King Ganam

ARTICLE CONTENTS: Writings  |  Bibliography  |  Links to Other Sites

Ganam, King
King (Ameen Sied) Ganam. Fiddler, composer, b Swift Current, Sask, of Syrian-English parents, 9 Aug 1914, d Carlsbad, California, 26 Apr 1994. At first taught by oldtime fiddlers in his hometown, Ganam played for dances at nine and on CHWC radio, Regina, at 13. Later, his formal teachers were W. Knight Wilson, Jack Thornicroft, and Gregori Garbovitsky. With the Sons of the West, a country band he formed in 1942 in Edmonton, Ganam performed on CBC radio's 'Alberta Ranch House,' and together they won the 1950 World Open Western Band Competition in Vancouver. This led immediately to a recording contract with RCA Victor, and to Ganam's nickname "Canada's King of the Fiddle." Ganam and his band toured Canada, and after moving in 1952 to Toronto, they appeared at Casa Loma and became regular performers on CBC TV's Holiday Ranch. He starred 1954-5 on his own CBC radio show, and 1956-9 on CBC TV's Country Hoedown with Gordie Tapp and a studio version of the Sons of the West, including Tommy Hunter. Ganam then starred in 1961 on CTV's The King Ganam Show. Though he moved to California in 1962, he returned frequently throughout the 1960s to perform in Canada. Ganam recorded many of his own western-swing tunes, such as reels and polkas. His first recordings (from the early 1950s) were issued under RCA's Bluebird label, and four Ganam LPs were released by RCA Camden.

Some of his tunes were published in King Ganam's Jigs and Reels (BMI Canada 1956). Ganam was one of the original inductees to the Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame in 1989. In 1990, he received the Saskatchewan Country Music Association Legend and Legacy Award.


Writings
'Our Canadian toe-tapping, knee-slapping "Country Hoedown,"' Liberty, Dec 1956

Author Margaret Daly, Betty Nygaard King


Bibliography
Fahlman, Lila. Fiddler with a Wink. (Seba Beach, Alta., 1995)


Links to Other Sites
Canadian Music Centre
Search the extensive CMC website for Canadian composer biographies and interviews, music scores, online newsletters, audio clips, podcasts, and more. Check out "CentreStreams" to listen to online archived recordings featuring outstanding Canadian composers.

Canadian Grand Masters Fiddling Championship
The website for Canadian Grand Masters Fiddling Championship. A great resource for fans of Canadian fiddle music.

0
0
Absolutely free, with over 40,000 articles in French and English, The Canadian Encyclopedia is the ultimate online resource for all things Canadian, from history, sports, arts, science, technology, and much, much more. Get started at www.TheCanadianEncyclopedia.com
Feature Articles
Shawnadithit: Last of the Beothuk

Shawnadithit grew anxious waiting for her uncle, Longnon, to return to camp at the junction of Badger Brook and the Exploits River, deep in the wilds of Newfoundland...

INSIDE TCE

Gallery
Browse the rich visual resources of The Canadian Encyclopedia through thematic galleries of Canadian Art, History, Nature, People, and Science and Technology.
Interactive Resources
Illustrations, lively text, animations, sounds and games help make learning about Canadian history, art, geography, architecture and other topics entertaining as well as informative.
Canucklehead
The ultimate test of your knowledge of Canada, trivial and otherwise. You can choose from more than 60 dynamic quizzes with visual or text clues. Your scores depend on the speed with which you answer and the number of clues you need. Results are sent to you by email and high scores are posted on the site.
Timeline
This unique resource includes more than 6000 events from Canadian and world history. It can be searched by era, subject, keyword or date. To find out what happened on your birthday, select the month and day of your birth.
100 Greatest Events
This selection of the 100 "greatest" events in Canadian history was made by editor in chief James H. Marsh to draw attention to events that have left an indelible memory in the minds of later generations.