John allen cameron - celtic pioneer

[8ch(pl)]

John Allen Cameron died of Bone Marrow Cancer the other day, just short of his 68th birthday. Born in Mabou, Inverness County, Cape Breton.

He was several years ahead of the current Cape Breton celtic resurgence, performing back to the sixties. He was a talented fiddler, played 12 string guitar, sang and recorded many songs for a carreer that spaned about 35 years. He played at many Folk Festivals and was once on the Stage at the Grand Ol Opry, wearing full Scottish costume. His talent never made avoid encouraging others and he was a genuine, friendly person.

CBC is having a Tribute this afternoon on the Radio. He will be missed.

[8ch(pl)]

I copied this from a news website.

John Allen Cameron, 67: Celtic musician
Nov. 22, 2006. 11:49 AM
CANADIAN PRESS

John Allan Cameron, a Cape Bretoner who helped spread the gospel of Celtic music across Canada and beyond, has died after a lengthy struggle with cancer. He was 67.

His brother, John Donald Cameron, said the legendary entertainer died Wednesday morning in a Toronto hospital.

A native of Mabou, N.S., Cameron was diagnosed five years ago with bone marrow cancer and leukemia.

Stuart Cameron said he was with his father when he died.

“It was his time and he was a fighter and he never wanted to give up. Everything he always did, he always, he did everything, lived life to the fullest in every regard.”

He said the family has received “countless” calls from friends and fans.

“It’s countless. . . . He never said he had fans, because fans comes from the word fanatical. He always said that he had a lot of friends,” Stuart Cameron said.

Known as “Mabou’s ministering minstrel,” John Allan Cameron tirelessly promoted Celtic music long before the Rankin Family, the Barra MacNeils and Natalie MacMaster became known to Canadian listeners.

“I was in on the ground floor, performing this stuff before it became sociologically acceptable,” Cameron said in a 1993 interview.

A charismatic performer, Cameron began his career with the Don Messer Show and Singalong Jubilee, then as the opening act for Anne Murray, and again with his own half-hour show on the CBC.

He made a name for himself playing strathspeys — a lively Scottish dance — reels and jigs on the guitar instead of the fiddle or bagpipe.

Murray, during a tribute last year to the then-ailing Cameron, said she remembers how people looked at him as a curiosity, especially in places like Las Vegas.

“He puts on a great show and he makes people laugh,” Murray said. “You can’t help but clap your hands and stomp your feet.”

In 1970, Cameron got a standing ovation at the Grand Ole Opry, with fellow Nova Scotian Hank Snow telling him offstage, “Whatever you’re doing, boy, keep it up because it works.”

Cameron’s career and health took a turn for the worse in the late 1980s when Murray’s management company dropped him and a tumour was removed from his thyroid gland.

For almost two years he couldn’t perform but eventually put his career back on track through conventions and staging shows for the military.

A devout Roman Catholic, he spent several years in a seminary studying for the priesthood, leaving six months before his ordination.

After graduating from university, he went to London, Ont., to teach but before long his music career took off.

He was a resident of Pickering, Ont., when he died.

[pathfinder]

Good post, Glen. #John Allen deserves a mention. #With his fiddle, twelve-string guitar and kilt, he helped put Cape Breton music on the map. #I thought CBC television with Ashley MacIsaac did a nice tribute to him on Sunday.

[8ch(pl)]

I didn't see that, The Weekend Morning show on CBC radio had some real nice phone in tributes. One lady said that John Allen would always acknowledge her mentally handicapped daughter, she was a big fan. He would make commitments to perform for no fee and always kept them.

They played a number of his recordings.