If you see a First Nation elder in Whitehorse wearing a George Jones T-shirt, chances are you might be looking at Ben Charlie. When I met up with this iconic broadcaster recently, I wasn’t surprised to see him wearing the shirt, which is clearly a favorite of his.
Ben has been spinning George Jones songs, along with a multitude of other old time country artists on CHON-FM for over 25 years on CHON-FM’s Saturday request show (Vun Drin So) and the Gwitch’in language show (Vuntat Njiik Nakaii) on weekday afternoons.
The 84-year-old recently received a lifetime achievement award in conjunction with the radio station’s 40th Anniversary celebration. He has become such a popular and well-loved fixture on-air, his listeners won’t let him retire. He says he tried once, but it didn’t go over too well.
As I soon found out through a few hours of conversation, there’s more to Ben Charlie than the familiar voice we hear on Indigenous radio.
Ben is the oldest of 12 children born to Peter and Fanny Charlie in Old Crow. He learned traditional skills from his parents and remembers, “Back then people were moving around, trapping muskrat and following the moose and caribou.
Growing up, everyone spoke Gwitch’in, he says. He learned to read and write mostly at home.
In his early 20s Ben met his wife, Effie, who was originally from Fort McPherson, N.W.T. The pair married and eventually moved to Whitehorse with their two young daughters.
That was when Ben stumbled upon radio work by chance. One day in the 1990s, the then-manager of CHON-FM (who had known Ben previously in Inuvik) asked him to fill in on the Saturday request show–partly because it was broadcast in the Gwitch’in language, in which Ben is proficient. He’s been on the air ever since.
Ben’s language skills also landed him work interviewing First Nation elders about traditional culture, for the Yukon-made television program Haa Shagoon (Our People’s Voices). His wife, Effie, also did some translating work for the show as well.
It’s not surprising that Ben found his way to being known as a northern ambassador of old-time country music. While working on a trapline as a youth in Old Crow, the only station he could listen to on his transistor radio was broadcast out of Texas that played nothing but country.
This is how Ben came to know and love so many of the traditional country artists he plays on his show, such as Hank Williams Sr., Kitty Wells, Conway Twitty, Loretta Lynn, George Jones, and a number of early country music pioneers who came before them.
Ben’s talents however, don’t end with radio. He is also an accomplished athlete. In his youth, he took up cross-country skiing in Old Crow under the direction of the now-famous Oblate priest and northern ski instructor, Father Jean- Marie Mouchet.
Ben excelled at the sport, winning numerous competitions, eventually being chosen for Canada’s national ski team and travelling extensively to compete. By his 20s he had his coaching papers, and began mentoring young skiers in Fort McPherson.
Unfortunately a lot of Ben’s skiing plaques were lost when the Old Crow school burned down, but his accomplishments were definitely not forgotten. Some of Ben’s former skiing students still call him ‘coach’ whenever they see him.
A third talent that people know Ben for is his fiddle-playing. Ben became interested in playing music from an early age when his mom bought him a guitar from the Sears catalogue.
Ben says he fell in love with it and taught himself to play through jamming with a buddy on harmonica. Ben’s dad was a fiddle player, and kept one tucked under his bed. Young Ben would play it when his dad wasn’t home, and eventually followed in his father’s footsteps.
According to Ben, “Everybody played fiddle in those days.”
When he was old enough to play at a dance in Fort McPherson, his talents were quickly recognized, and he started getting asked to play all over. Soon he was playing fiddle contests, festivals and all sorts of other events in Fort Good Hope, Aklavik, Inuvik, Yellowknife, Fort Simpson, Dawson City, and Moose Hide, to name a few.
After Ben moved to Whitehorse with Effie and their daughters, he was playing fiddle with the Yukon Jack Band in pretty much every bar in Whitehorse while doing janitorial work and radio shows at CHON-FMhttps://www.chonfm.com/.
In 2000 Ben put out a 25-song CD called Old Crow Fiddler under his nickname ‘Ben Chuck’. His favorite fiddle tune, The Paul Ben Reel, is on that album, a song named after his uncle. Inspiration for the tune came from Ben’s father and other fiddle-playing family members.
One of Ben’s favourite places to play was the Midway Lake Music Festival that happens in the summer not far from Fort McPherson. The last time he played there was four or five years ago. He says the 24-hour daylight there goes hand-in hand with all-night dancing and meeting up with old friends, which for Ben has always been a great time.
Recently at CHON-FM’s anniversary concert at Rotary Park in Whitehorse, Ben took his honorary spot on the stage to play fiddle once again, alongside many other Yukon First Nation artists. He’s a much-loved celebrity who just keeps on being in high demand. But what keeps him going?
Before Ben Charlie’s beloved wife of 54 years passed on four years ago, she told him, “I don’t want you to quit your radio show, or your fiddling.” So he hasn’t. He gets plenty of other encouragement, as well.
“I get a lot of phone calls at the station from elders who saw me play years ago. They tell stories about the old days, and tell me to keep playing. I talk to lots of interesting people from all over. After a while you get to know what songs they want to hear.”
Ben never thought he’d make it to 84, much less still be hosting his famous radio show
“It would be nice if I could train someone to take it over and keep the classic country request show going,” he says.
For now, he’s just taking it one day at a time, continuing to spin songs he loves, and connecting with the many friends and fans who call him to reminisce and request a tune.
Ben says he’s proud of his radio work and fiddling accomplishments. But he hasn’t forgotten about his other claim to fame either.
“I’d like to try skiing again, just for the heck of it!” he says, with a youthful glimmer in his eye.
One thing is certain–this charming and multi-talented Yukoner will always have audiences from far and wide tuning in and cheering him on.
