Travelling balladeer Stu Phillips journeyed from Western Canada to the Grand Ole Opry

While working at Calgary’s CFAC-AM in 1958, on-air personality and country singer Stu Phillips ducked down to the building’s coffee shop one day. He was young, brightly talented and restlessly ambitious. On a whim, he had his tea leaves read by a woman.

The beverage-based prognosticator told him that within three days he would meet a blond man who would change his life forever. He laughed and quickly forgot about it, but some 72 hours later, his manager called him into his office to meet someone.