Sundown Recorders was a recording studio located in

Edmonton, Canada Edmonton is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. It is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region, and is in Treaty 6 terri ...

, owned by Canadian recording artist and producer

Wes Dakus Wesley "Wes" Dakus (April 2, 1938 – August 18, 2013) was a Canadian musician and the leader of Wes Dakus and the Rebels, Canada's most popular instrumental group of the 1960s. Wes Dakus and the Rebels Dakus was born in Mannville, Alberta, an ...

, that existed from 1972 to 1987. A number of notable Canadian and American artists recorded at the studio, including

Hoyt Axton Hoyt Wayne Axton (March 25, 1938 – October 26, 1999) was an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor. He became prominent in the early 1960s, establishing himself on the West Coast as a folk singer with an earthy style and powerful voic ...

, One Horse Blue,

Bobby Curtola Robert Allen Curtola, CM (April 17, 1943 – June 4, 2016) was a Canadian rock and roll singer and teen idol. History Curtola was born in Port Arthur, Ontario, Canada. He began performing at age 15 with a band called Bobby and the Bobcats, si ...

Gary Fjellgaard Gary Lynn Fjellgaard (born August 14, 1937)Staff (undated)"Gary Fjellgaard" ''The Canadian Encyclopedia''. Retrieved February 15, 2013. is a Canadian country music singer-songwriter. He has released fifteen albums and charted thirty-five songs ...

and

Fosterchild Fosterchild was a notable Canadian band that existed from 1976 to 1981, releasing three albums. History Membership History Fosterchild was formed in Calgary, Alberta, Canada in 1976 by Jim Foster and Vern Wills, both of whom had first played to ...

History

Previously known as Park Lane Studios, Sundown Recorders was opened in 1972 by Wes Dakus, an Edmonton-based musician who had achieved national success in the 1960s as Wes Dakus & The Rebels, one of Canada's preeminent instrumental groups. The studio existed until 1987. In 1992, many of its audio tapes were donated to the

Provincial Archives of Alberta Provincial may refer to: Government & Administration * Provincial capitals, an administrative sub-national capital of a country * Provincial city (disambiguation) * Provincial minister (disambiguation) * Provincial Secretary, a position in Can ...

by musician

Jan Randall Jan Randall (born July 26, 1952) is a Canadian composer, singer songwriter and professional musician. He has had an extensive career composing sound tracks, performing original songs, and improvising music for comedy theatre. He is also known as ...

Archives Canada Library and Archives Canada (LAC; ) is the Government of Canada, federal institution tasked with acquiring, preserving, and providing accessibility to the documentary heritage of Canada. The national archive and national library, library is the ...

Sundown Recorders
. Retrieved 2012-09-12. Included in the donated material were recordings from the 1970s and 1980s by

Gaye Delorme Gaye James Delorme (March 20, 1947 – June 24, 2011) was a Canadian songwriter, composer and guitar player. Biography :"Although his name is generally first associated as the writer of 'The Rodeo Song', an expletive-filled cowboy anthem made ...

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Mavis McCauley Mavis is a feminine given name, derived from a name for the common Old World song thrush. Its first modern usage was in Marie Corelli's 1895 novel ''The Sorrows of Satan'', which featured a character named Mavis Clare (whose name was said to be " ...

The Models Marco Francesco Andrea Pirroni (born 27 April 1959) frequently credited simply as Marco, is a British guitarist, songwriter and record producer. He has worked with Adam Ant, Sinéad O'Connor, Siouxsie and the Banshees and many others from the la ...

and One Horse Blue, dating from the 1980s. Many of the artists recording at Sundown Recorders were also signed to

Vera Cruz Records Vera Cruz Records was a record label, based in Edmonton, Canada and distributed by CBS Records, that existed from 1978 to 1982. The label, owned by Wes Dakus,CanadianBands.comBiography of The Models Retrieved 2012-09-07. is notable for having relea ...

, which was also owned by Wes Dakus. The studio was integral to the lives of many musicians, and included a sleeping area for musicians who had nowhere else to go. Gerry Wand,
Montreal to Edmonton Sundown: China Doll and Corona
Retrieved 2012-09-16.

References

{{coord missing, Alberta Recording studios in Canada 1972 establishments in Alberta 1987 disestablishments in Alberta Music of Edmonton