Charles Bernard Major (born December 31, 1954) is a Canadian

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, o ...

artist. He has recorded seven studio albums and released more than twenty singles. In 2019 he was inducted into the Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame.

Musical career

Born in

Aylmer, Quebec Aylmer is a former city in Quebec, Canada. It is located on the north shore of the Ottawa River and along Route 148. In January 2002, it amalgamated into the city of Gatineau, which is part of Canada's National Capital Region. Aylmer's popul ...

, Charlie Major knew he wanted to be a musician since he was 19 years old. He was blinded in one eye as a result of a pellet gun accident when he was 12.Guest Appearance, Holmes on Homes, Season 6, Episode 11 He spent 15 years traveling as far as Spain writing songs and putting country bands together, which eventually led to a record deal with

Arista Records Arista Records () is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of the Japanese conglomerate Sony. The label was previously handled by BMG Entertain ...

. Major released his debut album in Canada, '' The Other Side'', in 1993. All six singles released from the album went to No. 1 on the RPM Country chart. He won the

Juno Award The Juno Awards, more popularly known as the JUNOS, are awards presented annually to Canadian musical artists and bands to acknowledge their artistic and technical achievements in all aspects of music. New members of the Canadian Music Hall o ...

as Country Male Vocalist of the Year two years in a row (Juno Awards in

1994 File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which sank in the Baltic Sea; Nelson Ma ...

and

1995 File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The Great Hanshin earthquake strike ...

). Five major

Canadian Country Music Awards The Canadian Country Music Association (CCMA) was founded in 1976 as the Academy of Country Music Entertainment to organize, promote and develop a Canadian country music industry. The groundwork for the association began on June 3rd, 1973 when a g ...

followed, along with songwriting honours from

SOCAN The Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada (SOCAN) is a Canadian performance rights organization that represents the performing rights of more than 135,000 songwriters, composers and music publishers. The organization collect ...

, and a BMI Award in 1993 for "

Backroads A backroad is a secondary type of road usually found in rural areas. Safety Backroads are less safe than other roads, with much higher fatality rates. A 2015 study by TRIP (a national transportation research group) in the United States found ...

", recorded by

Ricky Van Shelton Ricky Van Shelton (born January 12, 1952) is an American retired country music singer. Active between 1986 and 2006, he charted more than 20 singles on the ''Billboard'' Hot Country Songs charts. This figure includes 10 Number One hits: "Somebod ...

in 1991 on his ''

'' album, as the "Most Performed Song in America." In 2006 he made an appearance on the television show "

Holmes on Homes ''Holmes on Homes'' is a Canadian television series featuring general contractor Mike Holmes visiting homeowners who are in need of help, mainly due to unsatisfactory home renovations performed by hired contractors. The series originally aire ...

Personal life

Charlie Major is divorced and is the father of three sons. He divides his time between homes in

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

, Ontario; and in

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and t ...

, where he first moved in 1994. Today Major spends the majority of his time in his native Canada.

Discography

Awards and nominations

References

External links

Official web siteOfficial MySpace pageMusic VideosCharlie Major: Tough Music That's Headed Straight for Your Heart
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Major, Charlie 1954 births Living people Musicians from Gatineau Writers from Gatineau Canadian country singer-songwriters Canadian male singer-songwriters Canadian singer-songwriters Juno Award winners Arista Nashville artists Imprint Records artists Canadian Country Music Association Male Artist of the Year winners Canadian Country Music Association Single of the Year winners Canadian Country Music Association Song of the Year winners Canadian Country Music Association Album of the Year winners