Text © Al Walker Original article appeared in the owen sounder. Click photos to enlarge. In 1945 Alfie Fromager was 12. One day he was pulled of the street to sing on radio. Alf was smitten and he never looked back. Local radio had performers playing live at this time. The tradition is long gone. Current hits had there place, but local music had a home. Three years later Alfie was part of the Western 4 playing regularly Saturday night 8:30-9:00 in the CFOS studio. The one microphone was overhead and was surrounded by Bruce Day, Alex rink and Harry Parker. The theme song was Alf singing "little red wagon". At home the family all sang, Alf's mother played piano, the boys played guitar. The strong family ties would influence Alf all his career. Alf's may not have been a great role model. In school went to grade 8. "Dad went to grade 9 and I didn't want to pass him". He continued to rock the boat by marrying Gladys, (he was 17, she was 14 ) and they proceeded to have 8 children. Their marriage is still the cornerstone of Alf's life. His surviving 6 children (one died shortly after birth, another drowned) have been the other reasons to stay close to home. In 1950 Alf joined Clarence Adlam and the Rhythm Rangers on CKNX radio. The show was live 5:30-6:00 every Saturday night. The band of Jerry Banks on bass, Gladys Adlam vocals, Clarence on violin and Alf practiced Saturday afternoons in Durham at the Adlam house, then down to Wingham to do the show. After the show it was over to Mount Forest for a 85¢ roast beef dinner, followed by a dance at the Oddfellows Hall. Alf and Clare played the 1950's together. They played all over Grey-Bruce. At the Rockford Casino they had to light the pot-bellied stove, warm-up the hall then play. Things tended to get too warm however with fights breaking out like the wild west. In 1959 The Fromager Brothers were born with brother Neil joining Alf. The vocal harmonies were compared to the Everely Brothers. "Neil had the finest country voice money could buy". The band would cover material from Hank Williams, Buck Owens, Wilburn Brothers and others. Some of the musicians to accompany the brothers were, Ruddy Couture, Kenny Ducharme, Robbie Robinson, Don Bird and Reg O'Hagen. The Fromager Brothers first appeared on CKNX TV 1960 and till 1964 made regular appearances on the "Shure Gain Western Roundup". The show featured Al Churney who with buddy Tommy Hunter eventually went on to pre-Hockey Night in Canada fame. The Fromager Brothers Show aired 62-63, then as "The 10:30 Show" from 63-64. One day as Alf was working his day job at McVeigh's Shook Mill in Owen Sound, he got a call. It was the producer of his show, the TV station was on fire! Alf and Neil had also burnt some bridges between each other. Having two leaders in the band was too much, a split was the only answer. In 64 Alf and the All Stars without Neil was formed. Alf was working at the Tara "Red & White" when Ernie Lindell a manager/promoter from the US asked Alf to play on the Ernie Lindell Show in Barrie on CKVR TV. The routine was to rehearse in the morning do the live show 12:30-1:00, then hitting the road to play their variety show at night. When Ernie decided to leave the country, Alf was asked to host the show which was renamed "Make Mine Country" 67-73. Stompin Tom, Carol Baker, Rudy Meeks plus numerous others made appearances. Alf wrote the script, was in charge of hiring and showed his mug every Saturday! Some of the musicians who backed Alfie on the show over the 8 years were: Larry Good (Good Brothers) banjo, Charlie White bass, Danny Lahaie steel guitar, Bruce Snott guitar, Ken Fromager piano, John Gulley guitar, Ross Williamson guitar, Kevin Dandeno bass, Doug Dandeno drums, Pete Miles bass. With the purchase of CKVR by the CHUM group came programming changes. It wasn't in the cards for the show to continue. Alfie who had numerous offers in his career to tour on big productions, returned to playing the Grey-Bruce area he loved and to stay close to his family. He picked up Les Childs bass, John Gulley guitar and with Waldo the electric drummer played dances and bars. One of the bars Alfie has played is the Coach Inn in Owen Sound. He has played there once a month for 19 years. Since 1983 he has been teamed with daughter Della who loves traditional country and "has been a great asset to the group". Alfie and Della are joined by a variety of bass players including, Paul Holmes, Tim Stuck, Steve Auld, Mark Bennett and long time sideman Kevin Dandeno. Alfie's record releases are, "Forget You Remembered Me", "The Wrong Side of Life" which was 'number one' on the Owen Sound hit parade for about twelve weeks. "Alfie Fromager" 1978, "Silver River" 1980, and "This old house" 1987. Alf also volunteers his time and energy to playing special events at retirement homes in the area. "Big in a small way right, Gladys?" From From a series of articles written by guitarist Al Walker, for the owen sounder. HOME
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