My Swiss Moonlight Lullaby was the first song Wilf Carter recorded for RCA Victor and is widely acknowledged in country music circles as his most successful hit song. Featuring the first recording of an echo yodel and heavily influenced by the US singer Jimmie Rodgers, the song was produced by former RCA Director of Artists and Repertoire, Hugh Joseph, at RCA’s Montreal studios on December 20, 1933. My Swiss Moonlight Lullaby was a tune written about life as a trail rider in Alberta and was Carter’s debut release off his first RCA Victor record of the same name. The classic album, which features another popular favourite, The Capture of Albert Johnson, a song about a real-life murder hunt, went on to become a bestseller in 1934 and the first hit record ever by a Canadian country music performer, despite the Depression.
The song My Swiss Moonlight lullaby naturally flowed from Carter’s experiences riding his pony in the moonlight and practicing his yodeling in Rocky Mountain canyons. Discovering his voice could simulate the canyon’s echoing sounds, Wilf perfected this technique.
Carter has long been acknowledged as the father of Canadian country music in Canada, a distinction based on his prominence as Canada’s first country star, his influence on Canadian performers, and the assistance he gave to the careers of others.
My Swiss Moonlight Lullaby was voted one of the top 50 Canadian songs of all-time by a panel of experts on 50 Tracks: The Canadian Version, a CBC Radio One program that aired in 2005.
