Sam Sniderman (June 15, 1920 - September 23, 2012)

Sam Sniderman, CM, entrepreneur, critical promoter of Canadian music, and founder of the Sam the Record Man retail store will long be remembered for his contribution to the Canadian music scene.

Sam Sniderman, CM, entrepreneur, critical promoter of Canadian music, and founder of the Sam the Record Man retail store will long be remembered for his contribution to the Canadian music scene. Sam’s very active support of the music community in Toronto as a philanthropist and volunteer included numerous years on the board of directors for Toronto Arts Council and Toronto Arts Foundation. His accomplishments earned him the Order of Canada in 1976 for “his constant support of Canadian talent and concern for the preservation of our cultural heritage". He was inducted into both the Canadian Industry Music Hall of Fame and the Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame, and in 1999 he was presented with the Ramon John Hnatyshyn Award for Voluntarism in the Performing Arts. Sam Sniderman founded the Recordings Archive Library at the University of Toronto, now the largest of its kind in Canada. The flagship Sam the Record Man store with its iconic neon sign remained as an official heritage site at the corner of Yonge and Gould Street until its demolition in 2009.