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Quick on the draw — Tommy Hunter

Who tagged you with the nickname Canada’s Country Gentleman?

I have no idea. I’ve had it since my early days of radio. But I have no idea where it came from. But it’s a great compliment. I wish I could give you some great story about how it came about. I guess somebody nicknamed me that and it stuck.

Your biography mentions that Roy Acuff was a major influence on you. Tell me about the first time you met him face to face.

When was nine years of ago, I went to a show in my hometown of London, Ont., and I have no idea why I went to his show. We later became good friends and every time I went to the Opry — I did the Grand Ol’ Opry or I did Hee Haw — I would get a message saying that Roy Acuff is sitting here waiting for you and he can hardly wait. Sheese, what a great compliment. Acuff would be at the Opry and he’d just walk back to the TV studio where they did Hee Haw, and he’d come in and say, ‘Is Hunter in here yet?’ We just got along great. The format of his show that I saw at age nine was the format for my television show.

Besides learning to play the guitar, what else did you do as a youngster growing up in London.

When I started playing the guitar, that was it. I went to Sunday school or church with my folks, but my focus was strictly on the guitar. Sounds crazy, but that was my best friend. I just went at it with a vengeance. I love playing the guitar, but as I got going further and further . . . I think you need that fire.

Who are some of the big names in the entertainment industry you’ve had the pleasure of working with?

Johnny Cash, Garth Brooks, Alan Jackson, Waylon Jennings, Hank Snow, Ernest Tubbs. Ernest is an interesting story. He would not cross the border after a while. Somebody gave him a rough time once at the border. We sat and wrote him a letter. He had known me for a lot of years. We just said to him, ‘because of somebody’s bad diplomacy and bad attitude, why would you make all the people suffer because of one person’s mistake. We really want you to come to Canada; you’ve got a lot of fans up here.’ By god, he relented and came up. It was the first time in many years.

How did you enjoy Hee Haw?

It wasn’t my type of show. I didn’t want the bales of hay and the barn and all that stuff. I thought we had gotten away from that stuff.

For years you were as much an icon on Saturday night on CBC as Hockey Night in Canada. Did you have any connection at all with the hockey crowd?

I knew some of the hockey players who lived around the corner from me. Darryl Sittler, Lanny McDonald lived two doors from me. Let’s see . . . who scored the goal?

Paul Henderson.

Paul Henderson, yeah. I saw Paul just the other day, in fact.

You would have had a pretty good audience for your show, because Hockey Night in Canada always had a big audience and you followed it.

Yeah, it sure did. In the early days, we were always neck and neck with the ratings. One week I beat them and the next week they beat me.

How long were you on CBC?

A total of 36 years. Nine years on Country Hoedown, 27 years with the Hunter show.

What’s your favourite song to sing?

I like Daisy a Day. Ribbon of Darkness, I like that song.

Do you write any of your own songs?

No. I stopped writing when Gordon Lightfoot started. Once I heard his songs, I thought, ‘That’s it. That’s too good. I could never keep up with that.’ He’s a great writer.

Have you always toured alone without an opening act?

Yes. It’s based upon people who watch our show. I’ve never had an opening act. I keep it exactly the same as the format as the TV show. All our show is is a trip down memory lane.

How many days are you going to be on the road this year/

Not that many. Maybe maximum 30, 40 days.

Do you still enjoy it?

I’m being frightfully honest with you. Do I enjoy it? Yes. I mean, I don’t like getting into a hotel room at 2:30, 3 o’clock in the morning. I’m used to getting up at 7 and getting to bed at 10, 11 o’clock. It throws you off. Once I accept to do a tour, there’s a tremendous amount of responsibility, and I take that very seriously. Luckily, I’ve got good people working for me on the road as I finally found in television.

Is your audience of a certain elderly age, or are you regularly attracting new fans?

The majority of our audience . . . well, it varies. Last night’s crowd (in P.E.I.), we had maybe 50-50. We had seniors, but then we had kids who brought their mom and dad. . .

I come from London, Ontario and that’s where Guy Lombardo came from. Lombardo never changed a lick of his music. Never varied a bit, as the music was changing. I believe in that philosophy wholeheartedly. You have an audience and they’re there for you, and as long as you do what they expect . . . people come back and say, ‘it was like watching a television show. It’s so nice. What a great show.’ What else is there for them on television?

Almost 60 years is a long time to be a travelling entertainer. Any thoughts of winding down?

I’m only working 30 or 40 days. I can’t wind down any more. I get about 320 days to rest up.

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