Pride of place Ray St. Germain’s childhood street renamed in Manitoba musician’s honour By: Ben Waldman Posted: 6:39 PM CDT Friday, Jun. 7, 2024

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This article was published 07/06/2024 (867 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The day before his childhood street in St. Vital was renamed in his honour, Ray St. Germain was fairly certain how he would react to the occasion.

“Well, I’m going to start crying,” said the 83-year-old St. Germain, a Manitoban and Métis singer and guitarist who started his Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame career in 1956 with a performance of Hound Dog so skilful and precise that he came to be called “Winnipeg’s Elvis Presley.”

In the nearly 70 years since, St. Germain has carved out a singular career as a television host, radio impresario, voice actor and legend of country western music, earning membership to the Order of Manitoba and the Aboriginal Order of Canada.

As a member of the travelling band of Hal Lone Pine, Betty Cody and Lenny Breau in the 1950s, St. Germain opened for the likes of Johnny Cash, George Jones, Johnny Horton and Porter Wagoner. His 1958 single She’s A Square was the first 45 RPM rock record produced locally to reach the national charts.

The patriarch of a still-growing musical family, St. Germain could rightfully be called a godfather of Manitoban rock, country and western swing music. And after discovering his Métis heritage in his 20s, he owned his identity — melodically, lyrically and spiritually — and paved the way for generations of artists to proudly do the same.

St. Germain, who now gracefully deals with the complications of Parkinson’s disease, owes a lot of his life to St. Vital, the neighbourhood where he first tuned into CKY Radio and discovered Hank Snow and the King of Rock & Roll.

His family’s roots ran deep in the area, even before his father built Ray’s childhood home at 27 St. Michael Rd., a modest bungalow fronted by an oak tree. His maternal grandparents lived across the street at No. 24. His paternal grandparents lived at Lot 139 on St. Mary’s Road. His great grandfather Simon, born in 1856, was both area councillor and reeve, with a French immersion school now bearing his surname. Another ancestor, Joseph, was referred to by name in letters from Louis Riel sent during the politician’s 1870s exile period in Montana, a state known as Big Sky Country.

St. Germain, who lived and performed for many years on a farm in Oakbank, is inextricable from St. Vital, and on Friday morning, the musician became even more closely tied to the place he’ll always call his first home.

Kelly Ryback, a family friend, led the charge to rename the stretch of road where St. Germain first plucked his Harmony guitar after the singer-songwriter. He approached area Coun. Brian Mayes, who quickly said yes. But there was a problem: there already was a St. Germain Street in St. Vital, along with a school, a park and a community near St. Norbert.

With the family’s guidance, the city looked to St. Germain’s resume for other ideas, eventually deciding on Honourary Big Sky Country Way, a nod to St. Germain’s long-running television variety program.

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After a year of planning, St. Germain returned Friday to the grounds where he first stomped his feet in rhythm.

By 10:30 a.m., dozens of neighbours had set up folding chairs on their lawns. Slowly the street filled with familiar faces — Mayes, MP Dan Vandal and performers Fred Penner and Al Simmons — who turned out to greet St. Germain. His former NCI-FM co-host Naomi Clarke stood in the front row.

The current owner of St. Germain’s childhood home, St. Vital-raised costume designer Quita Alfred, made her way down the block.

The man of the hour arrived at 11 a.m. on the dot.

“Just like Ray to sneak in the back,” an onlooker remarked as St. Germain progressed down the road, pushed in his wheelchair by Glory, his wife of 47 years.

“We normally have like five people for one of these things,” said Coun. Mayes, taking in the crowd which had swelled to over 100. “This is an amazing turnout.”

As the semi-circular street sign was affixed to the intersection of Wright Street and St. Michael Road, St. Germain’s family, led by his son DJ and his daughter Sherry, played through a rendition of the Foggy Mountain Boys standard Roll in My Sweet Baby’s Arms.

A procession of speeches followed. Ryback recalled taking drives through St. Vital with St. Germain as a tour guide.

“He always wanted to come here,” he said of St. Michael Road.

“Over the years he’s told me many stories of that house that I love dearly,” said Alfred. “And it doesn’t look very much different from the way it used to when Ray’s father built it. I know that because there’s a picture in a beautiful book that Ray gave me of him standing in front of the oak that in that picture was about 18 inches around, and now it’s giant. And there’s Ray, standing with his guitar.”

“If you’re of my vintage, you grew up with Ray St. Germain,” added area MP Dan Vandal.

“If you’re of my vintage, you grew up with Ray St. Germain.”–MP Dan Vandal

A few minutes later, backed by the defiant rhythms of his 1979 single The Métis — “Not red enough, not white enough, which way should they go” – the day’s honouree approached the microphone.

A soft-spoken St. Germain thanked his wife, his family and his community before being serenaded by his son, his daughter and friend Tim Butler with his own song, the culture-clashing Conchita Kowalski.

The event was supposed to wrap up then and there, but St. Germain surprised his wife, grabbing her hand and saying, “I want to sing. It’s now or never.”

The microphone was lowered, DJ strummed the opening chord, and St. Germain’s voice exploded to stop the show.

“It’s now or never, come hold me tight, kiss me my darling, be mine tonight,” St. Germain sang, performing the entirety of Presley’s 1960 hit on the street where he played his very first lick in 1954.

“Tomorrow, will be too late,” he sang, clearing his throat before nailing the soaring, final notes. “It’s now or never. My love won’t wait.”

ben.waldman@winnipegfreepress.com