Orval William Prophet (31 August 1922 – 4 January 1984) was among the first Canadian

country music Country (also called country and western) is a popular music, music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and American southwest, the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is p ...

performers to achieve a career of international scope.

Early life

Prophet was born in Edwards, Ontario, now part of

Ottawa Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...

. During his teens, he sang pop songs within his family and performed at church and community functions. He changed his focus to country music after he heard

Hank Snow Clarence Eugene "Hank" Snow (May 9, 1914 – December 20, 1999) was a Canadian country music guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He recorded 140 albums and charted more than 85 singles on the ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' country charts betw ...

's music and concluded that "Western folk-songs would fit my style". During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Prophet worked on his family's farm since health limitations precluded him from military service. He performed for injured soldiers in Ottawa, walking from his home to their hospital. He is a second cousin of

Ronnie Prophet Ronald Lawrence Victor Prophet (26 December 1937 – 2 March 2018) was a Canadian-American country musician and comedy performer. He was born in Hawkesbury, Ontario, Canada. In his childhood, Prophet lived in Calumet, Quebec, and began perfo ...

who is also a country musician.

Career

From 1944 to 1949, he performed throughout eastern Ontario in a country band led by Bill Sheppard. In Ottawa, his live radio performances were featured on

CFRA CFRA is a news/ talk formatted radio station in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, owned by Bell Media. The station broadcasts on the assigned frequency of 580 kHz. CFRA's studios are located in the Bell Media Building on George Street in Downtown Ottaw ...

's ''Fiddler's Fling'' from 1947 to 1951. A Canadian tour with Wilf Carter in 1949 led to Prophet's recording contract with

Decca Records Decca Records is a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis (Decca), Edward Lewis after his acquisition of a gramophone manufacturer, The Decca Gramophone Company. It set up an American subsidiary under the Decca name, which bec ...

by late 1951. This made Prophet among the earliest Canadian country music artists who recorded in a Nashville studio. During his early career, he worked on his family's farm and was also a carpenter by trade. He remained based in Edwards throughout most of his career, becoming known as "The Canadian Ploughboy". His initial reason for remaining in Canada was to remain with his girlfriend. In April 1954, Prophet became a million-selling artist in terms of record sales following successful songs such as "Going Back to Birmingham", "Judgement Day Express" and "Beautiful Bells". Prophet recorded the song "Mademoiselle" under the name "Johnny Six", released in 1958. Around that time he had a brief residency in the United States to host a radio programme. Other appearances included

CBC Television CBC Television (also known as CBC TV, or simply CBC) is a Television in Canada, Canadian English-language terrestrial television, broadcast television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcasting, p ...

's '' The Tommy Hunter Show'' and at the

Grand Ole Opry The ''Grand Ole Opry'' is a regular live country music, country-music Radio broadcasting, radio broadcast originating from Nashville, Tennessee, Nashville, Tennessee, on WSM (AM), WSM, held between two and five nights per week, depending on the ...

in Nashville.

Influence

When

Waylon Jennings Waylon Arnold Jennings (June 15, 1937 – February 13, 2002) was an American singer, songwriter, musician, and actor. He is considered one of the pioneers of the Outlaw country, outlaw movement in country music. Jennings started playing ...

was working as a radio host prior to his singing career, he sought to adopt Prophet's singing style.

Johnny Cash John R. Cash (born J. R. Cash; February 26, 1932 – September 12, 2003) was an American singer-songwriter. Most of his music contains themes of sorrow, moral tribulation, and redemption, especially songs from the later stages of his career. ...

and

Dallas Harms Dallas Harms (July 18, 1935 – October 12, 2019) was a Canadian country music singer-songwriter. Twenty of Harms' singles made the ''RPM'' Country Tracks charts, including the number one single " Honky Tonkin' (All Night Long)". Harms was induc ...

also wrote material for Prophet.

Death and legacy

Prophet underwent open heart surgery in 1970 following a series of five heart attacks. After this, he continued to perform until his last concert on New Year's Eve at the end of 1983. On 4 January 1984, Prophet was shovelling snow at his residence in Edwards when he died of a heart attack. He was survived by his second wife, Laurette Lalonde. His first wife, Lois Haley, died in 1969. Later that year he was inducted into the

Canadian Country Music Association 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 3, 1973, when a gr ...

Hall of Honour and in 1989 into the

Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame The Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame honours Canadian country music artists, builders or broadcasters, living or deceased. The artifact collection includes extensive biographical information on the inductees. The Canadian Music Hall of Fame can ...

Discography

Albums

Singles

References

External links

Orval Prophet at ''The Canadian Encyclopedia''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Prophet, Orval 1922 births 1984 deaths Canadian carpenters Canadian country singer-songwriters 20th-century Canadian farmers 20th-century Canadian male singers 20th-century Canadian singer-songwriters Farmers from Ontario