Wake Up to Music Monday

Cape Breton Island is known for its rich culture and its deep roots in music, so every Monday I will feature videos showcasing Cape Breton Island's finest musicians from Fiddlers to Songwriters, to the Gaelic Song and the Rock n Roll!  

Remembering John Allan Cameron, (16 December 1938 – 22 November 2006)

Noted for performing traditional music on his twelve string guitar, he released his first album in 1968. He released 10 albums during his lifetime and was featured on national television. He was a recipient of the East Coast Music Award's Lifetime Achievement Award and the Order of Canada, conferred in 2003.

Cameron was born in Inverness County, Nova Scotia to Dan L. Cameron and Catherine Anne (Katie Anne) MacDonald. Katie Anne (1914–1983) was the only sibling of renowned Cape Breton fiddler and composer Dan Rory MacDonald. In 1957 John Allan moved to Ottawa, Ontario where he studied to be a Roman Catholic priest through the Order of the Oblate Fathers. In 1964, a few months before ordination, Cameron obtained a dispensation from the church to pursue studies in education at St. Francis Xavier University, and eventually a career in music.

He was a regular on Singalong Jubilee in the 1960s and he was later host of two Canadian television series. The first was the Montreal-produced John Allan Cameron on CTV from 1975 to 1976. Guests included Stan Rogers, Edith Butler, The Good Brothers, Stringband, Colleen Peterson, Adam Mitchell, Michael Cooney, Shirley Eikhard, Liam Clancy, Tommy Makem, Nancy White, Steve Goodman, and Rhythm Pals. Cameron would return to national television on CBC with the Halifax-produced The John Allan Cameron Show which ran from 1979 to 1981. Besides his numerous television and concert appearances, he performed at the Grand Ole Opry in 1970. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Allan_Cameron)

John Allan Cameron Tribute