Joyce Smith was born in Lethbridge, but moved to Jasper Place with her family in her mid-teens where they lived in an unfinished house on 163rd Street, which was, as she says, “in the country”.
She began her music career at a very early age and met Patsy Cline in Edmonton when she was 16 years old. Cline autographed an album and wished Smith luck in her career. They would meet up again in Nashville, where they had the same producer; during the interview, Smith tells the story of how she recorded her [Smith’s] song, Leaving On Your Mind, before Cline did:
We were both in the studio [in Nashville] the same week [in 1962], She came in and she wanted to immediately record it. He didn’t let her do it until a year later. We did pretty good with it, sold over 150,000; that’s a pretty major thing.
George Myren was born at Gull Lake, Saskatchewan and raised in Viking, Alberta. He started competing in rodeos as an all-round competitor and won many awards in all of the categories.
When Myren and Smith married, they bought a house, first in Mayfield, and then moved to the Lynnwood neighbourhood, where they still live.
Smith and Myren played together in many venues in Jasper Place (the Klondiker, the Saxony, and the New West, among others) in Smith’s group, Rodeo Wind. In the attached transcript, Joyce talks about being a teen in Jasper Place, and they both tell a few stories about all of the venues they played, not only in Edmonton, but throughout the Prairies and the United States.
To read more about Myren’s and Smith’s lengthy and award-filled careers, go to:
“[The Association of] Canadian Country Music Legends celebrates 20 years of traditional tunes at Festival Place,” The Edmonton Journal, January 23rd, 2020.
George Myren, 2004 Inductees – Canadian Rodeo Historical Association
Joyce Smith, Hall of Fame Inductees – Canadian Country Music Association
