Since May of 2004 George Canyon has been making a splash on the country music scene with a number of awards, releases and chart-toppers. It was an overnight success 14 years in the making, and he has caught country music fans up in his whirlwind. With the release of his second major label album, Somebody Wrote Love, on July 4th, 2006 through Universal Canada, Canyon continues to re-establish his hold on country fans. The debut single of the same name flew up the Canadian country charts, moving from #102 to #25 in just its second week of release and has become his latest in a string of hits.
Having been thrust into the spotlight by the USA Network/CMT Canada television show Nashville Star, Canyon’s major label debut, One Good Friend (produced by Tim Dubois and Tony Brown and released September 2004), shot to #1 on the Canadian Country Soundscan charts its first week out. He followed that up with the top 5 singles, “I’ll Never Do Better Than You,” “My Name,” “Who Would You Be” and “One Good Friend.”
Canyon won the 2005 Juno for Country Recording of the Year for One Good Friend, which started off an amazing run of awards for the artist. He has gone on to win 15 awards in less than two years, including the prestigious Canadian Country Music Award for Fan’s Choice, which is a fan-voted award. In 2005 he also hosted the East Coast Music Awards, which aired live across Canada on CBC television – he walked away that year with three ECMAs and added the Entertainer of the Year award to his mantle in 2006 when East Coast fan’s voted him into the spot.
His video for the single “My Name” went to #1 on CMT Canada and the song has touched many lives since its release. Written by Canyon and songwriter Gordie Sampson to express understanding and hope for friends who had suffered a miscarriage, the song was never meant to be a single. The response from people who heard “My Name” was so great that the decision was made to release the song as a single and the reaction was overwhelming. Canyon has gone on to be an active supporter of those who have suffered child loss and “My Name” has become a song of comfort for many families. The song went on to be the SOCAN Song of the year at the 2005 Canadian Country Music Awards.
Canyon has also been extremely active with charitable organizations dealing with diabetes and juvenile diabetes. Diagnosed with the disease when he was 14, Canyon had to give up his life-long dream of becoming a pilot after learning the news, as diabetics could not pilot airplanes at that time. Disappointed, he decided on a career in medicine, before leaving college to pursue his music career. His work with the charities allows him to give children the message that diabetes does not have to stop dreams from coming true.
Growing up in Pictou County, Nova Scotia, Canyon was surrounded by Celtic, country and rock music. He started singing at age four, but it wasn’t until he was in college that he started to think about a career in music. Even after a few years of life on the road with a country rock band, Canyon still wasn’t sure, choosing to support his family with jobs that included law enforcement officer, slaughterhouse beef inspector and recording studio owner, all while performing on the side.
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In 2003, he and his wife Jennifer decided that it was time for him to take one last serious shot at a music career. The couple had two small children and Jenn took on three jobs while Canyon stayed home with the kids, working on his music from there. It was shortly after this decision that Canyon got the call to audition for Nashville Star. After initially deciding not to go to the audition, Canyon’s wife talked him into it and he flew to Alberta and then to the semi-finals in Pennsylvania – just a few months later he was announced the runner-up on the show and his career received a major kick-start.
He’s been off and running ever since. He followed-up One Good Friend with a Christmas EP, Home For Christmas, and a successful CMT Christmas special, George Canyon’s Christmas, all alongside a sold-out 30+ date holiday tour across Canada. Now, with Somebody Wrote Love, he is pumped about getting out on the road in September 2006 when he will again tour the country in support of the new record. Though he is now a full-fledged headliner in his own right, Canyon has had the pleasure of opening for such country greats as Tim McGraw, Brooks & Dunn and George Strait in the past few years – experiences he relished.
In the spring of 2006, Canyon had the opportunity to accompany Canada’s Foreign Affairs, Peter McKay, on a trip to Kandahar in Afghanistan where he was able to meet with and perform for Canadian troops. This was one of the high points in Canyon’s career, as he has always had a great deal of respect and admiration for the men and women of the Canadian Forces, as evidenced in his song, “Letting Go.” The experience touched him deeply and he hopes to have the opportunity to entertain the troops again in the near future.
For now, Canyon is concentrating on continuing the whirlwind – he’s happy kicking up dust on the road and the radio, performing for his fans.
