2011

Vince Barlow

Vince Barlow was born in Limestone, Maine in 1944 to First Nation MicMac parents but was brought up on Indian Island in Kent County near Rexton, New Brunswick.

 

Musical from birth, he began singing at age five. A mastering of guitar and accordion followed and by age 17 he was performing at church events, local talent shows and parties. At 23 he wrote a song "Discovery Of The Land" for a First Nations magazine program on CBC Radio.

 

Soon after he decided to make music a full time career and began playing area clubs and venues but eventually ventured into the New England States to play the same style venues, and in 1974 signed to a contract with the Lone Star Ranch at Reid's Ferry in New Hampshire. He was their featured house act until it closed in 1983. During that time, he was featured on an 8-track tape released on the BOAT Records label.

 

In 1983 he was accepted into the Nashville Songwriters Association International on the strength of songs he had written. In 1984, he released his first long play album "Keep It Country" on the Rite Track RTP label in Leominster, Massachusetts, where he lived for 13 years. This album was distributed in England as well as the United States. A second album, "The Instrumental Side of Vince Barlow", followed.

 

During his years in the USA, Vince had his own fan club and opened for many Nashville stars, Kitty Wells, Dave Dudley, Jimmy Dickens, Louvin Brothers and Dick Curless among them, and performed at Nashville Fan Fairs, Rodeos as well as on Jerry Lewis Telethons and AMVETS, D.A.R.E. telecasts.

 

He moved back to N.B. over 20 years ago, and has lived here over 40 of his 67 years and still performs, often in his First Nation ceremonial head-dress, neck piece and attire. Vince helped the Big Cove Christmas Angels raise $25,000 in a 20-hour telethon in 2010.

 

 

Joseph "Joe" Haché

Joe was born into a musical family at St. Isidore in 1938. Un chanteur et entertainer naturel superbe, Joe, à un âge précoce et maîtrisé le violon, guitare, piano et accordion et fut bientôt en demande lors de parties de maison et du évenement scolaires.

 

He has also been an active promoter of country music all his life and is still active as a bilingual performer who is greatly admired equally by fans, band mates and other entertainers alike.He and his son Marc, along with Cyrille Hachey and Roger Picot formed a band, "The Hachey Boys", which was active in the Bathurst area for many years.

 

A born athelete, he spent the winter of 1957-58 in Canada's capital city as a member of the elite Ottawa-Hull Junior A Hockey Squad, but returned to Bathurst to pursue his sporting career. Joe was Captain of the Bathurst Paper Makers Hockey Team that won the National Title (Hardy Cup) 1971-72.In the late 1960's and early 1970's he was a part of a musical revue called "The Jig and Whistle Show" that performed all over New Brunswick for a number of years, modeled after the CTV-TV show "The Pig and Whistle".

 

Joe a aussi dirigé le choeur de la cathédrale de Bathurst de 1978 à 1986. Au fil des années, il a été un animateur musician régulièrement invite à de nombreau foyers pour personnes âgées et d'autres établissement telles, de foyers de soins, hôpiteaux et écoles.

 

Joe was also president of the Bathurst Festival Commission when it became the Hospitality Days in 1972-73. Joe also served on the Bathurst City Council and other public offices as well.

 

Joe a aussie excellé dans d'autres sport comme le baseball, 10K et marathon, le tennis et encore actif dans le golf et le vélo.

 

Joe still loves performing and seeing an audience of smiling faces.

 

 

Charles Robert Kennedy

Charles was born in 1926 in Hibernia, who by the age of 16, was well known for his expertise in singing and playing the guitar at local venues. Charles patterned his songwriting style, singing and guitar picking after Nashville Star, Hank Snow.

 

His musical career started on the CHSJ Maritime Farmer’s Radio Show in the early 1940's. In the 1950's, Charles and his wife, Alice, moved to Douglas Harbour, where they were blessed with eight talented children. In the 1960’s and 1970’s Charles and Alice were founding members of the band, The Golden Guitar Boys. Charles sang with Iris and Louise, the Kennedy Sisters, who performed on CBC Radio and did live shows with the Diamond Trio.

 

He also worked on stage with his sons, Larry, David, and Gary, who were in a band and daughters, Barb, Brenda and Joan, who were singing at local events. Joan won many awards and became a successful recording artist. Charles worked on several projects with Joan performing at live concerts and occasionally appearing on her weekly ATV show and other telecasts. They did a memorable Closing Concert at the 2005 Atlantic National Exhibition in Saint John.

 

Through the 1980’s until 2008 Charles continued to perform at various local venues. He and Alice performed as a duo at banquets, fundraisers and events: Queens County Fairs, Displaced Camp Gagetown Families Reunions.

 

Charles wrote many songs releasing his first CD “Family Memories” in 2006 and his second CD, “Memories of Eighty and One” in 2007 featuring Alice and Joan singing and doing harmony. He and Alice, married over 60 years, thoroughly enjoyed doing the music jams together at the Jemseg Lions Club.

 

Charles was also a great mentor to, not only his own family, but for many other young entertainers in and around Grand Lake. His children attribute their love of music to their father. He was active as a musician, vocalist, songwriter, emcee, organizer and promoter of country music until his untimely death in 2009.

 

 

Russ Wheeler

Russ Wheeler was born Russell Ewart Munn on April 24, 1933 in a small log cabin at Priceville and died in Boiestown on March 3, 2004. Between those dates he packed a career that brought him fame and international renown as a recording star.

 

Working on a farm when eight years old, Russ bought a guitar by mail-order for $4.95, with money he'd saved. He taught himself to play by ear and wrote his first song, “Boiestown Blues”. He began performing publicly in his teens.

 

In 1952 he joined the RCAF and a tour of duty took him across Canada to the Yukon, U.S. and overseas. His tour over, he returned to N.B. and was one of Earl Mitton's Valley Rhythm Boys from 1954 to 1955. He then moved to Toronto and formed his own band The Echo Valley Boys, to play city venues, a CJRH weekly radio show in Richmond Hill, a CKVR-TV telecast in Barrie, regular Saturday night live shows in Brampton and signed a three-year Rodeo-Banff recording contract.

 

In 1956 he married Elizabeth Crawford in Toronto and eventually she became Bettye Jo, his bass player. Russ, by then, played bass and mandolin as well. During his Ontario years he headed several bands after the Echoes: The Settlers, Country Happenings, Country Heat, and the The Centennials.

 

He released three hit albums “Tragic Romance”,“Walk Right In” and “Chaser For The Blues” distributed in North America, the U.K., Europe and Australia on the Banff label and had two hit singles.

 

He developed a comic alter-ego Squeeler McCoy who added comedy to his live shows.

 

Prior to returning to N.B. in 1994 Russ became active as an actor in commercials and even played “God” in a “Crash Test Dummies” music video “God Shuffled His Feet”. Settling in Boiestown he joined the N.B. Film Co-Op, appeared in several films and released two CDs, “Heart of New Brunswick” and “Home To The Miramichi”.

 

 

 

Dave McNeill

David McNeill was born in Minto in 1953, one of 16 children with all of whom he shared a love of music. He was only 12 years old when he first performed with his mentors, guitarist Fred Fulton and fiddler Oscar Egers, at North Minto's fabled Casa Loma Dance Hall.

 

A singer songwriter and multi-talented instrumentalist and singer, David, while in his mid teens, formed a band “Mother's Love” with his brother Vernon and friend Eddie Richard to perform at dance halls and clubs.

 

In 1970 David, Vernon and Eddie changed the band's name to “Noah's Ark” to move west and play Edmonton, Deer Lake, Calgary, and Inuit in the North West Territories.

 

They released a 45 rpm recording of two songs David wrote, “Right On Baby” and “Boogie Woogie Woman”, that received extensive radio air play. David was approached by Tommy Banks , a well-known record producer to do vocals with a premier Canadian music act of the time, the “Original Cast”. David was featured on an album with them.

 

He married Joanne DiCarlo of Chipman in 1978 and they returned to N.B. David played with Gary Morris and his band for a couple years. From 1981 to the present, David has headed five different bands of his own.

 

In 1991, he constructed a basement sound studio and in 2004 released a CD of his own, “It's About Time”, which included nine original songs he'd penned, along with the traditional tune “Turkey In The Straw” on which his sons Lonnie and Lance, his youngest sister Jocelyn and Wendy Robichaud are heard.

 

In September, 2001, David was one of the first to be inducted into the Minto Country Music Wall of Fame. In 2008, he released a second CD “Family Christmas”. He has helped many young entertainers in the past decade develop their talents.

 

At present, he and his son Lonnie McNeill perform as The David McNeill Band all over New Brunswick. David plays mandolin, fiddle, piano, organ, drums, harmonica and lead, bass and steel guitars.