1995 Inductee - Sam Henry

(1948-1999)

    His peers have called Sam Henry “one of the best drummers in country music”.  Originally from Belfast, Northern Ireland, Sam came to Canada as a youngster and grew up in Lanark County. 

    He started to play professionally with Freddy Dixon in the 60’s and, in 1974, joined Ralph Carlson and Country Mile.  Everyone in the band quit their day jobs and hit the road, traveling coast-to-coast in Canada and doing two tours of Great Britain.  During this time with Country Mile, the band released four albums. 

    Sam went on to do an extensive amount of recording at Snocan Records, and he also toured with Terry Carisse and Tracks, Dan Rogers and Mapleridge, and South Mountain. 

    Sam, who was know for his marvelous sense of humor and his ability to do great impersonations, succumbed to cancer at the age of 51.  In 1999, following Sam’s death, Fred Dixon paid tribute to his longtime friend and colleague with a song entitled, “The Boy from Belfast”, one of the numbers on Fred’s latest CD.