The Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (CARAS) is pleased to announce Deane Cameron, President, EMI Music Canada, as the recipient of the 2011 Walt Grealis Special Achievement Award. Cameron made history in 1988 when he became the youngest Canadian President of a major music label, EMI Music Canada, and has since been a premier voice for the advancement of Canadian artists and the music industry. He will be honoured at the 2011 JUNO Gala Dinner & Awards held in Toronto, ON, this coming March.

"To be recognized by my peers for doing a job that I love so much is a great privilege. Canada continues to have a thriving music industry and a wealth of incredible new talent that keeps me just as excited to be a part of this industry today as I was when I first began. In accepting this honour, I take immense pride representing the EMI Music Canada family - including staff, artists and associated labels, who are the most important part of any success that I have enjoyed," says Cameron.

"Deane Cameron is one of Canada's most valuable ambassadors of the music industry today, and of the past three decades for that matter." said Melanie Berry, President & CEO of CARAS. "His ongoing dedication to both CARAS and MusiCounts is unsurpassed. He is extremely deserving of this honour."

Deane Cameron has devoted much of his career to the development of EMI Music Canada and has been integral to the success of such Canadian artists as Anne Murray, Tom Cochrane, Red Rider, The Rankin Family, Prism, Rita MacNeil, Stompin' Tom Connors, Susan Aglukark, Alfie Zappacosta, The Moffatts, Buffy Sainte-Marie, Glass Tiger, Luba, Moist and most recently Nickelback, Serena Ryder, Johnny Reid and k-os to name a few. He has championed Canadian talent Internationally helping many of the aforementioned artists break in other countries, including many associated label artists like April Wine and Corey Hart.

Equally Cameron has pushed hard developing International artists here, often enabling them to conquer Canada before other major markets. Through this dedication he has built strong relationships with some of the biggest artists in the world such as Iron Maiden, Kate Bush, Keith Urban, Sarah Brightman, Coldplay, Norah Jones, Bob Segar, Damon Albarn (Gorillaz, Blur, TGTB&TQ), Duran Duran, Richard Marx, Tina Turner, Pet Shop Boys and Radiohead. As a persistent and passionate leader in the recording industry, he's a longstanding supporter of the arts and culture of Aboriginal communities in North America, and is highly regarded for his advocacy of anti-piracy initiatives and the revision of copyright laws.

Along with the JUNO Awards, Cameron is celebrating 40 years in the industry. His remarkable career started when he was a drummer in the band Harvest with schoolmate Tom Cochrane. Then while still in his teens, he got his first job in the industry working in the warehouse at EMI Music Canada. From there he worked in various music-related jobs including a position as product coordinator for an independent music distribution company (GRT) that represented many international record labels in North America, including Virgin, Island, ABC Records and Sire.

Over the years, Cameron continued to gain a wealth of experience in the music industry before re-joining EMI Music Canada in 1977 as Manager, Talent Acquisition. His reputation for having a spot-on artistic intuition and keen ear quickly helped him climb the ranks to Director and eventually Vice-President. To this day he continues to play a very hands on role to artist signings and development and has gained much respect from the artist community.

In 1988, Cameron become the youngest Canadian President of a major music label and has since guided EMI Music Canada to record results and expansion in the areas of manufacturing and local music development through the EMI/Virgin Canadian Artist Rosters. Over the years he has encouraged and mentored many of the industry's finest creative and business minds. He was at the forefront of developing distribution of Canadian independent labels which now has become an essential and prosperous part of the business. In earlier days Cameron signed labels like Anthem, Aquarius and Nettwerk and is still directly involved in EMI's exciting partnerships with current labels such as Arts & Crafts, Secret City Records and CP Records.

Deane Cameron was made a Member of the Order of Canada in 2010 for his contributions to arts and music, allowing him to join a very select and prestigious group of Canada's most treasured and regarded citizens. Cameron has served on the Board of Directors of The Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (CARAS) for 14 years, and played a key role in the development of MusiCounts, Canada's music education charity. He continues to serve on the Board for CRIA and the Canadian Country Music Association (CCMA). In 2000, proud of the company's heritage, Cameron spearheaded the creation of the hard cover book 'Fifty Years of Music - The Story of EMI Music Canada.'

Introduction

This prestigious award ­ named after Walt Grealis in recognition of his extraordinary accomplishments, recognizes individuals who have contributed to the growth and development of the Canadian music industry.

Big or small, Walt was a champion of Canadian artists. He was instrumental in cultivating Canada's music industry as we know it today.

"Walt Grealis dedicated his life to creating the Canadian music explosion...the sound heard 'round the world," said long-time friend and business partner Stan Klees. "His goal was to open the door for all artists and build a star system in Canada."

Affectionately known as 'Canada's Music Man', Grealis was a leading figure in the Canadian recording industry. In the early 1960's when American acts dominated the Canadian radio waves and Canadian talent was turning to the South, Walter recognized the need to promote Canada's own 'star system'. In 1964, Grealis pioneered Canada's first national recording industry trade publication, RPM Magazine. Grealis used the magazine as a vehicle to promote Canadian acts to radio stations and the record business. RPM Magazine also charted a new course for developing the Canadian music industry by connecting key industry figures across the country. RPM Magazine was published for almost 40 years with the last issue in 2000.

Walter Grealis was also a key figure in establishing today's Juno Awards. In 1964, he and business partner Stan Klees created RPM Magazine's Gold Leaf Awards, which started out as simply a readers' poll of favourite artists. By the mid-1970s the awards evolved into a broadcast ceremony that took Canadian talent to the national stage. In 1970, Gold Leaf was substituted for the nickname 'Juno' after the then CRTC chairman Pierre Juneau. The Juno Awards have been a fixture in the Canadian music industry ever since.

More recently, Grealis was made an Officer in the Order of Canada, the second highest honour that can be bestowed on a Canadian. He received the distinction in 1993.

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Following is a complete list of past recipients

WALTER GREALIS O.C (1929 - 2004) - Biography
Walt Grealis was born in Toronto on February 18th, 1929. His father was a fire captain and the family was a mixture of Irish, Spanish and Cree. Walt attended Central Commerce High School in Toronto and dropped out after grade ten to join the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. In 1952, he joined the Toronto City Police.

In 1957, Walt became the Social Host and Sports Director for the St. George Hotel in Bermuda. This was followed by a stint with the O'Keefe and Labatt's breweries. In 1960, Walt entered the record business in a promotions role. Walt began with Apex Records and later moved to London Records.

The move that would shape Walt's influence on the Canadian music industry was his decision to start a small weekly tip sheet (confidential newsletter) designed for record companies and radio stations -- this was RPM Magazine. One of the first things the magazine did was to launch a music poll to pick top Canadian recording artists. The music poll was a precursor to the JUNO Awards as we know them today. They went on to become an award presentation in 1970 and the awards were nicknamed The Juno Awards after then Chairman of the CRTC, Pierre Juneau.

In 1964 when Walt formed RPM Magazine there was very little recording done in Canada and radio stations played very little Canadian content or Cancon. The mandate of the magazine became Cancon and Walt campaigned to bring about Canadian content on radio. Walt's efforts led to the 1970 CRTC ruling that radio stations must incorporate 30% Canadian content into their programming.

RPM Magazine also adopted the MAPL symbol to identify Canadian content on records created by Stan Klees. This was a milestone in developing the Cancon industry and the symbol is still used today to identify Canadian content.

For his efforts in establishing the JUNO Awards, the Canadian charts and the MAPL logo, Walt was named an Officer in the Order of Canada in 1976, the second highest award that can be bestowed on a Canadian. In 1984,The Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (CARAS), organizers of the JUNO Awards, established the Walt Grealis Special Achievement Award to honour Walt's accomplishments. The annual award is given to an individual who has contributed to the advancement of the Canadian music industry.

In November of 2000, Walt Grealis closed the doors of RPM Magazine after 37 years of weekly publication, including over 7000 charts and countless stories on the music industry in Canada.

On January 20th, 2004 Walt passed away peacefully after secretly fighting lung cancer for three years. He never smoked. He said near the end, "I've lived a good life. What I did for a living, most people would like to do for fun."

Walt Grealis fuelled the beginning of the Canadian music explosion. Affectionately known as Canada's 'Music Man' Walt was indeed a hero to Canadian recording artists.