Wilf Carter - The Calgary Roundup, Cowboy Days, I Wish There Were Three Days In The Year, Huggin' Squeezin' Kissin' Teasin'

Well, we might as well go deep during our Stampede posts and turn to a few singles from the legendary Wilf Carter (aka Montana Slim). Born in Nova Scotia, Carter spent time in Calgary in the 1920s and 1930s, with his first radio broadcast on CFCN. Wikipedia says that Carter played his first Stampede show in 1964, but we found this 1961 article that suggests otherwise:

Carter's honest style is the kind of antidote we need to combat all the costume cowboys racing around on scooters this year. His Stampede tribute, "The Calgary Roundup," is really the B-side of his single, but it's the A-side in our heart. And the other three singles we've included have him backed up by the Calgary Stampeders (assumedly not the football team), giving us a good dose of yodeling goodness.

Get it here!

Stampeders - Singles (1970-1979)

There are a few gaping holes in the CCPS archives, perhaps none more noticeable than the Stampeders. SO! Because we're suckers for stupid wordplay, we're pleased to present: A STAMPEDE OF STAMPEDERS SINGLES FOR THE STAMPEDE! 

Roy Wilcox traces the history of the Stampeders in Garage Band Rockers; they formed out of the nucleus of the Rebounds, with Rich Dodson and Kimball Meyer (aka Kim Burley), and the Ronnie King (aka Cornelius Van Sprang) of the Ekotones and Paintbrushes. The band released a track on a comp put together by manager Mel Shaw before decamping for Toronto in 1966... 

Which means that this stack of singles aren't really Calgary singles, technically. Plus, we don't have their signature tune in here, the 1971 #1 hit, "Sweet City Woman." But we think the sheer volume of other singles should make up for that - and since it spans their career (prior to their reforming in 1992), it's a pretty wide ranging bunch of stuff. Early tracks like "Carry Me" are in a distinct folk rock vein, while "Devil You" is more country rock. "Wild Eyes" is hard rock, "Ramona" is arena rock, and strangely "Bring The House Down" is funk rock. At least it's all rock. Thanks to garage rock guru Al Charlton for tipping us to the b-side track "Ride In The Wind," a great tremolo-laced, breezy track.

We're pleased to finally close up a bit of a gap in the archives - celebrate the return of the Stampede and Stampeders here!

Edit: we relented, and found a copy of "Sweet City Woman," adding to this post for completeness.