33.45.78 All Vinyl Radio Show
with Steve Fruitman
#385
June 21, 2021
click pic to go to Campstreams Radio Archive page
Dedicated to the 215
Indigenous Heritage Month

Hear this show now!

      
Side A


1.   Buffy Ste-Marie: Native North American Child – 1972 *
2.   Lawrence Martin: I got My Music – 1981 *
3.   David Campbell: Splinters of the Tree – 1984 *
4.   Vern Cheechoo: You’re My Woman – 1984  *
5.   Sinclair Cheechoo: James Bay Doings – 1984 *
6.   Thelma Cheechoo: Evangeline – 1984  *
7.   Lloyd Cheechoo: James Bay – 1981 *
8.   Alanis Obomsawin: Bush Lady – 1976 *
9.   Digging Roots: 90 Year Old Mooshim – 2006 *
10. Blackie & The Rodeo Kings: Bitter And Low – 2017 *
11. William Tagoona: Love The People – 1981 *


Side B

1.   The Mighty Mohawks: Mule Skinner Blues – 1965 *
2.   Willie Dunn: Pontiac – 1983 *
3.   Willie Thrasher: Sweet Grass Song – 1981 *
4.   Robbie Robertson: Showdown At Big Skies – 1987 *
5.   Lawrence ‘Teddy Boy’ Houle: Red River Jig – 1987 *
6.   Eskimo Women’s Music of Povungnituk: Song of Northern Lights – 1980 *
7.   Juupie Arnaituk: How Northern Quebec Was Discovered – 1987 *
8.   David Gon: The Loon Calling Me – 1988 *
9.   Lucassie Koperqualuk: Siilaaluujatuuk – 1975 *
10. Morley Loon: Northland, My Land – 1981 *
11. Charlie Adams: Blowin’ In The Wind – 1978 *
12. Shingoose: Appaloosa Mare – 1979 *
13. Mary Thompson: My Song For The People of Africa – 1987 *
14. Kashtin: Pakuakumit  – 1989 *
BG: Don Ross: That’ll Be The Phone – 1989 *
15. Lee Cremo: Schubenacadie Reserve Reel – 1980 *

CanCon = 100%


And Now for The Particulars:


Dedicated to the Memory of the 215
Indigenous History Month

Side A

1.   Buffy Sainte-Marie: Native North American Child
(Buffy Sainte-Marie)
Moonshot: Vanguard Records – VSD 79312
Piapot Cree First Nations Reserve, SK

Buffy Sainte-Marie: vocal, guitar
Charlie McCoy: electric guitar, harmonica
Billy Sanford: guitar
David Briggs: keys
Norbert Putnam: bass
Kenny Buttrey: drums
Produced by Buffy Sainte-Marie & Norbert Putnam, 1972
Recorded by Gene Eichelberger at Quadrafonic Studios, Nashville TN

Beverly Sainte-Marie b. Qu'Appelle Valley, Saskatchewan February 20, 1941

It’s amazing being my age, having known Buffy’s music since forever and still listening to her now. Being a Native woman of colour, performing throughout the US in the early 1960s, who knows what bigots she faced. And she faced them all down. She took on the hardest of hearts with her voice and a guitar.

2.   Lawrence Martin: I Got My Music
(Lawrence Martin)
Goose Wings: The Music of James Bay: Goose Wings – WRC1 2019
Moose Factory ON
Lawrence Martin: guitar, vocal
Greg Spense: bass
Stan Louttit: drums
Brian Behi: guitar, bass, mandolin
Produced by Mel Stewart, 1981
Recorded by Stan Louttit at studio of
Ojibway & Cree Cultural Centre, Timmins ON

Lawrence Martin aka Wapistan b. January 1956 Moose Factory, ON

When he was only twelve years old, one of his aunts recognized his talent and bought him an acoustic guitar, then taught him the basics. Once he learned how to strum three chords, he began to write songs. He later moved to Sioux Lookout, Ontario  and was elected mayor in 1991, becoming the first aboriginal person in the province ever elected to the mayoralty of a municipality that was not a First Nations reserve. He later moved to Cochrane, Ontario, where he was elected mayor 2003, becoming one of the few Canadian politicians ever to have been elected mayor of two different municipalities. He served as mayor of Cochrane until 2010.

At the Juno Awards of 1994, he became the first winner of the Juno Award for Best Music of a Canadian Aboriginal Recording for his album “Wapistan Is Lawrence Martin”. He was nominated two more times in the same category, at the Juno Awards of 1996 for his album Message and at the Juno Awards of 2003 for The Right Combination, an album he recorded as a duo with Vern Cheechoo.

3.   David Campbell: Splinters Of The Tree
(David Campbell)
Through Arawak Eyes: DEC Development Education Centre – IFF 0001
Toronto / Guyana
David Campbell: guitar, vocal
Sherman Maness & Harris Todman: bass
Dick Smith: percussion
Chris Whiteley: harmonica
Harris Todman: steel drums
Produced by Billy Bryans & Alan Duffy, 1984
Recorded by Hayward Parrott

David Campbell b. Pomeroon

Singer/songwriter/guitarist from Vancouver, Canada - originally from Guyana and of Arawak/Portuguese ancestry.

Born in Guyana, migrated to Canada in the early 60s, then to London (UK), where he recorded four folk LPs for Transatlantic, Mercury and Decca. Three years later he moved back to Canada, settling in Toronto  where he continued to write and record music. His impressive body of work includes more than 1600 songs, more than 20 albums, 5 books of poetry and song lyrics, and many paintings. Last known place of residence was in Vancouver.

4.    Vern Cheechoo: You’re My Woman
(Vern Cheechoo)
The Cheechoo Family: Condor Records – 977-1494
Moose Factory ON
Vern Cheechoo: guitar
Graham Townsend: fiddle
Ken Ducharme: lead guitar, bass
Evan Egget: steel
Neil Renwick: drums
Debbi Inglis, Phil Main: bg vocal
Produced by Graham Townsend, 1984
Recorded by Harry Busby at Ernie King Sound, Wingham ON

Vern Cheechoo b. Moose Factory, ON

Vern, son of fiddler Sinclair Cheechoo and sister to Thelma, was the winner at the 2000 Aboriginal Music Awards for the Best Produced Album of the year. Vern says, “It’s the love of music and entertaining folks, the fans, that keep me going and I’ll keep going until I can’t play or sing no more”.

The Cheechoo Family album features the three Cheechoos and was produced by legendary Canadian fiddler Graham Townsend.

He lived for a while in Saskatchewan but currently resides in Timmins.

5.   Sinclair Cheechoo: James Bay Doings
(Sinclair Cheechoo)
The Cheechoo Family: Condor Records – 977-1494
Moose Factory ON
Vern Cheechoo: guitar
Graham Townsend: piano
Ken Ducharme: lead guitar, bass
Evan Egget: steel
Neil Renwick: drums
Debbi Inglis, Phil Main: bg vocal
Produced by Graham Townsend, 1984
Recorded by Harry Busby at Ernie King Sound, Wingham ON

Just a fantastic indigenous traditional fiddler, Sinclair fathered kids like Vern and Thelma who followed him as recording artists. I had the privilege of meeting him in his home on Moose Factory back in the 1990s. At first, he wanted nothing to do with me until I could prove that I had nothing to do with the Canadian or Ontario governments. After that, he was very gracious, a lovely man who could really play.

6.   Thelma Cheechoo: Evangeline
(Robbie Robertson)
The Cheechoo Family: Condor Records – 977-1494
Moose Factory ON
Thelmsa Cheechoo: vocal
Vern Cheechoo: guitar
Graham Townsend: fiddle
Ken Ducharme: lead guitar, bass
Evan Egget: steel
Neil Renwick: drums
Debbi Inglis, Phil Main: bg vocal
Produced by Graham Townsend, 1984
Recorded by Harry Busby at Ernie King Sound, Wingham ON

Thelma Cheechoo b. Moose Factory ON

Thelma Cheechoo is a contemporary Cree folk singer/songwriter born and raised on Moose Factory, Ontario. Thelma’s family lived on Kesagami Lake where they had no running water; no electricity and they lived off the land. The 15-member Cheechoo family was always playing music in the home.
 
Thelma’s has shared the stage with some amazing musicians including Canadian Country music icons Jimmy Rankin and Carroll Baker, Blue Rodeo, Susan Aglukark, Indigenous music icon Buffy Sainte-Marie as well as Blackie and the Rodeo Kings

In 2019, Thelma was invited to the “British Forum on Ethnomusicology” in Aberdeen, Scotland. She was a guest lecturer and spoke on the music history of the James Bay Cree..

7.   Lloyd Cheechoo: James Bay
(Lloyd Cheechoo)
Goose Wings: The Music of James Bay: World Records WRC1 2019
Eastmaine QC
Lloyd Cheechoo: guitar, vocal
Greg Spence: bass
Stan Louttit: hand drum
Produced by Mel Stewart, 1981
Recorded by Mel Stewart at the Ojibway and Cree Cultural Centre,Timmins ON

Fresh out of high school back in the late-1970s, Lloyd Cheechoo was in Moose Factory playing drums and a bit of guitar in a band with his cousins. One day a fiddle player named Clarence Louttit asked Lloyd a favour: someone from the Oji-Cree Cultural Centre was recording local artists for a compilation, and Louttit wanted to know if Cheechoo could add some guitar to his tracks. Once that was done, the producer said, “Hey Lloyd, do you have any songs?” So it happened that Cheechoo contributed two songs to a compilation called Goose Wings.  Others on this compilation album include Lawrence Martin, Vern Cheechoo and Roger House.

8.   Alanis Obomsawin: Bush Lady
(Alanis Obomsawin)
Mariposa 1976: Mariposa Folk Foundation – M-76-002
Abenaki First Nation, QC
Alanis Obomsawin: hand drum, vocal
Produced by Bill Usher, 1976
Recorded live at the Mariposa Folk Festival, Toronto Island
Mixed at Thunder Sound, Toronto by Mike Hogg & Bill Usher
Mastered at RCA Toronto by Bill Cuddihy

b. Abenaki Territory, Lebanon, New Hampshire 1932

Film Producer from Abenaki First Nation has produced over 40 docs
Released an album called Bush Lady in 1988
Member of the Order of Canada in 1983 & Officer 2001
Presented the Governor General’s Award (1983)
May 2008 saw another award from the Governor General's office with the Performing
Arts Award for Lifetime Artistic Achievement.

When the last tree is cut, the last fish is caught, and the last river is polluted; when to breathe the air is sickening, you will realize, too late, that wealth is not in bank accounts and that you can't eat money. He last film was the 2019 release of Jordan River Anderson, the Messenger.

9.   Digging Roots: 90 Year Old Mooshim
(Raven)
Live at CIUT
Barrie ON
Raven Kanetakta: guitar, vocal
ShoShona Kish: vocal
Produced by Steve Fruitman, 2006
Recorded live to air at CIUT Studios, 91 St George St., Toronto

Formed in 2004, the duo released their first album ‘Seeds’ in 2006. The album was a nominee for the Aboriginal Album of the Year Juno at the Juno Awards of 2007. They followed it with ‘We Are Digging Roots’ in 2009, which featured collaborations with Tanya Tagaq, DJ Bear Witness of A Tribe Called Red and Kinnie Starr, who also produced the album. Their third album ‘For the Light’ was released in 2014.
 
They won the Canadian Aboriginal Music Award for Best Group in 2007. In 2016 the band performed at the Salmon Arm Roots & Blues Festival and at the Ottawa Jazz Festival. In 2017 they performed at the National Arts Centre in Ottawa.

Kanetakta is originally from Winneway, Quebec, while Kish is from the Batchewana First Nation in Northern Ontario. They are currently based in Barrie, Ontario.

10. Blackie & The Rodeo Kings: Bitter And Low
(Tom Wilson)
Kings and Kings: FU:M (File Under: Music) Records FUM068
Hamilton, ON
Stephen Fearing: electric guitar
Colin Linden: electric dobro
Tom Wilson: lead vocal
Fantastic Negrito: guest vocal
Johnny Dymond: bass
Gary Craig: drums
John Whynot: piano, Wurlitzer
Kenneth Pearson: B3 organ
Bryan Owings: shakey things
Produced by Colin Linden, 2017
Recorded by John Dymond and Colin Linden at Pinhead Recorders, Nashville TN
Mastered by Craig Calbi and Steve Falone at Sterling Sound, NYC

Thomas Cunningham Wilson b. Hamilton ON 1959

Wilson grew up in Hamilton and was raised by his great-aunt and uncle. He was the son of Louis Beauvais, a Mohawk man, and Janie Lazare, who was also part Mohawk, but was raised being told that his mother was his cousin and did not learn of his Mohawk heritage until five or six years ago.

His first performing band was The Florida Razors, formed in Hamilton in 1981. They released one album, Beat Music, in 1986 but dissolved in 1987. In the 1990s Wilson fronted the Junkhouse who released three studio albums and a number of singles. Then, in 1996, he joined Colin Linden and Stephen Fearing to form the roots rock trio Blackie and the Rodeo Kings. He also plays in the Lee Harvey Osmand band.
 
In 2017 Wilson published a memoir of his life to date, titled Beautiful Scars. The memoir addressed the discovery of his Mohawk heritage, which he also addressed musically for the first time on Lee Harvey Osmond's 2019 album Mohawk.

11. William Tagoona: Northern Man
(William Tagoona)
Northern Man: Boot Records / CBC Northern Services – NCB 500
Fort Chimo QC
William Tagoona: guitar, vocal
Dougie Trineer: bass
P Gurry
S Bougie
Produced by Les McLaughlin, 1981
Recorded in Ottawa

William Tagoona b. Qamani’tuaq, (formerly Baker Lake), in Nunavut , 1952.

Tagoona  attended residential school in Churchill, Manitoba and completed high school in Ottawa.  Before he was taken away from his family, he fronted the first Inuit rock band in the Northwest Territories when he was 12, back in 1964, called ‘The Harpoons’. From an early age he wrote all his songs in Inuktitut. He released two LPs (in the early 80s) produced by CBC Northern Services and currently works for CBC News in Nunavut, hosting a program called Tuttavik.

Side B

1.   The Mighty Mohawks: Mule Skinner Blues
(George Vaughan (Horton) / Jimmy Rodgers)
Capture Country: Arc A722
Caugnawaga, QC
George Hill: guitar
Princess Moonbeam (Betty Benoit): drums
Elie Wallace Martin aka Wally Moone: bass guitar, vocal
“Boots” Bernie Goguen: lead guitar, vocal
Produced by Ben Weatherby, 1965

Were the Mighty Mohawks the original punks? Formed in 1958 they were billed as "Canada's Country Boys" even though their drummer was a woman.  Betty Benoit was from Clarenceville QC.  Band leader George Hill from Kahnawake QC, d December 2015. Elie Wallace Martin (Wally Moon) b. May 15, 1936 from the Listuguj Mi'gmaq reserve, Restigouche QC (d. July 8th, 2009).

Bernie Goguen as “Boots Bernard” was from Richabucto NB, is mentioned in Stompin’ Tom’s song,  “The Gumboot Clogeroo”. This was the only album they released on vinyl. They eventually became George Hill’s Mighty Mohawks. George Hill continued playing music semi-professionally and used the Mighty Mohawks name in whatever band he was playing with.

2.   Willie Dunn: Pontiac
(Willie Dunn)
The Pacific: Boot Records – SQN 106
Ottawa, ON
Willie Dunn: guitar, vocal
Don Campbell: lead guitar
Bob Robb: guitar, mandolin
Danny O’Neil: piano
Dave Carty: drums
Back Alley John: harmonica
Darlo Domingues: kenacho
Dave Jock & Akwasasne Singers: vocal, drums
Produced by Claus Beigert & Willie Dunn, 1983
Recorded at Studio 1741, Montreal and Studio Passport, Hull QC

William Dunn b. Montreal Aug 14, 1941 / d. Aug 5, 2013 Ottawa ON (71)

Dunn didn’t spend a lot of time as a folksinger; he did that for a couple of years in the early 70s. But in 1980 he recorded his comeback album, ‘The Pacific’, to finish his vinyl output. He was mostly interested in writing music for films and getting into directing. He was also a prominent member of the New Democratic Party and ran in the 1993 federal election. He was inducted into the Aboriginal Walk of Honour in 2005. But since that time, he recordings have had a huge resurgence.

Raven Kanatakta of Digging Roots once asked him:  “'Hey Willie, how do you write your songs?' He was like, 'Well, I write songs that will last 300 years.' He was just this Renaissance person that was bringing back that heartbeat and that movement that we're feeling in the community right now, where people can sing their songs again and where they can play their drums, and where they can express who they are and where they come from," recalled Raven.

3.   Willie Thrasher: Sweet Grass Song
(W Thrasher)
Sweet Grass Music: No Label ST-7004
Aklavik, Northwest Territories
Willie Thrasher: guitar, vocal
Willy Mitchell: drum
Produced by Sweet Grass Music, 1981
Recorded by CBC Northern Services in Val d’Or, Quebec

Willie Thrasher b. Aklavik, Northwest Territories 1948

A fan of Beatles drummer Ringo Starr, Thrasher learned to play drums and formed a band called the Cordells with his brother and a couple of friends. They toured northern Canada in the late 1960s and early 1970s, playing schools and community halls. Based out of Inuvik, they were considered the town's first rock and roll band, and played mostly contemporary songs and covers. After a show in the mid-1970s, Thrasher was approached by an elderly man and challenged as to why he didn't play music that reflected his Inuit heritage. From that point onward, Thrasher moved into more personal songwriting, learning guitar and began studying Inuit music.

The cool thing about The Sweet Grass song was that it was written the night before it was recorded! Thrasher has been a role model for countless young indigenous singer/songwriters.

4.   Robbie Robertson: Showdown At Big Skies
(Robbie Robertson)
Robbie Robertson: Geffen Records XGHS 24160
Toronto ON
Terry Bozzio: drums
Abraham Laboriel: bass
Daniel Lanois: percussion, bg vocal
Peter Gabrial: keys, drum program
Robbie Robertson: vocal, guitars
Produced by Daniel Lanois and Robbie Robertson 1987
Recorded by Jim Scott at Village Recorder, West Los Angeles; U2 Mobile Unite: Danesmote, Dublin / Ashcombe House, London; A&M Recordings Studio, Hollywood; Bearsville Sound Studio, Bearsville, NY; The Hit Factory, New York City
Mixed by Bob Clearmountain
Mastered by Bob Ludwig at Masterdisk, NYC

Jaime Royal "Robbie" Robertson  b. July 5, 1943 Toronto

Everybody knows who Robbie Robertson is from his years with The Band. He was raised in Toronto, half Jewish and half Mohawk. He suffered a lot of discrimination as a kid and never felt at home in Toronto. He first became aware of the power of music when he visited the Six Nations Reserve when he was only 8. He remembered being in a house of some relatives and they were singing songs and playing guitars. It was the rhythm, fingers on strings, voices blending together in unison that he found so mesmerizing.

5.   Lawrence “Teddy Boy” Houle: Red River Jig
(Trad)     
Old Native & Métis Fiddling in Manitoba: Falcon Productions – FPP 187
Manitoba
Produced by Anne Lederman, 1987
Recorded live on location
Remastered by Anne Lederman & Rich Greenspoon

In the mid-1980s, folklorist Anne Lederman decided to check out the Native and Métis fiddling of rural Manitoba. Realizing that this was a gold mine of cultural importance that was quickly fading away, she got a grant from the National Museum of Canada and produced two double-albums of fiddle tunes with the help of Lawrence ‘Teddy Boy’ Houle who convinced local fiddlers that they should be recorded.

I first met Teddy Boy at the Mariposa festival in 1987 and had him guest on my Great North Wind program in 1990. I remember getting a phone call from Winnipeg one day; it was from Teddy, asking me an important question: “Do you know a tune called The Mason’s Apron?” He claimed that he was asked to perform in Ottawa on Canada Day and a group of fiddlers would play The Mason’s Apron as an encore. Of course I knew the tune, got a record out and played it for him over the phone. “Ahh, that’s Mason’s Apron! I’ve always played that tune; just didn’t know what it was called.” His style straddles the ‘old style’ with the modern.

I asked Teddy Boy what it was like, playing his indigenous style  to white audiences? He told me: “I go onstage and secretly pic out one face; it’s my job to make them feel happy. Remember: every crowd is made up of individuals with one set of ears. I just play to their ears.” That was the best advice that I, as a green, young radio dj, ever got. After that I began programming my shows to one set of ears.

Teddy Boy is an Anishinaabe Métis elder currently working and living in Calgary with the Métis Calgary Family Service Society where he facilitates a variety of workshops.

6.   Eskimo Women’s Music of Povungnituk: Song of Northern Lights
(Trad)
Inuit Throat And Harp Songs: Canadian Music Heritage Collection MH001
Povungnituk, QC
Alasi Alasuak
Lucy Amarualik
Alaci Tulaugak
Nellie Nungak
Mary Sivuarapik
Produced by Marvin Green, 1980
Recorded by Paul Hodge

Inuit throat singing, or katajjaq, consists of two women who sing duets in a close face-to-face formation with no instrumental accompaniment, in an entertaining contest to see who can outlast the other. It was a form of entertainment among Inuit women while men were away on hunting trips, and it was a regarded more as a type of vocal or breathing game in the Inuit culture rather than a form of music. Two women face each other usually in a standing position and holding each other's arms. The first to run out of breath or be unable to maintain the pace of the other singer will start to laugh or simply stop and will thus be eliminated from the game.

Povungnituk is on the Quebec side, near the top of Hudson Bay.


7.   Juupie Arnaituk: How Northern Quebec Was Discovered
(Juupie Arnaituk)
Things Around Us: CBC Northern Services – WRC1-5654
Wakeham Bay QC
Juupie Arnaituk: vocal
Randall Prescott: bass, harmonica
Mitch Pouliot: drums
Gary Spicer: guitar, dobro
Ed Bimm: keys
Produced by Les McLaughlin, 1987
Recorded by Bob Peladeau – Ottawa

I’ve got one CBC album and a 45 of this guy but I can’t find much information about him. The liner notes talk about Inuit but say virtually nothing about him!

Canadian Broadcasting Corporation Northern Service Broadcast Recordings were produced (mostly in Ottawa) between 1980-1992. The collection consists of recordings featuring mostly indigenous artists.

8.   David Gon: The Loon Calling Me
(David Gon)
Island Miles Away: CBC Northern Services – WRC1 5676
Yellowknife NT
David Gon: guitar, vocal
Eddie Bimm: keys
Ron Prescott: drums
Gary Spicer: guitar
Peter Fredette: bass
Randall Prescott: harmonica
Produced by Les McLaughlin, 1988
Recorded at Snowcan Studios, Ottawa by Marc Lajoie

David Gon b. Yellowknife NT 1953

A member of the Dog Rib First Nation, he had a good career as a singer-songwriter playing across the northern reaches of Canada. He got hired to perform at the Northwest Territories Arctic Show at Expo ’86 in Vancouver as well as the Canada Winter Games in Cape Breton in 1987, all of which lead to the recording of this album in Ottawa the following year.

9.   Lucassie Koperqualuk: Siilaaluujatuuk (Light Showers)
(L Koperqualuk)
45 Single: CBC Northern Services – CBC-005
Povungnituk QC
Lucassie Koperqualuk: vocal
N Dube: guitar
D Labrosse: guitar
Produced by Jean Pierre Desjardins, 1975?
Recorded by M Bernard at CBC Studios, Ottawa

Played in a band with Charlie Adams called Sikumiut based out of Povungnituk, northern Quebec. That’s about all I can find out about him.

10. Morley Loon: Northland, My Land
(Morley Loon)
Northland, My Land: Boot Records / CBC Northern Services – NCB 503
Mistassini QC
J Kelly: percussion
R Daignault: flute
Morley Loon: vocal, guitar
Produced by Les McLaughlin, 1981
Recorded in Ottawa

 He began singing and touring in the late 1960s, composing in the Cree language. He recorded two albums with the CBC’s Northern Service in 1975 as well as a studio album, North Land, My Land, with Boot Records in 1981. He was the first Cree language performer to see significant radio airplay in Canada. Loon influenced other First Nations musicians, such as Lloyd Cheechoo and Kashtin, to sing in their own languages. Loon died at age 38 in 1986 after suffering a lengthy illness.

11. Charlie Adams: Blowin' In The Wind
(Anuri Mut-titt Autu-ing Namat)
(Bob Dylan)
EP: CBC Northern Service - QCS-1464
Inoucdjouac, QC
Charlie Adams: guitar, vocal
Johnny Inukpuk: co-singer
Produced circa 1978

Charlie Adams b. 1953 / d. Feb 27 – 2008 (55) Montreal

Adams was one of the first Inuit artists ever to record for the CBC Northern Services. He was an inspiration to many prominent Inuit musicians who site him as their role model.

The EP contains 4 songs: I’m Just Going To Sing, I Used to be Just A Player, and Spirits, all sung in Inuktitut. It’s one of several EPs given to me by an old friend, Simon Qiggaituk.

12. Shingoose: Appaloosa Mare
(Graham Card)
Ballad of Norval: CBC - LM 467
Roseau River Reserve MB
Produced, 1979

Curtis Jonnie b Winnipeg 26 Oct 1946, Roseau River First Nation / d. Jan 12, 2021 Winnipeg

An Ojibwa, Shingoose was raised on the Roseau River Reserve before being adopted by a Mennonite missionary family in Steinbach, Man. That was where he began singing, in church choirs. They moved to The States when 15 and toured as a member of the Nebraska-based Boystown Concert Choir. Later he played with a variety of rock bands based in Washington, DC, and New York City.

In 1973 he returned to Canada, residing and beginning his life’s work in Winnipeg. Moved by the confrontation that year at Wounded Knee, South Dakota, he became an activist on behalf of native peoples. Taking the name of his great grandfather, Shingoose, and singing in a country-folk style, he appeared at the Edmonton, Mariposa, Vancouver, and Winnipeg folk festivals, at the Big Valley Jamboree, as well as across Canada playing coffeehouses and university campuses.

He only released an album and a half on vinyl and a cassette. His first album, Native Country, was released in 1975, and featured Bruce Cockburn. According to his daughter, one of her dad’s proudest accomplishments was helping create the Best Music of Aboriginal Canada Category (now the Indigenous Music Album of the Year) at the Juno Awards, alongside Buffy Sainte-Marie and Elaine Bomberry.

In the last decade of his life, Shingoose had a stroke which paralyzed the left side of his body.
Shingoose played the Winnipeg Folk Festival seven times from 1975 to 2016. He died of Covid-19 in a Long Term Care home in Winnipeg.

NOTE: shared LP side 2 by Albert Morton no production info available

13. Mary Thompson: My Song For The People of Africa
(Mary Thompson)
My Songs For My People: CBC Northern Services – WRC1 5037
Eskimo Point, Nunavut
Mary Thompson: vocals
Randall Prescott: bass, harmonica
Ron Prescott: drums
Gary Spicer: guitar, dobro, fiddle
Produced by Les McLaughlin, 1987
Recorded by Bob Peladeau – Snocan Studios, Ottawa

One of the few female artists recorded by Northern Services, Mary Thompson grew up in performing household. Her earliest influences were listening to country music on the radio when reception was good. Music has taken her across North America and up to Greenland. She plays keyboards and guitar.

14. Kashtin: Pakuakumit [Pointe Bleue]
(Claude McKenzie)
Kashtin: Trans-Canada Records TCR 8910
Maliotenam, QC
Claude McKenzie: guitar, vocals, Harmonica, banjo
Forent Vollant: vocals, harmonica
Gaetan Essiambre: guitar, vocals, keys
Normand Dubé: guitar
Jean-François Fabiano: drums
Normand Boudeau: handrum
Daniel Bonin: bass
Marc Bollieu: keys
Daniel Jean: fiddle

Produced by Guy Trépanier, 1989
Recorded at Studio de Son Cocept by Louis Mercier
Mixed at Studio Cinar by André Perreault, Louis Mercier & John Nesterowich

BG:

Don Ross: That’ll Be The Phone
(Don Ross)
Bearing Straight: Duke St Records DSR 31054
Toronto ON
Hugh Marsh, violin
David Piltch, acoustic bass
Don Ross, guitar
Produced by Don Ross, 1989
Recorded by Ron Searles at Manta Sound, Toronto

15. Lee Cremo: Schubenacadie Reserve Reel
(Lee Cremo)
Lee Cremo & The Eastern Variation: Audat Records – 477-9010
Eskasoni, Cape Breton Isle, NS
Lee Cremo: fiddle
Gabriel Sylibay: bass
Wilfred Paul: lead guitar
Joseph MacMullen: piano
Peter Sevens: drums
James Poulette: rhythm guitar
Produced by A Feeney, circa 1980
Recorded at Audio Atlantic Studios, Halifax NS

b Barra Head (now Chapel Island), Cape Breton, NS, 30 Dec 1938 / d Eskasoni, NS, 10 Oct 1999 (60)

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