He was born David Stuart in Regina in 1921. He changed his name to Stu Davis at his first talent audition in case it didn’t go well, but it went very well and for more than 30 years he brought the music of the west to radio television and live audiences. WWII interrupted his entertainment career and he served in the RCAF, receiving an honourable medical discharge in 1943.
After moving his young family west in 1944, Stu joined forces with rancher, oil executive and cutting horse breeder Cliff Ross to initiate the Calgary Stampede street entertainment. Wilf Carter heard Stu’s regional network radio show on CFCN Calgary and was instrumental in arranging his first recording contract in New York. That’s when he wrote his famous theme “Saddle Your Worries to a Cowboy Song.”
One of the pioneers of Canadian television, his shows like Rope Around the Sun and Red River Jamboree drew huge audiences. He starred in the first network television show to be produced at the new CBC Broadcast center in Edmonton when it opened in 1961. In 1967 he starred in the first colour TV series to be produced in Western Canada, Trail Riding Troubadour.
His many business interests included real estate and an Alberta cattle ranch. A lot of us can still close our eyes and remember when we were kids and hear his famous sign off, “May all the trails you travel lead to happiness.”
