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July 31, 2007
John Allan Cameron inducted into Canadian Country Music Hall
of Fame
Durham Region News
A
Pickering musician known as the 'Godfather of Celtic Music'
will be inducted posthumously into the Canadian Country
Music Hall of Fame next month.
John Allan Cameron is one of three inductees into the
Canadian Country Music Association virtual Hall of Fame
during Country Music Week in Regina from Sept. 7 to 10.
Born in
Mabou, Nova Scotia, Cameron spent more than 40 years as a
leading exponent of Celtic music. His music helped pave the
path for a new generation of Celtic artists in Canada,
including The Rankins, Great Big Sea, and Natalie MacMaster
(a distant cousin).
In a 2003
interview in the News Advertiser, Cameron notes his Cape
Breton Island-influenced music was initially a hard sell
with the public, who eventually grew to embrace his Celtic
musical stylings.
"When I
first started, it wasn't considered music," Cameron said. "I
had to fight then.
"I've
never been apologetic of my music. When I was at St. FX (St.
Francis Xavier University), I was playing pipe tunes on
guitar. My confreres were apologizing for me doing it. They
said it was for old people.
"If music
is performed well, there's a pristine purity. I helped
preserve it and bring it on my show."
One of his
fond memories was performing at the Nashville institution,
the Grand Ole Opry, in 1970, on the same bill as Hank Snow
and Roy Rogers.
"Hank Snow
said to me 'well young man, whatever it is you're doing,
keep doing it.' It was great. It was my first great review,"
Cameron noted in 2003.
In 2003,
he received the Order of Canada in recognition of his
efforts in establishing and growing the Celtic music scene
in Canada.
Over his
career, Cameron released 11 albums and had two television
shows in the 1970s.
He lived
in Markham for 20 years and had called Pickering home for
the past 10.
Cameron
passed away Nov. 22, 2006 after a lengthy battle with bone
marrow cancer and leukemia. He was 67.
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Above photo:
Margaree (by Victor Maurice Faubert)
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