Walt Grealis
Born(1929-02-18)18 February 1929
Toronto, Ontario
Died20 January 2004(2004-01-20) (aged 74)
Toronto, Ontario
NationalityCanadian
Occupationpublisher
Known forJuno Awards, RPM

Walter Grealis OC[1] (18 February 1929 – 20 January 2004) was a Canadian publisher and music industry leader. With partner Stan Klees, he co-founded Canada's national music honours, the Juno Awards.[2] As an ardent supporter of Canadian music, Grealis is credited with coining the term CanCon.[3][4][5][6][7]

History

Walt Grealis was born in Toronto and attended Central High School of Commerce in that city until Grade 10. His initial career was in law enforcement, first as a Royal Canadian Mounted Police officer then from 1952 as a Toronto city police officer.[3]

Music career

He entered the music industry in 1960 after leaving policing and trying various careers in the late 1950s. He founded Canadian music industry magazine RPM in February 1964, publishing weekly for most of its existence until November 2000.[8]

With partner Stan Klees, the Gold Leaf Awards were founded to honour Canadian music industry achievements. From 1964 to 1969, winners were announced in RPM at the end of each year. In 1970, this was expanded to a formal ceremonial event and renamed to Juno Awards later that year.[9]

Honours

Grealis was appointed an Officer of the Order of Canada in 1993.[10] In 1999, Grealis was inducted into the Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame.[11] At the Juno Awards of 2004, he was posthumously honoured with the music industry achievement award named the Walt Grealis Special Achievement Award.[12][13]

Later life

Grealis, a non-smoker, died at Klees' residence in 2004 following several years of lung cancer.[14]

See also

Footnotes

Citations

  1. ↑ The Right Honourable Ramon John Hnatyshyn (3 September 1994). "Canada Gazette Part I, Vol. 128, No. 36" (PDF). Gazette.gc.ca. Governor General of Canada. Canada Gazette Government House. p. 6 (3908 Canada Gazette). Retrieved 7 February 2011.
  2. ↑ "The JUNO Awards: A Brief History". Junoawards.ca. Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. Archived from the original on 31 December 2010. Retrieved 7 February 2011.
  3. 1 2 Joseph Chrysdale (August 2004). "Biographies Pioneer Grealis, Walt (1929–2004)". Broadcasting-history.ca. Canadian Communities Foundation. Retrieved 7 February 2011.
  4. ↑ Stan Klees; Walt Grealis. "RPM Stan and Walt Remember". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. Government of Canada. Retrieved 7 February 2011.
  5. ↑ Dick Drew. "The Godfather of Cancon "Walt Grealis"". Canadianachievers.com. Canadian Achievers. Archived from the original on 8 July 2011. Retrieved 7 February 2011.
  6. ↑ "Early Canadian rock 'n' roll: going against the tide". Newsdurhamregion.com. Metroland Media Group. 1 September 2009. Retrieved 7 February 2011.
  7. ↑ "Background CSHF/PACC Annual Gala". Cansong.ca. Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on 11 April 2008. Retrieved 7 February 2011.
  8. ↑ Richard Green, Acting Director, Music Division Library and Archives Canada. "The RPM Story RPM, 1964–2000: The Conscience of Canada's Music Industry". Collectionscanada.gc.ca/. Government of Canada. Retrieved 7 February 2011.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  9. ↑ "About the Juno Awards". CARASonline.ca. Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. Archived from the original on 14 June 2011. Retrieved 7 February 2011.
  10. ↑ The Right Honourable Ramon John Hnatyshyn. "Walt Grealis, O.C." GG.ca. Governor General of Canada. Retrieved 6 February 2011.
  11. ↑ "Hall of Fame Walt Grealis Background". CCMA.org. Canadian Country Music Association. Archived from the original on 29 September 2011. Retrieved 7 February 2011.
  12. ↑ "Walt Grealis Special Achievement Award". CARASonline.ca. Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. Archived from the original on 6 July 2011. Retrieved 7 February 2011.
  13. ↑ "Past recipients of the Walt Grealis Special Achievement Award". Junoawards.ca. Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. Archived from the original on 13 December 2010. Retrieved 7 February 2011.
  14. ↑ "Canadian music pioneer Walter Grealis dies". CBC.ca. CBC News. 21 January 2004. Retrieved 25 March 2007.

References

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