Don Messer: The Man Behind the Music

9780864925312

Johanna Bertin (Author) $19.95 Paperback Published July 10, 2009 - In Stock Goose Lane Editions

Don Messer was more than a household name in Canada - he was part of family life and the background music in Canadian kitchens - first on radio and then on television. Private and unassuming, Don was Everyman, and yet someone singular and special: a devoted family man, a rigid Calvinist, band diplomat, enemy of the dandelion, lover of Kentucky Fried Chicken, and a musical prodigy, who from the age of seven knew and played directly to his audience - an audience that eventually protested in unprecedented numbers on Parliament Hill upon CBC's sudden cancellation of his show, Don Messer's Jubilee. Through collected personal anecdotes and careful research, Johanna Bertin shares the inner complexities of the man family and friends knew: the man behind the music that warmed the hearts of three million fans.

Accolades

Front cover to back, Don Messer The Man Behind The Music is a handsome book, the life story of a Canadian icon told with beautiful simplicity and feeling." - Telegraph-Journal