CARBONEAR, N.L. — Dick Nolan, a country singer who released more than 40 albums and was perhaps best known for the song Aunt Martha's Sheep, died Tuesday at age 66.

"He's probably a Canadian icon who never really got his just rewards -- he perhaps was just a little bit ahead of his time," said Larry Delaney, editor of Country Music News.

"In the Maritimes, he was considered 'the' entertainer. No question about it."

Nolan had been in poor health for the last few years, Delaney said from Ottawa.

A native of Corner Brook, N.L., Nolan started his illustrious music career in the late 1950s.

When he was 19, he decided to try his luck in Toronto, where he recorded and played in the house band at the city's famed Horseshoe Tavern.

In the late '60s, he returned to Newfoundland, signing a contract with RCA.

In 1972, Nolan scored a hit with Aunt Martha's Sheep, about a band of sheep thieves who convince a Mountie their stew is made of moose.

"We might have stole the sheep, boys, but the Mountie ate the most," concludes the song.

"It was just hugely popular," said Delaney. "It was one of these radio hits that just wouldn't go away. It was quite comical actually ... It stirred a lot of interest."

The record sold more than 100,000 copies in Canada.

In 1985, Nolan released Welcome Aboard, a collection of songs about Atlantic Canada.

He lived in South River, N.L., with his wife, Marie.

A funeral service is scheduled for Friday in nearby North River.