Whitehorse Daily Star

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Photo by Whitehorse Star

TOP HONOURS – Al Oster receives the Commissioner’s Award from then-commissioner Geraldine Van Bibber on Canada Day, 2006.

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IN HIS HEYDAY – Al Oster is seen performing in 1961.

Legendary musician remembered for kindly nature

A Yukon musical legend will be laid to rest in the territory he so loved.

By Stephanie Waddell on November 1, 2017

A Yukon musical legend will be laid to rest in the territory he so loved.

As Al Oster’s daughter, Donna Barnes, described her dad: “(The Yukon) was his world. That’s what made him.”

Oster died last weekend at the age of 92 in British Columbia, where he was living with his wife, Mary.

As Barnes said in an interview Monday, while he moved away in the 1970s, Oster’s love for the territory remained, and up until a couple of years ago, he’d visit every summer.

She said he was clear that it was here where he wanted his final resting place, so plans will be made for that to happen.

While many remember Oster’s music and performances, Barnes and her three brothers knew him as their dad.

It didn’t take long for Barnes to sum up what he was like off-stage.

Put simply, “he was awesome,” she said.

It was the Yukon that inspired Oster’s music after he arrived here in 1957. He would go on to release a long list of albums embracing the territory’s unique history, characters and charm.

Hank Karr performed with Oster and would go on to record a full album of Oster’s songs.

“(His music) is a reflection of the Yukon,” Karr said in an interview Monday.

It was Oster who introduced Karr to the Yukon.

The two musicians met in 1964 in Vancouver, where Karr was staying before going back to work in Alaska.

There, Oster asked him if he wanted to come play at the Klondike Inn before he went back to work, and Karr agreed.

“It turned into more than a couple of weeks,” Karr said.

Along with performing and recording, Oster was also often featured on radio shows for the CBC, providing a vast array of knowledge about the territory.

“He was always a gentleman,” Karr said, going on to express his admiration for Oster’s writing about the Yukon.

It was a radio broadcast Karr was set to do with the late Les McLaughlin in Ottawa years ago that resulted in Karr’s album of Oster’s music.

As Karr explained, when he “couldn’t get the feeling” he wanted from what he had prepared for the broadcast about the Yukon, McLaughlin suggested looking to Oster’s music.

What was intended as a single broadcast “became an album to be released.”

The result was Paddlewheeler, an album that put Karr on the northern map, promoted the Yukon and featured Oster’s work.

Karr noted Oster’s Paddlewheeler and My Book of Yukon Memories remain among the most requested songs when he performs.

Oster’s original version of My Book of Yukon Memories climbed to number 30 on Billboard charts, and Canadian icon Stompin’ Tom Conners also covered Paddlewheeler.

Oster and Karr performed together on several occasions over the years, including at Expo ’67 in Montreal.

Along with his musical work, Oster filmed a documentary on the Klondike Gold Rush in the 1980s.

He received several honours throughout his career, including being named to the Order of Canada in 1999 for his contribution to the nation’s heritage.

As it’s noted on his website: “He was one of the first since Robert Service to write and publish poetry about Klondike Gold Rush folklore; and one of the first Canadians (1957 copyrights) to compose and sing folk music about historical Canadian folklore legends and to preserve the compositions on LP records.”

Along with the Order of Canada, Oster became the first Canadian composer to receive the BMI Canada Certificate of Honour Achievement Award in 1968.

He received the Yukon Heritage Award in 1993, and was recognized in 2002 by Queen Elizabeth for his musical contribution to Canadian history.

His last album – More Yukon – was released in 2009.

“His folklore compositions are now preserved forever on LP records, CDs, cassettes, music/videos, sheet music and song books,” his website states.

Comments (1)

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Kathy Copeland (nee Scanlon) on Aug 14, 2022 at 9:59 pm

Remember going to Sandman Lounge to hear Hank sing, He was one the greatest at singing and performing.
Working for Hank at the Airport Chalet in 1973 doing rooms for the summer in 1973. Such a wonderful person and one of a kind. He has made many memories over the years.

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