dick nolan
LINER NOTES AND COVERS

Vinyl albums | Cassette Tapes | Compact Discs
 

VINYL ALBUMS
(Click album titles for song titles)

I WALK THE LINE
Arc A 543, A PRODUCT OF ARC SOUND LTD., SCARBORO. ONTARIO

The composers of great songs are often responsible for helping to make famous the artists who record them. In the case of "I Walk The Line" the composer was the artist, and Johnny Cash has been one of the all time greats of country music. He also created a style that is famous and known the world over. On the album we present some of the hits Johnny Cash has made famous since his first hit record.

DICK NOLAN, a talented and ardent fan of Johnny Cash, sings his own interpretations of these hits. A native of Newfoundland, Dick has done a great deal of wandering, which may explain the deep, lonesome quality of his voice.

HOME OF THE BLUES
Olympic/DM-203
SONEX CORP. LTD., Scarborough, Ontario

The blues are a part of many different types of music, and country-western music is no exception.

In this album, Canadian-born Dick Nolan sings his way through a dozen fine country blues songs including two classics familiar to everyone, 'Frankie and Johnny' and 'Folsom Prison Blues'.

Dick's effectively lonesome-sounding style of singing comes through especially well on several of these tunes which were made famous by Johnny Cash, including 'Give My Love to Rose', 'Next in Line', and 'Train of Love'. For variety, he adds the blues-singer's occasionally optimistic outlook on a bright, up-tempo tune first recored by Nashville's Hank Locklin called 'The Nearest Thing to Heaven'.

All told, Dick Nolan provides a highly enjoyable and polished performance in this guided tour through 'The Home of the Blues'.

JOHN PORTEOUS

DICK NOLAN Sings
London EB.82

A Dan Bass Production.

.

.

.

ON STAGE AT THE DRAKE
(With the Blue Valley Boys)
Arc 579

The crowd at Toronto's Drake Hotel was in a rip-roaring country mood the night we cut this live show featuring Dick Nolan and the Blue Valley Boys. This part of Toronto is a great country music area anyway, but the happy people who packed the Drake that particular night can be heard on the album, and their enjoyment is pretty obvious. The object of this crowd reactions was a group of country artists, well-known to fans from coast to coast.

Dick Nolan, leader of the Blue Valley Boys, was born in Cornerbrook, Newfoundland, and has played with some of America's best-known country music artists.

Roy Penny is an exceptionally talented guitarist, who also hails from Cornerbrook. Roy's style is hard to define, since it embraces a combination of most popular country effects. On several of the faster numbers here, Roy's fans in the crowd become audibly excited and this kind of encouragement leads him to improvise even more skillfully.

Bunty Petrie is a native New Brunswicker, and has played in the Toronto area for some years. He is featured on fiddle here, and his style is obviously A-OK with the audience.

Bass player Johnny Bourque is also a native New Bruswick boy, and has supplied the all important rhythm for a number of recent L.P. recordings. Johnny is a fine vocalist as well, and his numbers are always welcomed by the folks at the Drake.

So here you have it, a great L.P. by a fabulous group of boys, and a mighty good group of listerners as well!

MOOSE LATRECK, CHUM, Toronto.

ECHOES OF THE ATLANTIC
Dick Nolan and the Blue Valley Boys
Maple-Leaf CML 1005, CMS 1005
A & R Recording Direction - John A. Porteous, Photography - Clarence C. Colwell
MAPLE LEAF RECORDS ARE PRODUCED IN CANADA

The Atlantic coast area of Canada has produced a number of fine singers of folk songs, including Hank Snow, Wilf Carter and many others. The region has been the spawning ground too, of many good songs, some written by native tunesmiths and others such as "Prince Edward Island" by visitors who have been struck by the beauty of the sea and countryside. In this album, Dick Nolan sings a cross-section of east-coast favorites along with his group, the Blue Valley Boys. Involved in this session were: Roy Penny on electric guitar, Tommy St. Dennis playing steel guitar, Fred Hussy on Spanish guitar, and bass-player Johnny Bourque. Dick Nolan is a native of Cornerbrook, Newfoundland, and hence several of these songs such as "Squid Jiggin’ Ground" are from that fascinating island province of Canada. Nolan has been appearing in Toronto clubs and in country-western Jamborees for the past two years, and has made a name for himself as a versatile entertainer. These Echoes of the Atlantic are sure to receive an enthusiastic reception from Maritimes and all others as well.

Bill Long
CHIQ Radio and CHCH-TV, Hamilton, ON

ATLANTIC LULLABY
Arc A 627, A PRODUCT OF ARC SOUND LTD., Toronto, Ontario

Dick Nolan comes from Corner Brook, Newfoundland, and has been singing songs of the the East all his life. At Toronto’s favorite country and western spot, "The Horseshoe", Dick holds forth nightly to an audience largely from the Maritimes, and the songs Dick sings take these expatriates back for a moment to their native forest and sea, to the more tranquil life they once knew.

In this album, Dick has combined many of the old standard ‘East Coast’ songs with a hand-picked group of contemporary tunes including the title song.

For anyone who hails from Canada’s East Coast, or indeed has ever visited that area, this album will provide a great deal of nostalgia. For others who simply enjoy good country music performed capably and well, these songs perhaps will provide an explanation of why Maritimers think fondly of their heritage.

TRUCK DRIVING MAN
Arc AS 633, A PRODUCT OF ARC SOUND LTD., Toronto, Ontario
Producer and A & R Direction - Ben Weatherby

The face of modern country music changes constantly, and one of the more recent styles to emerge is the "Truckers" sound. The long distance trucks that traverse America are driven by rough and ready men who love country music and whose legends lend themselves to songs like "Six Days on the Road" and "Give me Forty Acres", the sad story of the trucker who never learned to back up.

Dick Nolan, popular Canadian country star salutes these "Knights of the Road" with a dozen tunes that have proven immensely popular with his fans - during personal appearances. Whether you pilot a ten ton Mack or a two-door Volkswagen, you’ll tap your feet to these "rolling" rhythms.

Personnel: Shotgun Guitar - Roy Penny, Rhythm Guitars - Mickey McGivern & Bunty Petrie, Bass - Mark McGivern, Drums - Bill Bartlett

Picture Through the Courtesy of:
D.S. Scott Transport, 4 Index Road, Toronto, Ontario

I’SE THE B’Y WHAT CATCHES DA FISH (Newfoundland Songbook)
Arc AS-694
An Arc Production: Direction - Ben Weatherby
A PRODUCT OF ARC SOUND LTD., TORONTO, ONT.

The East Coast of Canada is noted for its’ fishing, mountains and natural beauty. One of the biggest and best things from this area, which has been handed down from generation to generation is the East Coast humour, especially in Newfoundland where the people have an accent and sayings all their own.

In this album, Dick Nolan, one of the finest country singers in Canada and a native of Newfoundland, brings to you some of the most humourous songs from this scarred Atlantic province.

To you from the East Coast, we are sure it will bring back many precious memories and laughs. To you who are not familiar with the East Coast and its’ people, it is a chance to acquaint yourselves with the way of life in this exceptional part of Canada.

MOVING OUT
Arc AS-740, An Arc Production, Direction - Ben Weatherby
A PRODUCT OF ARC SOUND LTD., Toronto, Ontario

"Down and Out" songs are causing Dick Nolan’s career to boom. Two smash hits in as many efforts have featured the artist plaintively outlining the careers of gentlemen down in their luck. RUNNING BILLS lays it on the line about an easy-living cat whose habit of "running" bills at favoured suds haunts keeps him on the move. THE FOOL, a Country Survey skyrocket is the ironic confession of a "love ‘em and leave ‘em" type who for once finds himself having said goodbye too soon.

Now DICK NOLAN moves on to MOVIN’ OUT, an album including these great hits plus ten more reaped from the same "down and out" harvest. On this release listeners will find this talented Easterner, who is equally at home singing sensitive songs of the Atlantic Provinces, raucous ditties of his native Newfoundland or rugged truck-driving songs, in top form in yet another style. He performs songs of the travellin’ man, the drifter, the misfit, the loner, with gut-deep, driving sincerity. Telling it the way it is Nolan is unrivalled in Country.

To outpace one’s peers in today’s Country Music scene is no mean feat. Country has been revitalized. Pulp magazines, slick publications, the daily press, industry voices, radio and television, all are paying rapt attention to the medium. The old masters are still going strong and daily new talents erupt on the scene to be treated in depth analysis and high pressure promotions.

In this fast, furious all embracing country world DICK NOLAN sets the pace. MOVIN’ OUT presents the "Cornerbrook kid, "The Newfoundland Fugitive" right in stride - enjoy it.

I WANT TO LIVE
Arc AS-776, Recorded: Bay Studios, Toronto, Direction: Ben Weatherby
A PRODUCT OF ARC SOUND LTD., TORONTO, ONTARIO

Fans of Dick Nolan be advised! That rakish lady-killer in the black hat is none other than "The Cornerbrook Kid" himself. Throwing caution to the winds and ignoring all advice "The Newfoundland Fugitive" has declared his independence. I WANT TO LIVE is his rallying cry.

No doubt many of his admirers, forgetting that too much of a good thing is not a good thing, will encourage him. Our guess is his largest body of support will come from the thousands of fans who keep insisting Dick sing "down & out" songs. These are the same folks responsible for making RUNNIN’ BILLS, THE FOOL, and MOVIN’ OUT Country survey Skyrockers and there is no way to stop them. They are pleasure seekers to a man.

Because Dick Nolan is equally at home singing sensitive songs of the Atlantic Provinces, raucous ditties of his native Newfoundland, rugged truck-driving songs, songs of the drifter, the loner and the misfit, they assume he can do most anything. Truth is - he can.

A man who can do most anything coupled with admirers who want him to do exactly that constitutes an "irresistible force". If all you folks who put listening enjoyment first want to make Dick Nolan’s I WANT TO LIVE a runaway best-seller, who are we to stop you. To be honest we’re on your side.

ATLANTIC CHRISTMAS
Arc AC20
Dick Nolan Featuring Bonnie Lou Nolan
An Arc Production - Ben Weatherby,
A PRODUCT OF ARC SOUND LTD., TORONTO, ONT., 1967

If man, woman, child or dog saw Santa, a sack of cod slung over his back, sharing a dory with two Newfoundland pups, he’d run away as fast as his legs could carry him. And yet the idea is very charming.

It would seem then that it is better to simply entertain some ideas rather than force them into reality. Happily this is not true of an Atlantic Christmas. Christmas by the Atlantic is a wonderful idea and a wonderful reality.

Dick Nolan who has enjoyed many a Christmas there, has recorded an album of seasonal favourites that will warm any celebrations enjoyed by Maritimers, Newfoundlanders and their guests. Dick’s voice is as warm as the hospitality shown by the natives of these areas.
Many of the selections are favourites far away from the Atlantic but because Dick Nolan has home in his heart, especially at Christmas, he informs them with a special meaning: - a message of joy, peace and goodwill to those with the East and the sea in their hearts.

We invite you to enjoy an Atlantic Christmas with Dick Nolan. A special surprise is also included on the album. Bonnie Lou Nolan, who is Dick’s daughter, and a lovely little girl performs "Santa Claus is Coming To Town" and "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus".

FOLSOM PRISON AND OTHER JOHNNY CASH SONGS
Arc AS 807, Arc A 2012 (Australia)
Recorded - Bay Studios, Toronto/Direction - Ben Weathery
Cover Photo: Allan Rubin - AAR Photo; Cover Design: The New Addition
A PRODUCT OF ARC SOUND LTD., TORONTO, ONTARIO

Johnny Cash’s spectacular live performance inside Folsom Prison has become a modern legend. It is unlikely that anyone but Cash could have pulled it off. Unquestionably, the inmates at Folsom looked forward to the diversion a Country and Western Show would bring, but, there is little doubt they were also fully prepared to hoot anyone they felt insincere or not warranting respect, right off the stage. Knowing this, Johnny Cash came, saw, and conquered.

Johnny Cash is now conquering North American TV audiences with his own weekly show. In its first season The Johnny Cash Show has attempted to bring together performers in the related fields of Country, Country & Western, and Folk. With Cash at the helm, this wide ranging show is a constant delight, and not surprisingly an unqualified success.

Dick Nolan’s FOLSOM PRISON is a tribute to this very popular artist by a performer whose voice has often been compared to Cash’s. Although the similarity cannot be disputed, it is to Nolan’s credit that he has not traded on this coincidence becoming yet another Cash imitator.

FOLSOM PRISON is indeed a tribute to Johnny Cash, but by a performer who followed his own lights and secure in his own position takes great delight in presenting an exciting album featuring some of the best C & W material even penned - FOLSOM PRISON and OTHER JOHNNY CASH HITS

BE TRUE NEWFOUNDLANDERS
Arc CITATION SERIES ACS 5024
Recorded - Bay Studios, Toronto/Direction - Ben Weathery
A PRODUCT OF ARC SOUND LTD., TORONTO, ONTARIO

Dick Nolan, Canada’s most popular "truck Drivin’ man" has made the long, long haul back to his native Newfoundland but it’s not the end of the road, it’s the beginning of a brand new journey.
In Cornerbrook, Newfoundland, where he was born and first began to sing, Dick Nolan is performing on two shows on the Island’s major T.V. network and will appear regularly at Cornerbrook’s most popular night spot. One of the T.V. shows which Dick will host and perform on is being considered for broadcast coast to coast and could make Dick Canada’s foremost Country entertainer right on his own back porch.

Dick has toured Canada for many years and in Toronto, a city with the largest Maritime population outside of the Maritimes, has always been something of a folk hero. At the Horseshoe Tavern, one of Toronto’s favourite Country and Western night spots, audiences comprised mostly of Maritimers and Newfoundlanders come nightly to hear Dick Nolan sing songs of the provinces they had cherished so dearly.

Appealing also to this select group and fast becoming a collector’s item among a coterie of folk enthusiasts are two Nolan albums - Atlantic Lullaby and I’se the B’y What Catches Da Fish. These recordings feature authentic songs of the Maritimes and Newfoundland and are performed in a manner true to the idiom.

To celebrate his triumphant return to the East, Dick has recorded this new album "Be True Newfoundlanders" both high spirited and sensitive songs of his homeland. Once again it is certain that Dick will charm both his compatriots and music lovers at large.

LUKEY’S BOAT
Arc AS810
Recorded: Bay Studios, Toronto; Direction: Ben Weatherby
Front Cover Design: New Addition; Photo: Allan Rubin - AAR Photo
A PRODUCT OF ARC SOUND LTD., TORONTO, ONT.

Lukey’s Boat sets the pace for this spirited album of Newfoundland and Maritime songs by the world’s foremost exponent of the idiom - Dick Nolan.

In Cornerbrook, Newfoundland where he was born Dick Nolan performed regularly on two shows on the Island’s major TV network and at Cornerbrook’s most popular nitespot. Coming to the mainland, he toured and continues to tour Canada, and in Toronto, boasting the largest Maritime population in Canada outside the Maritimes, is a genuine folk hero.

Appealing to this select group and fast becoming a collector’s item among a coterie of folk enthusiasts are three Nolan albums: Atlantic Lullaby, I’se the B’y, and the recently released BE TRUE NEWFOUNDLANDERS.

Like these fine recordings LUKEY’S BOAT features authentic songs of the Maritimes and Newfoundland performed in a manner true to the idiom. Once again it is certain that Dick Nolan will charm and delight both his compatriots and music lovers at large.

NEWFIE HITS
Arc Records NH-6

.

.

.

Compilations

ARC COUNTRY HITS 
Arc AS-743
Billy Adams, Diane Merritt, Len Carlson ,Dick Nolan, Neville Plumbs
AN ARC PRODUCTION, Direction: Ben Weatherby
A PRODUCT OF ARC SOUND LTD., TORONTO, ONTARIO

Arc is proud to announce this new series of records for your listening enjoyment.

It consists of 12 of the top Country and Western songs of today performed by our top Country and Western Singers.

It has been proven by past sales that the Singers featured here such as Dick Nolan, Diane Merritt, Len Carlson and Billy Adams combined with Mickey McGivern and the Mustangs are some of today’s top recording artists. This album also introduces a new artist in the C & W field, Neville Plumbs.

This, quite possibly could be the first in a series of Country and Western top hits L.P.’s which would be a credit to anyone’s record collection. Just think about it, when your friends come to visit you a year from now you may be able to play any top country record they may wish to hear from the past year or years. You could dance to all the top tunes or acquire the words to any new song which would ordinarily be hard to find.

So be on top of the Country and Western tunes with Arc records.

NEWFIE ‘30' 
Pelley AJP 501 (WRC 294)
30 Minutes of Songs, Jigs & Reels from Newfoundland
Dick Nolan, John Drake, Ray Johnson, Harry Hibbs, Minnie White, John White, Ocean’s Fancy
Produced by Jack Pelley & Frank Lowe, Cover Design by Stan Parsons

Good afternoon Newfoundland and Newfoundlanders wherever you may be, this is Jack Pelley with thirty minutes of songs, dances, jigs and reels from the Island of Newfoundland.

So begins another Newfie 30 program on CHFX-FM. Every Sunday afternoon at 1 pm Jack Pelley hosts one of the most popular radio programs heard in the Maritimes. In fact it’s known that over 20,000 people make Newfie 30 a regular part of their Sundays. What kind of people, all kinds, from farmers and fishermen to house wives and businessmen, anyone who likes a good story, a good joke, or just a good tune.

Inside this album you’ll find 12 songs that have helped to make Newfie 30 the popular program it is, songs that continue to be the most requested on the program. As you look thru the titles I’m sure you’ll find that many are familiar standards and some are new, but all the songs share one thing in common, they are good.

So sit back, turn up the stereo and enjoy a bit of Newfoundland right in your own home. And by the way, if you’re in the area someday, why not tune in Newfie 30 and have yourself a time, it’s on Jack.

Long May Your Big Jib Draw
Frank Lowe, CHFX-FM, 101.9 Stereo, Halifax, Nova Scotia

ORIGINAL NEWFOUNDLAND GOLD
Various Artists
the Great Canadian Music Company, WEE 80-005, 1980
Toronto, Ontario
Art and Film by Trans Media Graphics
.

.

.

.

SINGERS FOR FISHERMEN
Atlantic Music, 02 50110, Compact Disc
A. Frank Willis & Peter Francis Quinlan - Executive Producers
Dave Jeffrey - Producer
Fred Kinck Peterson - Recording & Mix Engineer

SINGERS FOR FISHERMEN was recorded and mixed at KINCK SOUND, Scarborough, Ontario. All musical arrangements by Albert MacDonald and Dave Jeffrey, except Ode to Newfoundland (arranged by Brian Murphy). Piano on Ode to Newfoundland - Brian Murphy. Additional keyboards - Dave Jeffrey. Additional percussion - Con & Del (The Vanguards). Cover photo by Denise Grant.

Special thanks to Eddie Eastman who took time out of his Canada-wide tour to be a 'Singer for Fishermen'. Unfortunaltely he was unavailable for the front cover snap.

A special thank you to the people who believed in the project and the great helping hand from the voice of Newfoundland - The Downhomer Magazine for all the help in organizing, researching and the moral support as we stumbled our way through. Thanks for the laughs and the late nights!

And to Joe Wood of R.D.R. Promotions who said "I want to help' without being asked - Tanks' Joe b'y!

Cassette Tapes

MY BEAUTIFUL ISLAND
Condor 1500, Heritage Music, Scarborough, Ontario
Recorded at Shage Sound
Dick Nolan - vocals with Roy Penney, Charlie Crocker, Al Penney & Tom Down

.

.

MORE DICK NOLAN
Condor 1509, Heritage Music, Scarborough, Ontario

.

.

CHRISTMAS AT HOME
OAK XM 57, Heritage Music, Scarborough Ontario
Produced by Dennis Brunet at Shag Sound Studio
John Martin - Guitar, Don McLean - Accordion, Keith Fitzgerald - Bass, Steve Ridout - Drums, Aggie - Piano, Marie Nolan - Newfoundland Tambourine & Vocals
 

.

.

home | bio | news | events | discography | songs | links | tributes | webmaster