Sneezy Waters

Sneezy Waters (b Peter Hodgson Ottawa March 1st, 1945.) Is a Canadian singer songwriter guitar player who is best known for his portrayal of Hank Williams Sr. in the play/film “Hank Williams: The Show He Never Gave”. An 'imaginary concert' that the legendary US country singer might have given New Year's Eve 1952 in Canton, Ohio, had he not died en route, it was premiered in November 1977 at the Beacon Arms Hotel, Ottawa, and then presented on tour throughout Canada and in the USA until 1982. It was staged at the OKanada cultural exhibition in Berlin in 1983. Waters gave some 300 performances as Williams and appeared in a film adaptation of the show in 1981.He began performing in Ottawa coffeehouses in his late teens and was a member of several local rock bands, including The Children and Rosewood Dream, appearing with the latter at Expo 70, Osaka, Japan. Taking the stagename Sneezy Waters he performed during the 1970s as street musician in Ottawa and appeared as a soloist and with his Excellent Band at folk festivals and nightclubs elsewhere in the country.

Biography.

Sneezy Waters began his professional career in the 1960’s, and since that time he’s toured extensively in Canada (including several Arctic communities) Japan, Hong Kong, Laos, Thailand, India, Denmark, Germany, Holland, and the United States. Citing influences as far flung as Woody Guthrie, Frank Zappa, Philip Glass, Tom Waits, Bob Dylan, Lester Young, Charlie Parker, John Lennon, Willie P. Bennett,

From 1977 to 1990, he starred as Hank Williams in the runaway hit Hank Williams: The Show He Never Gave. The show toured extensively in Canada and the United States and was part of O Kanada, the Canadian cultural festival in Berlin. The movie version of the play garnered rave reviews, and was shown on First Choice Superchannel and CTV in Canada, on HBO and Z Channel in the Unites States, as well as stations in Great Britain and Scandinavia. In 1984 Sneezy won the Best Actor Award in the 3e Festival International du Film Musical in Grenoble, France, for his role as Hank Williams, and the film was nominated for the best country motion picture in the 19th Annual Academy of Country Music Awards.

He has been featured on many network radio and television shows including This Country in the Morning, The Entertainers, Variety Tonight, Let’s Sing Out, The Family Brown Show, Café Hibou, Canada After Dark, The Bob McLean Show, Ninety Minutes Live, The Alan Thicke Show, The Tommy Hunter Show, and Super Country Superstars. He has shared the stage with a number of musicians, including Joan Armatrading, John Hammond Jr, Roy Orbison, and Martin Mull.

Recordings

He has released two albums, "(You’ve Got) Sawdust on the Floor of Your Heart" and "Sneezy Waters Sings Hank Williams." on the Borealis Label.

References

[http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=U1ARTU0003642 The Canadian Encyclopedia]

[http://www.borealisrecords.com/a_waters.html Record label Bio.]

=Categories=