‘The Girl with the Golden Ear’ was honoured Sunday morning as a statue of Rosalie Trombley was unveiled to the public at the corner of Riverside Drive East and McDougall Street as part of the Open Streets event.
Trombley, the former Big 8 CKLW music director from the late 60s through to the 80s, passed away in November of 2021.
She earned a reputation for being able to pick a hit song, and has been credited with helping many major musical acts like Alice Cooper, Kiss, The Guess Who, Bob Seger and Elton John take their careers to the next level.
In 1974, Trombley added a song of John's that wasn't yet a single, "Bennie and the Jets", to the Big 8 playlist. Following it's popularity in Windsor-Detroit, other stations across the U.S. and Canada followed CKLW's lead adding it to their playlists, earning John a Billboard No. 1 hit.
Members of Rosalie Trombley’s family, Mayor Dilkens, City Councillors, and Burton Cummings among other special guests attended the unveiling.
Trombley’s daughter Diane Lauzon commended the work of the artist Donna Mayne.
"When I look at the statue today, I mean she created that from a photo, a photo, she never met my mother in the psychical form. This was all done from a photo. Outstanding. It's special and she's captured her perfectly."
Lauzon says growing up she knew her mom had a prominent job.
"There were limousines that came to the house to take us to shows. She gave away 45s on Halloween. She didn't give out candy. So our house was popular. People knew what my mom did. She was a bit avant-garde, she wore jeans, she wore sneakers, she smoked, she drove a Volkswagen Beetle and she raised three kids all on her own."
Local sculpturist Donna Mayne created the artwork and sculpting, with the funding provided by the city, with support from St. Clair College.
She says it was very important for her to get this piece of work right.
"You know this is important to the public, but it's even more important to the family who just lost her. So to me that was what I was striving for the most."
Mayne says the city has never commissioned a woman bronze statue before from Windsor's history.
"If you only pay attention to the men, you're only getting half the story, right? She played an important role in our culture and our youth and future generations. It was a good fit."
Mayor Drew Dilkens says Trombley left an indelible mark on the City of Windsor and The Big 8.
"[She] launched the careers of so many artists, like Burton Cummings who came all the way here, just to be here for the statue unveiling today. Alice Cooper, The Guess Who, Gordon Lightfoot. The list is very very long and that was just the power that she had as the music director of CKLW at the time. She was the girl that had the golden ear. She was able to find songs and artists who she knew had talent and had the chance to be successful and she helped launch those careers."
Burton Cummings poses alongside statue of Rosalie Trombley, former Big 8 CKLW music director. September 17, 2023. (AM800 CKLW)
The Rosalie Trombley Commemorative Exhibition opened to the public Sunday at the Chimczuk Museum in Windsor, featuring pictures, awards, memorabilia, information and music in a showcase of her legacy and the legacy of The Big 8 CKLW.
-With files from CTV Windsor's Bob Bellacicco