Dolores Claman
Dolores Claman (born 6 July 1927) is a Canadian composer and pianist. She is best known for composing the 1968 theme song for Canadian Broadcasting Corporation's (CBC) Hockey Night In Canada show, known simply as "The Hockey Theme". She is also known for "A Place to Stand", the tune that accompanied the film of the same name at Montreal's Expo 67 Ontario pavilion.[1]
Dolores Claman | |
---|---|
Born | Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada | 6 July 1927
Occupation | composer and pianist. |
Nationality | Canadian |
Career
In the 1950s, Claman composed music for ITV while living in Britain and also wrote songs for West End musical revues.[2][3] Claman and her writing partner and husband, lyricist Richard Morris, composed over 3000 commercial jingles in a 30-year period and won more than 40 awards internationally for their work.[4] Claman's two best-known songs, "A Place to Stand" and "The Hockey Theme", were orchestrated by Jerry Toth[1] who, along with his brother Rudy Toth and composer Richard Morris, all worked together at Quartet Productions from 1965-1970.[5]
In 2004, she commenced legal action against the CBC, alleging the network had made unauthorized use of "The Hockey Theme" in various programs, including NHL Centre Ice, and by selling it as a cellular phone ringtone and using it outside of Canada.[6] On 9 June 2008 it was announced that Claman had sold the rights to the song to private broadcaster CTV. The majority owner of The Sports Network, which also broadcasts hockey games, acquired the rights to the song in perpetuity after an announcement by the CBC that a deal between the public broadcaster and Claman could not be reached.[7][8]
The popularity of "The Hockey Theme" resulted in many children sending letters and pictures to Claman over the years.[9] On June 20, 2016, Claman was awarded the Cultural Impact Award for "The Hockey Theme" at the SOCAN Awards in Toronto.[10]
References
- Nygaard King, Betty (28 June 2007). "Jerry Toth". The Canadian Encyclopedia. Retrieved 25 April 2010.
- Claman, Dolores, Encyclopedia of Music in Canada
- Mel Atkey (30 October 2006). Broadway North: The Dream of a Canadian Musical Theatre. Dundurn. p. 86. ISBN 978-1-4597-2120-3.
- Michael McKinley (30 October 2012). Hockey Night in Canada: 60 Seasons. Penguin Canada. p. 116. ISBN 978-0-14-318672-4.
- Nygaard King, Betty (4 November 2009). "Rudy Toth". The Canadian Encyclopedia. Retrieved 25 April 2010.
- Barristers, Kemp (19 July 2006). "The Hockey Night In Canada Theme Song". Plaintiff Legal Counsel's Case Summary. Archived from the original on 4 February 2012. Retrieved 12 April 2007.
- CBC Sports (9 June 2008). "CTV purchases The Hockey Theme". CBC News. Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Canadian Press. Archived from the original on 10 June 2016. Retrieved 9 June 2016.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
- John Barnes (April 2010). The law of hockey. Butterworths & Company (Canada) Limited. p. 274. ISBN 978-0-433-45188-4.
- Friend, David (22 June 2016). "Meet the woman who composed the 'Hockey Night in Canada' theme song". Toronto Star. Retrieved 14 July 2016.
- "2016 Award Winners" Archived 18 August 2017 at the Wayback Machine. SOCAN website
External links
- Dolores Claman on IMDb
- Hockey Theme Homepage
- A Place to Stand, 1967, Archives of Ontario YouTube Channel