Who Gets Into Our Musical Hall of Fame?

Hamilton’s Online Music Hall of Fame: Who Gets In?

Hi there.  I would first like to introduce myself.  My name is Angelo Noto Campanella. I was born and raised in Hamilton and have been writing about the local music scene for almost two years now.  I was excited when asked to write about the importance of having a "Hamilton Online Music Hall of Fame" site.  I had all these grandiose ideas of how I would go out and talk to some of our local musical legends about their experiences over the years and why they thought that a "Hamilton Online Music Hall of Fame" would be a good idea.  I actually did mention the idea to a couple of local legends and told them I would get in touch for a chat about it but these people have very busy schedules and my deadline was approaching fast. Something I haven't had to worry about since my college years.

I thought long and hard about the importance of having an online hall of fame and realized that I've been doing the research for this article since I've started writing about our vibrant music scene.  Every band I've interviewed, and almost every musician I speak to, talks about their early recollections of the music they heard in this city throughout the years. I remember going to Hamilton Place while in grade school to see Boris Brott conducting the Philharmonic Orchestra. I also remember seeing Jackie Washington at Gage Park during The Festival of Friends and sneaking into Duffy's Rockpile at 14 years old to hear The Forgotten Rebels. The music of these sons and daughters of Hamilton are all part of the soundtrack of our lives. Having a "Hamilton Online Music Hall of Fame" give us a place to reflect on our famous musicians, music history and their contributions to Canadian and local culture.

I know that this article sounds like an essay out of the movie A Christmas Story where Ralphie writes about wanting that Red Ryder B.B. gun, but a hall of fame site would be a Christmas present to all Hamiltonians and the world honoring the contributions of music this city has produced through out the years.

 

For the past eight months or more Cody Lanktree of Hamilton Seen has been putting together a documentary of the music scene going on in Hamilton right now. CBC has moved into the downtown core and is actively filming and interviewing some of the amazing musicians that our fair city is producing. Turns out that the news of our city's music scene is spreading fast.  A Hamilton Online Music Hall of Fame site will document the history of what this city has contributed to the music world and maybe educate us as to musicians that have come from here that we never knew about. 

Here’s my list of some of the famous musicians from Hamilton that I've seen:  Jackie Washington, Tom Wilson, Boris Brott, Ian Thomas, Richard Newell (King Biscuit Boy), Sonny Del Rio, Forgotten Rebels, Teenage Head, Daniel Lanois, Skip Prokop (Lighthouse), Lorraine Segato (Parachute Club)... and these are just the ones I can remember off the top of my head. 

Which famous Hamilton musicians do you remember?

 I'm sure we missed a ton. Let us know by adding a comment.