cherny
Birth nameAlexander Peter Chernywech
Birth dateNovember 1, 1932
Birth placeMedicine Hat, Alberta
Death dateAugust 23, 1989 (aged 56)
Death placeMississauga, Ontario
GenreCountry
OccupationFiddler
Instrumentfiddle
Years active1951–1989
Past member ofThe Sons of the Saddle

Alexander Peter Chernywech (November 1, 1932[1] – August 25, 1989) recording as Al Cherny, was a Canadian fiddler. He studied with Frank Nowak and played country music on CHAT-FM.

Cherney won the Canadian Old Time Fiddlers' Contest in Ontario, under the novelty class from 1959 to 1961 and the open class in both 1960 and 1961.

In the early 1970s, he was a leading studio musician, recording with musician like Gary Buck, Dick Damron, Tommy Hunter, Jesse Winchester and Sylvia Tyson. He released more than ten studio albums and received an RPM Big Country Award for Top Country Instrumentalist in 1978.

From 1964, until his passing in 1989, Cherny was a regular, featured musician on the CBC's The Tommy Hunter Show. Cherny met Tommy Hunter when he worked at CKNX in Wingham, Ontario.

Legacy

He was posthumously inducted into the Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame in 1989. He also performed regularly on The Tommy Hunter Show, until his death in 1989,[2] of lung cancer.[3]

Discography

Albums

YearAlbum[4]
1965North American Fiddle Champion (Plays Contest Winning Tunes)
1965Plays Old Tyme Fiddle
1967On Stage With Al Cherny AKA Al Cherny
1968Golden Slippers
1969Blue Ribbon Fiddle
1972Fiddle Magic
1974Rural Roots
1975"The Big Fiddle Sound" Of Al Cherny
1975Fiddle Country
1978Country Club Hits of Al Cherny (Compilation)
1988Al Cherny's Fiddle Party (Compilation)
1988A Tribute to Al Cherny (Compilation)
2002The Lost Recordings - Live

Singles

YearSinglePeak positions
CAN Country
[5]
1972"Shannon Waltz"46
"Mr. Bojangles"45

References

  1. ^ Zylstra (1992). Encyclopedia Of Music In Canada. University of Toronto Press. p. 258. ISBN 0-8020-2881-0.
  2. ^ "Al Cherney". CCMA. Archived from the original on 23 January 2013. Retrieved 15 June 2014.
  3. ^ Owen, Randy (23 August 2011). "Cowboys". country1073.ca. Archived from the original on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 15 June 2014. One of Canada's finest fiddlers, Al Cherney died on this date in 1989 of lung cancer at the age of 56. [..]
  4. ^ "Al Cherny - Shelburne Fiddle"
  5. ^ Peak chart positions for singles charting on RPM Country Tracks: * "RPM Country Tracks for April 1, 1972". RPM. Archived from the original on August 10, 2014. Retrieved August 4, 2014. * "RPM Country Tracks for December 16, 1972". RPM. Archived from the original on August 10, 2014. Retrieved August 4, 2014.