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In the industry where he spent his entire working life, Deane Cameron was fondly known as Captain Canada, a passionate man with an unwavering commitment to musicians, a hilarious way with one-liners and a heart, many say, that was as big as the country itself. Too modest to embrace any superhero title, Mr. Cameron worked tirelessly to boost new and established Canadian pop and rock artists during his nearly 25 years as head of Capitol Records-EMI of Canada (renamed EMI Music Canada), where he famously started in the warehouse and worked his way up to president. Few have played a more vital role in this country’s musical culture. Among his many accomplishments, he coaxed Stompin’ Tom Connors ...

In the summer of 1998, I got a call from Deane Cameron, president of EMI Music Canada. He said he was a big fan of my book Before the Gold Rush and asked if I’d be interested in writing the Canadian history of EMI to celebrate his label’s upcoming 50th anniversary. Deane had a vision for a book about the company where he’d started in the warehouse and worked his way up to become president. He didn’t want it to be about him—lord no—but about how the evolution of the label mirrored the growth of Canadian music itself. I loved a lot of the artists on Capitol and EMI, past and present. How could I say no? After negotiating what I felt was a very agreeable fee, I ventured out to the EMI offices o...