Canadian country music legend, Charlie Major made a stop in Toronto this week to play an intimate showcase at Rock 'N' Horse Saloon alongside David James. While he was here, we had the opportunity to sit down with him to talk about his career, the legacy of his music, and a little more.
We first asked the two-time Juno winner for Country Male Vocalist of the Year and three-time Canadian Country Music Association Award winner for Male Artist of the Year how his trip was going, and his old-school work ethic popped out immediately. He told us that he's always said that he'd rather dig a ditch for eight hours than sit around and do nothing or travel in a car or fly in a plane because at least it would feel like he was accomplishing something. And even though he's enjoyed the playing and work that he's done on this run, there's still a lot of hurry up and wait.
As we moved into more specific questions, there was an obvious starting point that we wanted to kick things off with.
We asked Charlie Major about It Can't Happen To Me and being able to team up with MADD for the re-release this year. He told us that he's happy to have been able to use the song to support a good cause. The song has been a difference maker and important track in a lot of people's lives over the last 25 years. Charlie has had fans come up to him for years to tell him their stories and come together over the songs. He also explained that he might write and record the songs, but once they have been released, they don't belong to him, they belong to the fans. And it seems like 25 years in, It Can't Happen To Me is still finding new people to belong to.
Note: He told us about one time in particular, in about 1997 when a young fella about 18 or 20, "young enough that he called me Mr. Major.", Charlie said, waited in an interview line after a show on the East Coast just to shake his hand and tell him that It Can't Happen To Me saved his life.
As we talked about the 25th-anniversary edition of It Can't Happen To Me, we asked Charlie about all of the artists that came on to record. He told us that he believed that the song could reach a new generation, but that he couldn't be the one to re-record it, and that's where the plan came in. He also said that everyone involved was enthusiastic about it. Charlie told us that he didn't have to talk anyone into it and that he was getting immediate yeses to his emails and phone calls.
We moved into the rest of Charlie Major's earlier career accomplishments, asking if he ever gives himself time to look back. He said that when he looks back, he feels satisfied. He can look at his life and career and tell himself that he's accomplished what he set out to do, and he can be happy with that. It was nice to hear, comforting to know that a man who has had the impact he's had, feels like he did what he wanted to do.
As we chatted, we brought up the lasting relevance of songs like I'm Gonna Drive You Out Of My Mind and (I Do It) For The Money. I told him that I knew the words to those songs before I ever drove, had a girl to get over, or had a job that I did for the money, and Trish was able to tell him that she had personal connections to his songs too. And now, as an adult, they all have had a second life to me. One where I understand them, and they mean something more, while still holding onto that pure love I had for them in my naive youth.
Before we got to a round of 5 Quick Questions and our goodbyes, we asked Charlie about what's next. And while he didn't give away too much information, it does sound like there may be new music released in the not to distant future. We'll be looking forward to that.
We want to say thank you again to Charlie Major for taking the time to sit down with us. It was truly something special for us.
5 Quick Questions with Charlie Major
Q1) If you're on a long drive and can only listen to one album the entire trip, what album would you choose?
CM) Bruce Springsteen's The River
Q2) What song do you wish that you had written?
CM) Kris Kristofferson's For The Good Times.
Q3) Do you have a favourite venue?
CM) The Greek Theatre
Charlie told us that it was his dream venue because of his admiration for Neil Diamond and his live album recorded there. And that playing it was amazing and surreal.
Q4) Do you have a dream collaboration?
CM) Charlie said that he's happy to have been able to write alone, at his own pace and with his own process over this career, and that he looks forward to doing more of that.
Q5) Is there an artist that you want to recommend and think people should be listening to more?
We agree, Charlie. We agree.
