Q... Surnames 2006 Obituary

QUILL o@ca.on.york_county.toronto.toronto_star 2006-11-23 published
Celtic music's 'true champion'
John Allan CAMERON brought Cape Breton to Canada, the world
By Greg QUILL, Entertainment Columnist
Nova Scotia folk musician and singer John Allan CAMERON, an icon in the Canadian music community for more than 40 years, died early yesterday in Toronto after a long battle with cancer.
He was 67.
CAMERON's son, Stuart, a musician and record producer, was with his father when he died. "It was his time and he was a fighter and he never wanted to give up," he told The Canadian Press. "He lived life to the fullest in every regard."
Inducted into the Order Of Canada in 2003 for his relentless efforts in bringing the music of his beloved Cape Breton to the world, CAMERON often boasted that he was playing Celtic music before Celtic was cool.
An invigorating performer, and an excellent fiddler and guitarist, he was able to capture the distinctive variants of the Cape Breton fiddle style on the 12-string guitar and popularized it for millions at countless folk festivals and concerts, and on television and radio programs in Canada, the United States, Britain, Europe and Asia.
Canadian pop-music legend Anne Murray, who toured on and off with CAMERON early in her career, told the Toronto Star recently, "John Allan is single-handedly responsible for the Celtic music revival in the 1960s. He was the guy who made it happen and he was always so much fun. He never failed to put a smile on everyone's face."
In the 1960s and '70s, CAMERON was a frequent guest with Murray on the hit Canadian Broadcasting Corporation Halifax television variety series Singalong Jubilee, and he was a regular on the provincial television favourite Ceilidh.
CAMERON is credited with having paved the way for Ashley MacIsaac, The Rankins, The Barra MacNeils, Rita MacNeil, Great Big Sea and Natalie MacMaster, among others.
He hosted his own series on CTV from Montreal in 1975-76, and on the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation from Halifax from 1979-81. He performed at folk festivals throughout Canada, at Nashville's Grand Ole Opry, and even in Las Vegas. In the late 1980s, CAMERON produced and starred in shows at Canadian military bases in Germany and the Middle East.
"He loved what he did," Murray said. "He'd travel to places in the U.S., Japan or anywhere just to talk about Celtic music. More often than not he performed in a kilt, which some folkies frowned at. He didn't care.
"He's a hero to them now, the first true champion of Celtic music in Canada."
Earlier this year, when news of CAMERON's terminal illness spread, Friends organized the release of a two-disc, 40-song tribute CD, Yes! Let's Hear it for John Allan Cameron (available online at http://www.scotsmarket.com), with contributions from a spectacular array of Canadian musical talent, including fiddlers MacIsaac, Buddy and Natalie MacMaster, and Sandy MacIntyre; songwriters Ron Hynes, Jimmy Rankin, Gordie Sampson, and Bruce Guthro; bands Great Big Sea, Blue Rodeo, The Cottars and Leahy; singers Bobby Curtola, John McDermott and Mary Jane Lamond; Nova Scotia Premier and renowned fiddler Rodney MacDonald; and Bobby Brown and The Cape Breton Symphony, with whom CAMERON often performed.
Musical Friends also organized a series of star-studded tributes across the country, including a sold-out event at the Berkeley Theatre in Toronto in May, to help defray the folk music star's hospital expenses, which had been accumulating for more than four years.
At that time, recording star Rita MacNeil told the Star, "John Allan is the godfather of Celtic music in Canada, the first champion of the songs and musical style unique to Cape Breton."
CAMERON was born in Inverness, Cape Breton, on December 16, 1938. He grew up in Mabou surrounded by music -- his uncle, Dan R. MacDONALD, mother, Katie Ann, and brother, John Donald, were accomplished fiddlers and composers.
CAMERON, who lived in Pickering for the past 20 years, began playing guitar for his brother at local dances. He studied for the priesthood in Ottawa and took final vows in 1964, then received papal dispensation to become a performer. He went on to earn arts and education degrees in 1966 and '67.
He recorded 11 albums and enjoyed modest chart success with the regional country/folk hits "Sit Down, Mr. Music Man," "I Can't Tell You" and "Overnight Success" between 1973 and 1982.
Visitation will be at the Ogden Funeral Home, 4164 Sheppard Ave. E., on Saturday from 7 to 9 p.m. and Sunday from 2 to 7 p.m.
A funeral service will be held on Monday at St. Isaac Jogues Roman Catholic Church, 1148 Finch Ave. in Pickering.