With the passing of singer/songwriter Dallas Harms last Saturday (Oct. 12) from cancer at the age of 84, the Canadian country music industry lost a giant. Inducted into the Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame in 1989, he had moved with his family from his birthplace of Jansen, Saskatchewan to Hamilton, Ont. In the 1950’s, he appeared on “Main Street Jamboree,” a Hamilton-based radio and TV show while playing the southern Ontario bar scene.

In an interview I did with Dallas in the early 1980’s, he listed two icons from the ‘50’s, Hank Williams and Elvis Presley, as his two biggest musical influences. He also met two singers in the ‘50’s who would later achieve huge success. One was Conway Twitty, whom he met at the Flamingo Club in Hamilton (where Conway co-wrote his classic hit “It’s Only Make Believe”). The other was an Arkansas artist named Ronnie Hawkins, whom Dallas helped get acquainted with the music scene in Ontario.

Harms had a long recording history, recording as “Dallas Harms & The Spartans” early in his career. His first single to appear on the RPM magazine weekly country chart came in 1972. The song, “In the Loving Arms of My Marie,” was a tribute to his wife. They would go on to mark 59 years together.

In a career that saw him write most of his songs, “Paper Rosie” will probably be forever known as his signature song. Inspired by a woman he saw selling paper roses while he was playing at a Niagara Falls bar, the song was the first of three Dallas Harms songs Gene Watson would record and score huge hits with in the U.S. (in fact, five of Gene’s first ten Billboard country hits were written by Canadians). The head of Capitol Records Nashville office had brought the song to Gene, but Watson wasn’t impressed with their version of it. The record company executive still believed the song could be a hit for Gene and persisted. After a bit of tweaking, Gene recorded the song a second time, this time convinced it was a better take, telling me in a phone interview a few years ago, “I’m extremely proud of it and Dallas, too. Dallas is a good friend of mine and I just think the world of him.”

By 1983, Dallas had released what would be his last album, “Out of Harms Way,” with the single “Honky Tonkin’ (All Night Long)” peaking at the top of the RPM country chart. I had met Dallas many times at that stage of his career. He had expanded his role in Canadian country music, working as a producer for several Canadian artists and as a mentor to young, up-and-coming artists of the day from Cathy Chambers and Roni Sommers, often performing with Cathy and using her band to back him up on stage. Canadian stars from Orval Prophet and Johnny Burke to Brett Kissel would record songs written by Dallas.

It was nice to see Dallas later, in 1989, the year of his Hall of Fame induction, when he appeared in Kitchener for the grand opening of the Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame on November 2. Little did I know a photo I took of Dallas with a cup of coffee would be the last time I would see him for almost two decades. He soon retired from the music business, making only brief appearances since then.

Last year, “Paper Rosie” was inducted into the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame in a special ceremony that was part of the Canadian Country Music Association’s “Legends Show” during Country Music Week in Dallas’ hometown of Hamilton. After the song was performed by Aaron Goodvin and Jess Moskaluke, Harms addressed the audience thanking everyone for the success of the song.

The night before the ceremony, I arrived at the CCMA’s opening reception for Country Music Week and was very pleasantly surprised to see Dallas there. He was standing by himself, with most of the people there unaware they were in the presence of the Deric Ruttan of his day. As I approached him, Dallas saw me from a distance, pointed at me and said, “I remember you.” It was the beginning of a reunion of fond reminisces from us both. At one point, I spotted another Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame member, R. Harlan Smith and made sure to bring him over to see Dallas.

During our conversation at last year’s reception, I mentioned to Dallas that I often go to various open jams and shows in the Tillsonburg area and, more likely than not, someone would perform “Paper Rosie.” It seemed to me Dallas was a bit surprised to hear that but mainly thankful his song was still remembered and still being performed so many years later.

I missed Dallas during those two decades we never saw each other. I will forever miss him now that he’s gone. But there is some comfort from that sorrow in having finally reconnected last year.

Godspeed, my friend. And Marie has my deepest condolences.