Al Cherney

Alexander Peter Chernywech (November 1, 1932^[1] – August 25, 1989) recording as Al Cherny, was a Canadian fiddler. He studied with Frank Nowak and played country music on CHAT-FM.

Al Cherny
Birth name	Alexander Peter Chernywech
Born	(1932-11-01)November 1, 1932 Medicine Hat, Alberta
Died	August 23, 1989(1989-08-23) (aged 56) Mississauga, Ontario
Genres	Country
Occupation	Fiddler
Instrument	fiddle
Years active	1951–1989
Formerly of	The Sons of the Saddle

Cherney won the Canadian Old Time Fiddlers' Contest in Ontario, under the novelty class from 1959 to 1961 and the open class in both 1960 and 1961.

In the early 1970s, he was a leading studio musician, recording with musician like Gary Buck, Dick Damron, Tommy Hunter, Jesse Winchester and Sylvia Tyson. He released more than ten studio albums and received an RPM Big Country Award for Top Country Instrumentalist in 1978.

From 1964, until his passing in 1989, Cherny was a regular, featured musician on the CBC's The Tommy Hunter Show. Cherny met Tommy Hunter when he worked at CKNX in Wingham, Ontario.

Legacy

He was posthumously inducted into the Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame in 1989. He also performed regularly on The Tommy Hunter Show, until his death in 1989,^[2] of lung cancer.^[3]

Discography

Albums

Year	Album[4]
1965	North American Fiddle Champion (Plays Contest Winning Tunes)
1965	Plays Old Tyme Fiddle
1967	On Stage With Al Cherny AKA Al Cherny
1968	Golden Slippers
1969	Blue Ribbon Fiddle
1972	Fiddle Magic
1974	Rural Roots
1975	"The Big Fiddle Sound" Of Al Cherny
1975	Fiddle Country
1978	Country Club Hits of Al Cherny (Compilation)
1988	Al Cherny's Fiddle Party (Compilation)
1988	A Tribute to Al Cherny (Compilation)
2002	The Lost Recordings - Live

Singles

Year	Single	Peak positions
		CAN Country [5]
1972	"Shannon Waltz"	46
	"Mr. Bojangles"	45

References

1. Zylstra (1992). Encyclopedia Of Music In Canada. University of Toronto Press. p. 258. ISBN 0-8020-2881-0.
2. "Al Cherney". CCMA. Archived from the original on 23 January 2013. Retrieved 15 June 2014.
3. Owen, Randy (23 August 2011). "Cowboys". country1073.ca. Archived from the original on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 15 June 2014. One of Canada's finest fiddlers, Al Cherney died on this date in 1989 of lung cancer at the age of 56. [..]
4. "Al Cherny - Shelburne Fiddle".
5. Peak chart positions for singles charting on RPM Country Tracks:

   • "RPM Country Tracks for April 1, 1972". RPM. Archived from the original on August 10, 2014. Retrieved August 4, 2014.
   • "RPM Country Tracks for December 16, 1972". RPM. Archived from the original on August 10, 2014. Retrieved August 4, 2014.

External links

• Al Cherney discography at Discogs
• Al Cherney at IMDb as Cherney
• Al Cherney at IMDb as Cherny
• Al Cherney on The Canadian Encyclopedia
• "Chernywech, Alexander Peter "Al" (Death notice)". Brampton Library. appeared in Brampton Guardian (Brampton, Ontario), 25 Aug 1989, p. 34, column 4