A music producer from Halifax, who significantly influenced fellow Nova Scotian Anne Murray to embark on a musical journey and later produced albums for iconic artists like Johnny Cash and Emmylou Harris, is being honored for his contributions to the music scene.
Brian Ahern, aged 81, passed away on Monday in Minnesota.
Murray recounted her first encounter with Ahern during her audition for Singalong Jubilee, a CBC television show that showcased local talent in Halifax throughout the 1960s and 1970s. Ahern served as the musical producer on that program. She noted that she did not succeed in her initial audition.
“He wanted me to appear on that show,” Murray shared with CBC on Wednesday. “And that was the beginning with Brian.”
Two years later, she was called back for another audition and was successful.
Anne Murray of Springhill, N.S., is shown in a 1971 photo. (The Canadian Press)
Afterward, Ahern relocated to Toronto, while Murray continued her career as a teacher on the East Coast. Feeling unprepared to transition into a full-time music career, she found Ahern’s persistent encouragement hard to resist.
“He was constantly writing to me, urging me to come to Toronto to record an album. I really couldn’t see the purpose of that,” Murray recalled, chuckling. “Eventually, I relented, left teaching, and went to Toronto, where we recorded an album together.”
She described him as a reserved individual and praised him as an outstanding musician.
“Sometimes you had to interpret his thoughts… but he was an excellent teacher in the studio,” Murray explained. “We both learned a great deal, but he was so intelligent that he quickly grasped concepts.”
Together, they encountered numerous obstacles. Upon her arrival in Toronto, Murray noted that Ahern had “no funds,” and she had to retrieve his guitar with her teaching earnings before they could enter the recording studio.
Brian Ahern accepts a lifetime achievement award for producer/engineer during The Americana Music Awards in Nashville on Sept. 9, 2010. (The Associated Press)
“We essentially grew up together in the music business,” Murray remarked.
His production credits include 13 albums by Murray, notably her hit song Snowbird, from the 1969 album This Way Is My Way, as recognized by the Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame.
Murray mentioned that although they eventually “went [their] separate ways,” both achieved significant success in their careers.
From left: Ricky Skaggs, Emmylou Harris and Brian Ahern perform on Nov. 18, 2013, in Nashville. (Rick Diamond/Getty Images)
Ahern’s career also led him to cities like Los Angeles and Nashville, where he produced albums for notable figures such as George Jones, Ricky Skaggs, and Rodney Crowell. He also worked on 11 albums with Emmylou Harris, whom he married in 1974.
The last occasion Murray saw Ahern in person was during his induction into the Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame in 2006.
“Brian’s belief in my potential was a guiding force during those formative years,” Murray stated while introducing Ahern on stage.
In 2010, he received a lifetime achievement award from the Americana Music Association and was named a member of the Order of Canada in 2019.
Following his passing, the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum released a statement noting that Ahern’s contributions “helped shape a crucial genre of American roots music” and provided “a foundation for Americana music in the 1990s.”
Ahern was a ‘steward of the artistic process’
Ahern’s daughters, Shannon and Meghann Ahern, shared their cherished memories of spending time in recording studios as children while their father worked.
“He would take us along everywhere, and he built me a human-sized dollhouse from studio baffles (soundproofing materials), giving me a way to play quietly while he worked,” Shannon Ahern recalled.
They characterized him as a “steward of the artistic process” who approached his work with seriousness to help artists fully realize their creative visions.
“I recognized the musicians as talented individuals, and that my dad was collaborating with them in creating art,” Meghann Ahern expressed. “That shaped my understanding that art is valuable, but it also demands a strong work ethic, commitment, and dedication.”
MORE TOP STORIES
-
‘Poignant’ Halifax Remembrance Day ceremony comes soon after Wainwright tragedy
-
What’s open, closed around Halifax for Remembrance Day
-
Website saves Royal Canadian Navy history from being ‘buried forever’
-
Why the first U-boat to surrender in North America landed in this N.S. town
-
Data centre proponent says they’ll take no public money
Tag: rewrite-pending