Kozak, Joe - Canada Salutes Nashville, Tennessee

Tracks

Side 1

		Track Name	Length
	1	Tennessee Central No. 9	02:06
	2	The Lights are Growing Dim	02:51
	3	Moonshy	02:07
	4	Lullaby Waltz	03:17
	5	Border Baby	02:24

Side 2

		Track Name	Length
	1	Slowly	02:42
	2	Bimbo	02:05
	3	Country Garden Girl	02:32
	4	Fraulien	02:39
	5	Sunny South by the Sea	01:45

Photos

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Information/Write-up

Joe Kozak (1936–2024)

Joe Kozak was one of Edmonton’s true music pioneers — a singer, guitarist, songwriter, producer, and engineer whose career spanned more than six decades and left an indelible mark on Western Canada’s country and early rock scenes.

Born on January 28, 1936, in Edmonton, Alberta, Kozak came of age just as rock ’n’ roll was beginning to shake the prairies. In 1959 he cut “Hillbilly Rock” with The Frontiersmen, one of the very first Canadian rockabilly records — a fiery slice of prairie rock later rediscovered on Early Canadian Rockers and Bear Family’s Shakin’ Up North compilations. Recording under the alias Joe Castle, he also scored a regional hit with “My Baby’s Crazy Over Me,” backed by The Rodgers Brothers.

Signed to Banff Records in the early 1960s, Kozak released two full-length LPs: Canada Salutes Nashville, Tennessee (1961) and High on a Hilltop (1962). These records, blending country, rock ’n’ roll, and honky-tonk grit, stand among the first professionally pressed albums to emerge from Edmonton, capturing both his voice as a performer and his ambitions as a recording artist.

But Kozak’s influence reached far beyond the stage. In 1963, he opened Edmonton’s first dedicated recording studio in a converted garage — a modest beginning that quickly evolved into Universal Sound on Whyte Avenue and later Project 70 on Jasper Avenue. From behind the console, he became the steady hand guiding a generation of Canadian country talent, engineering and producing sessions for Wilf Carter, Hank Smith, Dick Damron, Joyce Smith, Bev Munro, R. Harlan Smith, and many others. In the 1980s he ran West Bank Studios in Nisku, continuing to shape the sound of prairie country and roots music.

Even after closing his commercial studios, Kozak never put down the faders. From his basement home setup he continued to record and produce, including late-career projects for Bev Munro (2002) and Joyce Smith (2017). Always generous with his knowledge, he mentored younger musicians and engineers while staying true to the raw, heartfelt qualities of the music he loved.

Joe Kozak passed away on September 10, 2024, at the age of 88. Remembered as both a trailblazer and a cornerstone of Edmonton’s music community, he bridged rockabilly rebellion, country tradition, and recording innovation. His legacy endures in the countless songs, records, and artists he helped bring to life — a reminder that the Canadian prairies have always had a sound all their own, and that Joe Kozak was at the heart of it.
-Robert Williston

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