![]() ![]() In 1982 he left A & M Records and released two albums on Sloth Records – ‘1001’ and ‘Valdy’s Kids Records. “Sister I Love You” followed up the charts and also made its way into the Top40 on the heels of a heavy road schedule. In 1978 he recorded a more upbeat environmental album called ‘Hot Rocks’ whose title track refers to spent nuclear fuel and was the album’s first single. ![]() ![]() In August, he represented Canada at the International Song Festival in Sopot, Poland. By 1976 Valdy had switched management and had put five albums in the rear-view mirror – following his team up with The Hometown Band featuring Shari Ulrich and ex-members of Skylark – and was second only to Gordon Lightfoot in record sales for a Canadian folk singer. For his third studio release, ‘See How The Years Have Gone By’, A & M decided to send Valdy back to Hollywood, this time with Doors producer Paul Rothschild to re-recreate his most popular songs as an introduction to the US market. The album resulted in his second straight gold record and his first JUNO Award for ‘Outstanding Folk Performance of the Year’. Valdy’s 1974 album ‘Family Gathering’ was recorded at Toronto’s Massey Hall. The sophomore album was another Claire Lawrence production called ‘Landscapes’ and featured the title track and “Simple Life” as singles. The album’s second single, “A Good Song”, would make the Canadian Top10 and eventually be re-interpreted by the venerable Quincy Jones (who sang lead on the recording) under the title “Just a Man”. ![]() The song would go on to be recorded by many other artists including John Kay & Steppenwolf. The album’s first single was “Rock And Roll Song” – the recollection of facing a zealous audience at the Aldergrove Rock Festival in 1968 – which made the Canadian Top20 chart position. The result was the A & M Records distributed debut album ‘Country Man. The label sent Valdy to A & M studios in Hollywood with Keith Lawrence’s brother Claire Lawrence (Collectors, Chilliwack) to produce. Lawrence secured him a record deal in 1971 with Haida Records. After graduating, he worked the local club circuit and eventually attracted a manager in Keith Lawrence. By 1966 he moved to Victoria where he studied orchestration at the Victoria Conservatory of Music. Briefly he joined The Prodigal Sons which was a folk/country hybrid but ended up in Toronto in 1965 and played bass for upcoming country star Blake Emmons. He joined the folk group The London Town Criers who would tour coffeehouses from Montreal to Regina. His love of playing guitar and piano drew him to Montreal in 1964. The son of Danish parents, Valdy began playing the guitar as a teenager, took piano lessons for five years, and learned orchestration from Professor Robin Wood, the dean of a music school in Victoria, British Columbia. Born: Paul Valdemar Horsdal on Septemin Ottawa, Ontario ![]()
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