"I played by first gig for money at ten years old," recalls Ron Halldorson.  "I played with a guy named Eddie Rogers.  He was a big name back then.  This was in 1953."

"When I was eleven, I was contacted by Jack Findlay who had seen me play on The Western Hour at the Dominion Theatre.  He asked my parents if I could come out and play with his band on weekends.  He would pick me up after school on Friday and we'd head out of town to play dances at large places like Brandon or smaller towns like Amaranth.  I'd get home around 7:00 in the morning and go to bed.  They would then come back for me around 4:00 pm and we'd head out to another rural community to play.  I had a helluva lot of fun.  Here I was, eleven or twelve years old, travelling with adults.  I knew more dirty jokes than any other kid at school.  I played with Jack Findlay & His Night Riders for two years."

"Jack Findlay and his wife Ollie, who sang with him, played straight country music," he notes. 

Guitar great Jim Pirie got his start in Manitoba Country music groups such as Jack Findlay's Night Riders.