Willie Lamothe

Canadian musician and actor from Québec (January 27, 1920 - October 19, 1992, age 72). Willie Lamothe was the stage name of Joachim Guillaume Lamothe CM. One of the pioneers of French language country music, he recorded over 500 songs, both originals and translated renditions of English language country music hits, over the course of his career.

Born and raised in Saint-Hyacinthe, Lamothe served in the Canadian Army during World 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 several 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 in Nashville. His performances included shows opening for Gene Autry at the Montreal Forum in 1952 and 1954.
Through the 1970s he performed as an actor in several films, most notably "La Vraie nature de Bernadette" and "La Mort d'un Bûcheron" and won the Canadian Film Award for Best Supporting Actor in 1973 for the latter role. During the same era, he was host of a television variety show, Le Ranch à Willie, for Télé-Métropole, and the subject of a documentary film, "Je chante à cheval... avec Willie Lamothe", for the National Film Board.
He suffered a stroke while performing in Rimouski in 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 a Member of the Order of Canada in 1979.
His son Michel Lamothe, also sometimes credited as "Willie Lamothe, Jr.", is a former rock musician who was associated with the bands Offenbach and Corbeau.

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