Montreal native Stu Phillips grew up in Calgary, Alberta, in the foothills of the Canadian Rockies, writing many of his early songs there. He grew up listening to the Grand Ole Opry on a small crystal radio set and fell in love with the show and country music in general.
Stu formed his own band at an early age, establishing a following at local events as well as working part-time for a radio station. A position as a radio announcer led to other jobs, including producer, engineer, and disc jockey.
On the air, Stu was host to a variety of shows in Canada, including Stu for Breakfast, Town and Country, and Cowtown Jamboree. From radio, Stu moved to television, first as host of The Outrider, then to a stint on Red River Jamboree, a major Saturday-night show on the CBC network.
In addition to his TV work, Stu began to enjoy recording success, particularly with his Echoes of the Canadian Foothills album. After four more years with the CBC, Stu set his sights on Music City, moving to Nashville in 1965.
He got work doing a local morning TV show and that year signed with RCA Records. With Chet Atkins producing, Stu began hitting the country charts with such tunes as “Bracero,” “The Great El Tigre,” “Vin Rose,” and “Juanita Jones.”
He joined the Opry in 1967 after making some 20 guest appearances.
Stu has toured extensively in the Far East, Middle East, and Africa, where his records have received the equivalent of gold records.
In 1993, Germany’s Bear Family Records released a CD featuring 35 songs from early albums. That same year, Stu also released Don’t Give Up on Me on Broadland Records and was inducted into the Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame.
Since 1998, Stu Phillips, Opry member, has been Stu Phillips, American citizen. Having lived in the U.S. longer than in his native Canada, Stu celebrated American citizenship with his wife, Aldona, on the Opry stage that Fourth of July weekend.
“Our lives simply evolved over the years and took a new direction,” he said. “Whenever I traveled overseas, I used to think of Canada as my home. After moving to Nashville, our lives became integrated into this land with all its comforts. Now, whenever I travel overseas, home is Tennessee, where I live.”
Lately, his music, including the single “Only God,” has been found on the Christian country charts. Stu Phillips still tours and performs on the Opry, although he has also become a minister in the Episcopal Church, receiving his divinity degree from the University of the South in Sewanee, Tennessee.
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