Gaby Haas & His Barndance Gang "Dancing Western Canadian Style" (Aragon Records, 196-?) (LP)
Born in Czechoslovakia, accordionist Gaby Haas (1920-1987) emigrated to Canada in 1939, fleeing the Nazi invasion of Eastern Europe. An ethnic German Jew, Haas and his family settled in Edmonton, and throughout the 1940s he built his career as a regional performer, a role that expanded greatly with the growth of Canadian television. Haas founded a popular show called the Chuckwagon Gang, which he hosted until the early 1960s; along the way he was nicknamed "Canada's Mister Polka," and like many Canadian dance-band leaders, he delved into more country-sounding material from time to time... Haas recorded dozens of albums, some more "country" than others...

Gaby Haas "From Frisco To Cape Cod" (Gillette Records, 19--?) (LP)
Hey man, don't call it "Frisco..."

Gaby Haas & His Barndance Gang "Music: Barn Dance Style" (London Records, 19--?) (LP)

Bobby Hachey "Bobby Hachey" (London Records, 1970) (LP)
Albert "Bobby" Hachey (1932-2006) was a singer and television actor from New Brunswick, Canada who was part of the French-language country scene up North. Hachey was friends with fellow Franco-twang singer Willy Lemoth, forming a duo with him in the 1970s... This album showcases Hachey's guitar picking, with covers of classics such as "Buckaroo," "Fingers On Fire," "Sugarfoot Rag," and "Yakety Yak," as well as one track called "Bobby's Guitar Breakdown," which presumably is a Hachey original. Kinda flashy and at times a bit frantic, though fans of Joe Maphis or the Jimmy Bryant/Speedy West combo might really dig it. No info about the other musicians involved, alas.

Bobby Hachey "...Sings Johnny Cash" (London Records, 1971) (LP)
This Johnny Cash tribute album spans both big hits -- "I Walk The Line," "Folsom Prison Blues," "I Still Miss Someone," "Ring Of Fire" -- and relatively less well-known numbers such as Glen Sherley's "Grey Stone Chapel" and Shel Silverstein's "Twenty Five Minutes To Go." Once again, no info included about the other musicians on this album... sigh.

The Hachey Brothers & Mary Lou "Pickin' Strings Country Style" (Banff/Rodeo Records, 19--?) (LP)

Ernie Hagar - see artist discography

Don Haggart & Jim Haggart "I'm Coming Home" (Arpeggio Records, 1973) (LP)
(Produced by Gary Buck & John Arpin)

Bob Hale & The Casuals "Casual Country" (Jester Records, 1971-?) (LP)
(Produced by Dick Damron)
A mostly-covers country band from early-'Seventies Saskatchewan... The group was made of singer Bob Hale on bass and guitar, his wife Grace Hale (drums), Al Gain (steel guitar) and Fred Pelletier (lead guitar and bass). The repertoire is truly packed with oft-recorded standards of the era, including "Is Anybody Going To San Antone," "Proud Mary," "Help Me Make It Through The Night," and "Okee From Muskogee" -- pity they couldn't squeeze "Green Green Grass Of Home" in as well. According to the liner notes, Grace Hale was originally from Holland, which probably explains the inclusion of a tune called "The Dutch Song" at the end of Side One. This appears to have been Bob Hale's only album as a bandleader, though he later worked as a sound engineer, and moved to Billings, Montana, establishing Jester Records as a significant regional indie label. Mr. Gain and Mr. Pelletier each did a lot of session work in Canada, both before and after this band.

Albert Hall "Blue Moon Cafe" (Quality Records, 1985) (LP)

John Ham "On Saturday Night" (1980) (LP)

Dave Hamel "Please Remember" (Aragon Records, 1969-?) (LP)

The Hames Sisters "Meet The Hames Sisters" (Canatal Records, 196--?) (LP)
(Produced by Dave Newberry & Art Snider)

George Hamilton IV - see artist discography

Hank & Roy "Have A Party With Hank And Roy" (Arrex Records, 197--?) (LP)
An ultra-obscure Canadian release by a cowboyish duo that mixed "old timey" material (polkas and waltzes) with old-school country tunes such as "Golden Slippers," "Bummin' Around" and "Wabash Cannonball." The goofy cover art -- of a fiddler and guitarist riding a giant booze-bottle rocket -- suggests a comedy act, though the song selection seems fairly novelty free. The back cover was printed blank white, though one of the artists helpfully hand-stamped his address and gave (perhaps) his real name as Norman Merkel, aka "Hank The Hobo," from Richmond, British Columbia. He may have performed locally under that name, though the time frame is pretty unclear -- 1950s, maybe? No idea who Roy was, though.

Paul Hann "Paul Hann" (Stony Plain, 1978) (LP)
Although Canadian songwriter Paul Hann was really more of a straight-ahead folkie, this mid-career album featured a lot of fancy bluegrass and country-rock guests, including Jerry Mills of the Ozark Mountain Daredevils, Dean Webb and some assorted Dillards...

Aubrey Hanson "A Maritime Legend" (Prime Time Records, 1982) (LP)

Wynne Hanson "Road Musician" (Bar-Cat Records, 19--?) (LP)
(Produced by Garry McDonall)

Dallas Harms "Paper Rosie" (Broadland Records, 1975) (LP)
Best known in the US as a songwriter, Canadian honkytonk crooner Dallas Harms had an early breakthrough when Gene Watson recorded his song, "Paper Rosie," scoring a #3 hit in the States, and topping the country charts in Canada. Harms himself had considerable chart success at home, but gained only limited traction in the US... His original version of "Paper Rosie" is on this album; over the years Watson recorded several more of his songs, and the two artists continue to share a great stylistic affinity. Which is a rather longwinded way of saying, if you like Gene Watson, you might wanna check this guy out, too.

Dallas Harms "The Fastest Gun" (Broadland Records, 1978) (LP)
(Produced by Gary Buck)

Dallas Harms "The Best Of Dallas Harms" (Broadland Records, 1979) (LP)
(Produced by Gary Buck)

Dallas Harms "Out Of Harms Way" (RCA, 1982) (LP)

Robin Harp "Country Western" (Bonanza Records, 197-?) (LP)

Mike Harris "Orange Blossom Special" (Rada Records, 19--?) (LP)
Born in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, fiddler Mike Harris mastered a wide range of fiddle tunes, including a bunch of Canada-centric material, though he also made forays into more traditional, US-style country music, notably as the producer/arranger for his wife, singer Gracie Dee. Harris worked extensively in the United States, earning a spot on the "WWVA Jamboree" stage, as well as licensing his Canadian records for distribution in the US on his own Nashville indie label, Blaze Records. Mike Harris and Gracie Dee seem to have worked closely with fellow Canadians Hal Willis and his wife, songwriter Ginger Willis, who contributed glowing liner notes for the this album.

Mike Harris "On The Road" (Rada Records, 19--?) (LP)
(Produced by Mike Harris)

Mike Harris "Remember" (Rada Records, 19--?) (LP)
This album was co-released in both Canada (on Rada Records) and in the United States (on Harris's own Blaze Records, based in Nashville...) Like his other albums, this unfortunately doesn't list the musicians, or give a release date, though it was probably recorded in the early 1970s.

Clint Harvey & His Boys "Twelve Top Western Hits" (Masterseal Records, 1962-?) (LP)
Nice, no-frills, back-to-basics country music from a Canadian band that seems to have worked exclusively for the budget-line Masterseal label. The songs are all covers, mostly country hits from 1961-62, an interesting era when Nashville crooners like Eddy Arnold, Roy Drusky and Billy Walker found a nice sweet spot between syrupy ballads and reasonably robust honkytonk. This album spotlights two vocalists, gal singer Ginger James who had a distinctive voice (despite being typecast with covers of Patsy Cline classics) and Jeff Miller, who had one of those virile old-man-ish voices that were popular at the time. The Clint Harvey crew released a flurry of albums around this time, and amazingly enough, these three albums are all different, despite the super-similar, ultra-generic albums titles. What's nice about this disc is that it's the only one where Jeff Miller appears as the only male vocalist, though on other albums it's hard to know which songs he's singing on, as there are no specifics credits for each song. This is nice stuff... nothing innovative, but easy on the ears. Sure wish there was more info about Clint Harvey, though!

Clint Harvey & The Westerners "Twelve Top Western Hits" (Masterseal Records, 196--?) (LP)
I know you don't believe me, but this actually is a different album than the one above, or the one below. Vocals are by Burt Evans and Jeff Miller... Probably worth noting that Burt Evans was also listed as the singer on another Masterseal album, with Red Thurston credited as bandleader.

Clint Harvey & His Boys "Country And Western Top Hits" (Masterseal Records, 196--?) (LP)
A budget label mystery disc that also happens to be a great set of old-school country music... Presumably this is a Canadian band, since this was on a Canadian label, but it's also possible this was an American group with material drifting through the mysterious world of cross-border relicensing that characterized the lower end of the Canadian country market back in the 'Sixties. The musical accompaniment is barebones, no-nonsense, low-drama honkytonk, with vocals by Pat Dooley, Jeff Miller, and gal singer Ginger James, each of whom has a distinctive, ear-bending quality, though unfortunately the singers are not credited on specific tracks, so there's no telling which of the guys are singing on which of the songs. Likewise, no musician credits, though Harvey had a pretty good band. I'm definitely curious about his other albums!

Jerry Hatton "The Texas Beat" (Banff Records, 19--?) (LP)
(Produced by Clinton J. Smith)
A Nova Scotia-born country singer who eventually emigrated to New Jersey, Canada's Jerry Hatton was playing some pure honky-tonk on this 1960s set, with Len McDonald adding some sweet licks on steel guitar. Later on, in the early 1970s, he formed a duet with Debbie Lynn and recorded several records with her.

Ronnie Hawkins - see artist discography

Rudy Hayden & His Golden Nuggets "The 401" (Aragon Records, 1967) (LP)
A Canadian rock pioneer from Manitoba, Rudy Hayden (born Rudolph Clifford Myhedyn) cut one sizzling single in the late '50s for the independent Aragon label... Aragon was apparently still in action a decade later when Hayden -- like many former rockabillies -- had turned to country music for his bread and butter. There's some original material on here as well as chestnuts such as "San Antonio Rose" and "Squaws Along The Yukon," along with reprises of some of his early rock recordings, "Crazy In Love" and the previously unreleased "Rubber Dolly." A featured member of his backing band was fiddler-singer Elmer Tippe, who went on to release several albums of his own and chart some songs in the '70s.

Haywire "Haywire" (Dead Centre Records, 1984-?) (LP)
(Produced by Denis LePage & Paul Dailey)
A bluegrass-y band from Ontario, Canada, with a bunch of original material and few well-chosen covers, including a version of Fred Neil's "Everybody's Talkin'," and Peter Rowan's "Blue Mule." The group included Harry Jongerdon on bass, John Davies (mandolin), Ian Molesworth (guitar) and Rick Thorne playing banjo. The band had been together at least since the early 'Eighties, though as far as I know this was their only album.

Kevin Head "No Frills" (Shellout Records, 1979) (LP)

Hank Hendriks "Round-Up Time With Hank Hendriks" (Tip Top Records, 19--?) (LP)
(Produced by Max Boag)
Old-school hillbilly and western material, with yodeling songs galore, Jimmie Rodgers classics, and oldies such as "My Moonlight Swiss Chalet," "She Taught Me How To Yodel," and "Wreck Of The Old 97." There's no date on this disc, but it looks like it might be from the mid-to-late 1960s, or thereabouts.

Hank Hendriks "Sacred Songs" (Tip Top Records, 19--?) (LP)
(Produced by Max Boag)

Jack Hennig "Lisa Brown" (Birchmount Records, 1969) (LP)

Jack Hennig "Canadian Breed" (Birchmount Records, 1971) (LP)

Jack Hennig "Going My Way" (Apollo 70 Records, 1971) (LP)

Jack Hennig "Jack Hennig Sings" (Boot Records, 1973) (LP)
(Produced by Garry McDonall)

Jack Hennig "Lady Highway" (Mustard Records, 1976) (LP)
(Produced by Garry McDonall)

Jack Hennig "Dedications" (Denim Records, 1978) (LP)
(Produced by Don Archbold)
For reasons unkown, this album was released twice the same year on the same label, once as Dedications,and again as The Poet. All but three of the songs are Hennig's own originals, with the two exceptions being a couple of David Gates and Bread classics, "If" and "If You Believe." Oh! And another rendition of "Mister Bojangles."

Audie Henry & Gord Henry "By Request" (Broadland Records, 1975) (LP)
(Produced by Gary Buck)
Well, Ms. Henry certainly has a colorful and surprisingly cosmopolitan life story for a country singer... Originally named Aria Lanka, she was born in Brazil, the daughter of Latvian refugees who fled to South America at the start of World War Two, but soon moved to Canada when she was still a baby. As a young woman, she started singing in clubs around Ontario, and formed a duo with singer Gord Henry, who she eventually married. They recorded this album as well as a few singles, with some modest success on the Canadian country charts. The Henrys eventually moved to Bedford, Texas, with Audie Henry recording a couple of albums with Lone Star producer Bart Barton, although most of her promotional push (and chart action) was up in Canada.

Audie Henry "Audie Henry" (Canyon Creek Records, 1985) (LP)
(Produced by Bart Barton)
After a ten-year hiatus, Ms. Henry returned to the studio and made a stab at some would-be Top 40 material, with relatively glossy production... This includes the song, "You'll Never Find A Good Man Playing In A Country Band" -- apparently she had some success on the Canadian charts with this album and the one that followed, though on later recordings she pitched herself as a Texas artist...

Audie Henry "Heart Of The Country" (RCA-Canada, 1989) (LP)
(Produced by Bart Barton)

John Henry "...And The Steel Drivin' Band" (JHL Records, 19--?) (LP)
(Produced by Barry Brown & Peter James)

Len Henry "Don't Give A Damn Kind Of Man" (Downs Record Company, 1978) (LP)
(Produced by Jack Clements)
Hailing from Winnipeg, Manitoba, country crooner Len Henry started out in garage bands with his brother Henry; they held together for much of the 1970s before Len Henry "went solo" and found a patron to help produce these two albums. Henry projected an outlaw vibe, but had a soft spot for countrypolitan crooning, as seen in the inclusion of a couple of Marty Robbins chestnuts, "Lord, You Gave Me A Mountain" and "My Woman, My Woman, My Wife." I'm a little more intrigued by numbers such as "Beer Bottle Symphony," "Got A Feeling It's Over," and the title track "Don't Give A Damn Kind Of Man." But Henry seemed to be trying on a lot of different hats, seeing what might click.

Len Henry "Yesterday's Dreams" (Downs Record Company, 1981) (LP)
(Produced by Craig Fotheringham)
Canadian country baritone Len Henry tries a little bit of everything to see what might stick... As on his previous LP, there's a lot of stuff that calls back to the early '70s crooning of dudes like Mac Davis and Freddie Hart, bracketed by more uptempo numbers where he slides into Waylon Jennings-esque vocals; in between are perky (but bland) contemporary country-pop songs... Some tunes are okay, others are a bit painful, especially the mega-schmaltzy "Cold Wind On The Mountain," and the bluesy, Jerry Reed-ish "Poor Man's Railroad Line," which just feels false. The in-between stuff might be his sweet spot: you could credibly compare Mr. Henry to Ed Bruce or Vern Gosdin, though he definitely lacks the true gravitas of those ballad kings.

Bill Hersh & Blue Train "Take The Time" (Uptown Records, 1981) (LP)
(Produced by Gerry Dere & Wayne Saunders)

Earl Heywood "Tales Of The Donnelly Feud" (Dominion Records, 1970) (LP)
(Produced by Jury Krytiuk)

The Heywood Family "Good Ole Country Singin' " (Dominion Records, 19--?) (LP)

The Hickorys "Vic Mullen Presents The Hickorys" (Arpeggio Records, 1972) (LP)
The backing band for Vic Mullen and Myrna Lorrie on their 1970 album, It's Countrytime. Presumably they toured with Vic Mullen as well...?

Reg Hill "Ottawa Valley Hoedown" (Banff Records, 19--?) (LP)

Reg Hill "Ottawa Valley Hoedown #2" (Banff Records, 19--?) (LP)

The Hillsiders "The Hillsiders" (Marathon Records, 197--?) (LP)
(Produced by Ben Weatherby)
A teen and pre-teen kiddie band from Dartmouth, Nova Scotia working their way through a mix of contemporary (early 1970s-era) hits such as "Kiss An Angel Good Morning" and "Me And Bobby McGee," as well as chestnuts like "Weeping Willow" and "Cabin Home On The Hill." There are three tracks credited as originals, "Trying To Make It," by L. McDonald along with "Nova Scotia" (by J. Begin) and "Driftin'," by Paul Begin. The entire band's lineup includes drummer John Begin (age 11), his brother Paul Begin (12) on lead guitar, bassist Jonathan Ernst, Bernie LeBlanc (13) on rhythm guitar and Bob McDonald (14) playing pedal steel. Dunno if any of these sprats went on to greater things, but the guy who wrote their liner notes sure had high hopes.

Dixie Bill Hilton & The Calgary Range Riders "Ramblin' Man" (Cattle Records, 1986) (LP)
Vintage hillbilly music from the early 1950s, taken off radio transcription discs from circa 1951-52. The group included Bill Hilton singing lead vocals and playing rhythm guitar, Murray Lee Durlop on bass, Curly Koochin (lead guitar), Freddie Long (fiddle) Lucky Ambo (fiddle) (separate sessions), and Don Thomson on steel guitar. The Calgary Range Riders also recorded many singles and at least two LPs under their own name.

Cliff Hinton "Inside Out" (Phonodisc Records, 1981) (LP)

James Lee Hitchner "Highwood Country Home" (Highwood Records, 1977) (LP)
(Produced by Jim Hitchner & Joe Kozak)
A strong set of pleasantly robust, anthemic country-pop tunes with plenty of old-school twang embedded within. The younger brothers of early 'Seventies Canadian country star Keith Hitchner, James Lee started out as a rocker, playing in a garage band from Alberta called The Cavaliers... but he'd certainly firmed up his country cred by the time this disc came out. It's pretty good, from start to finish. Apparently he was a successful songwriter, with tunes covered various artists, his brother in particular. The musicians backing him are, alas, not listed, a problem corrected on his following album a few years later. This one's definitely worth a spin!

James Lee Hitchner "Fire Of Love" (Heart Records, 1981) (LP)
(Produced by Phil Hall, Richard Harrow & Joe Kozak)

Keith Hitchner "I'd Rather Ride An Appaloosa" (Highwood Records, 1975) (LP)
Like so many rockabilly singer s before him, Alberta, Canada's Keith Hitchner "went country," recording a trio of albums in the mid-1970s, under the tutelage of old-timer Dick Damron... Highwood was Hitchner's own label -- his brother Jim also released some stuff on this label.

Keith Hitchner "Stop, Look And Listen" (Marathon Records, 1976) (LP)

Keith Hitchner "Mama Was A Christian Lady" (Marathon Records, 1977) (LP)
(Produced by Dick Damron, Joe Kozak & Gerry Golla)
Despite the title, this was not an all-gospel album -- other songs include some decidedly secular material, including Hitchner's own "Cadillac Cowboy," "Pass Me The Wine" and "Til The Wine Takes The Hurtin' Out Of Me," one of two tunes on here written by his brother, Jim Lee Hitchner. He also includes songs written by Ray Griff, three by Dick Damron and one by Barry Brown, of the Brown Family band.

Jack Holland "The Eyes Of A Dreamer" (Boot Records, 1979) (LP)
(Produced by Ray Griff & Lee Hazen)

Al Hooper & The Blue Diamonds "Blue River Train" (Pentagon Records, 19--?) (LP)
(Produced by Bill Bessey & Jack Boswell)
Not much info on this one -- Al Hooper may have been an East Coaster (based on his recording of "My Nova Scotia Home") though the back cover provides no real liner notes to speak of... No song credits, either, though there are several honkytonk cover tunes, including "Crazy Arms," Don Gibson's "Oh, Lonesome Me," Mel Tillis' "Little Old Wine Drinker Me," and a couple of Merle Haggard hits, "Branded Man" and "Sing Me Back Home." The album opens with a bluegrass-based version of the title track, but quickly settles into a more distinctly country mode, albeit with stripped-down, mostly acoustic arrangements that harken back to an earlier, less polished, more hillbilly stringband era. No date on the disc, but the repertoire makes me think this was cut around 1968-69, maybe 1970 at the latest? We are given the names of the guys in his band -- Roy MacCaull, Eddy Poirier, Doug Watters -- though not which instruments they play.

Gene Hooper "The Best Of Gene Hooper" (Arc Records, 19--?) (LP)
A hillbilly singer from the generation that revered Jimmie Rodgers, Eugene Merrill Hooper (1923-2010) was born and raised in Machias, Maine. Gene Hooper started his musical career singing on the radio as a teen, with a brief detour during World War Two that included combat action in the Battle Of The Bulge. After the war, he returned to New England and picked up where he left off, meeting and marrying his wife, Florence Rolande Hooper (1926-2014) who became his musical partner on the WWVA Jamboree, in Wheeling, West Virginia. They also formed a group called The Old Time Radio Gang, along Allan "Mac" McHale, with whom they recorded a couple of albums. In 1966, the Hoopers settled down in Gene's hometown of Machias, and years later were both inducted into the Maine Country Music Hall Of Fame. This release on the Canadian-based Arc label would seem to suggest a fan base up North... Although this appears to be Gene Hooper's only full album, he also left behind a string of singles on various small labels, and was still recording as recently as the late '80s.

Hubert & Huquette "Hubert & Huquette" (Bonanza Records, 197-?) (LP)

Bernie Hughes & Elaine Hughes "The Country Music Of Bernie And Elaine Hughes" (Quality Records, 197-?) (LP)

The Humber River Valley Boys "The Humber River Valley Boys" (Woodshed Records, 1977) (LP)

The Humber River Valley Boys "Bar Room Daze" (Posterity Records, 1978) (LP)

The Humber River Valley Boys "They Said It Couldn't Be Done" (Boot Records, 1980) (LP)

The Hummingbirds "Play It Long And Lonesome" (Flora Records, 1976) (LP)
(Produced by Lynn Russwurm & The Mercey Brothers)
A straight-up country band from Onatario led by brothers Lance and Lynn Russwurm, who sing lead on Sides One and Two, respectively. This was recorded at the Mercey Brothers studio in Elmira, with backing from the Mercey Brothers band and other regional artists, including fiddler Al Cherney, Victor Funk on banjo, and steel players Pete Miller and Rusty Walker. All of the songs were written or co-written by Lynn Russwurm, including one ("I Cast A Long Shadow") which was co-composed with western swing/honkytonk old-timer Hank Thompson, who also contributes glowing liner notes.

Humphrey And The Dumptrucks "Six Days Of Paper Ladies" (London Records, 1971) (LP)

Humphrey And The Dumptrucks "Hot Spit!" (Boot Records, 1972) (LP)
(Produced by John Stewart & Michael Elder)

Humphrey And The Dumptrucks "Saskatoon" (United Artists Records, 1973-?) (LP)
(Produced by Allen Shechtman & Humphrey and the Dumptrucks)

Humphrey And The Dumptrucks "Gopher Suite" (Sunflower Records, 1974) (LP)

Tommy Hunter "Tommy Hunter" (RCA Records, 19--?) (LP)

Dean Hutchinson & Mickey McGivern "Dobro Mountain Music" (Arc Records, 19--?) (LP)
Although the liner notes extol the wonders of resophonic steel guitars, they don't pause to take a moment to tell us where dobro player Dean Hutchinson was from... Alas. The group included John Burke on bass, Dean Hutchinson (dobro), Mickey McGivern playing lead on an acoustic (Spanish) classical guitar, and Herb Young on rhythm guitar.

Dean Hutchinson "Dobro Guitar" (Arc Records, 19--?) (LP)
(Produced by Ben Weatherby)
More groovy dobro-and-guitar instrumentals... According to the liner notes, this album was recorded one year after the first Hutchinson/McGivern collaboration, though this time the backing band seems to be a version of Mickey McGivern's band, the Mustangs, with Dean Hutchinson on dobro, Mickey McGivern on acoustic lead guitar, his brother Mark McGivern on bass, Artie MacLaren playing rhythm guitar and Bill Bartlett banging the drums...

Brian Hyland "Country Meets Folk" (Sparton Records, 19--?) (LP)

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