Willie Lamothe

Willie Lamothewas the stage name ofJoachim Guillaume LamotheCM(January 27, 1920 – October 19, 1992), aCanadianmusician and actor fromQuebec.

One of the pioneers of French languagecountry music,he recorded over 500 songs, both originals and translated renditions of English language country music hits, over the course of his career.

Biography

Born and raised inSaint-Hyacinthe,Lamothe served in theCanadian ArmyduringWorld War II,beginning his career in music by performing as "The Singing Sergeant" for his fellow soldiers. Following the end of the war, he recorded his first mini-album,Je suis un cowboy canadien,in 1946.He recorded a number of albums and singles over the next thirty years and frequently performed on tour, most frequently within Quebec but also from time to time in English Canada and at least one performance inNashville.His performances included shows opening forGene Autryat theMontreal Forumin 1952 and 1954.

Through the 1970s he performed as an actor in a number of films, most notablyWe Are Far from the Sun(On est loin du soleil),The True Nature of Bernadette(La Vraie nature de Bernadette),The Doves(Les Colombes)andThe Death of a Lumberjack(La Mort d'un bûcheron),and won theCanadian Film AwardforBest Supporting Actorin 1973 for the latter role.In 1978 he won the Best Supporting Performer in a Non-Feature film for his role inThe Machine Age(L'Âge de la machine).During the same era, he was host of a television variety show,Le Ranch à Willie,forTélé-Métropole,and the subject of a documentary film,Je chante à cheval... avec Willie Lamothe,for theNational Film Board.

He suffered astrokewhile performing inRimouskiin 1978,and made only irregular appearances afterward, most notably in a CBC Television series about the history of Canadian country music in the 1990s.He was inducted as aMember of the Order of Canadain 1979.

His son Michel (1948-2019), also sometimes credited as "Willie Lamothe, Jr.", was a former rock musician who was associated with the bandsOffenbachandCorbeau.

Death

Lamothe died on October 19, 1992, at age 72.

In popular culture

• Charles Brunet made acelebrity comicabout Willy Lamothe in 1953.

External links

• Willie Lamothediscography atDiscogs
• Willie LamotheatIMDb
• Entry at thecanadianencyclopedia.ca