Willie Lamothe was the stage name of Joachim Guillaume Lamothe (January 27, 1920 – October 19, 1992), a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

musician and actor from

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

."Willie Lamothe"
''

The Canadian Encyclopedia ''The Canadian Encyclopedia'' (TCE; french: L'Encyclopédie canadienne) is the national encyclopedia of Canada, published online by the Toronto-based historical organization Historica Canada, with the support of Canadian Heritage. Available f ...

'', June 18, 2007. One of the pioneers of French language

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

, 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 in

Saint-Hyacinthe Saint-Hyacinthe (; French: ) is a city in southwestern Quebec east of Montreal on the Yamaska River. The population as of the 2021 Canadian census was 57,239. The city is located in Les Maskoutains Regional County Municipality of the Montérég ...

, Lamothe served in the

Canadian Army The Canadian Army (french: Armée canadienne) is the command responsible for the operational readiness of the conventional ground forces of the Canadian Armed Forces. It maintains regular forces units at bases across Canada, and is also res ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, 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 in Nashville. His performances included shows opening for Gene Autry at the

Montreal Forum Montreal Forum (french: Le Forum de Montréal) is a historic building located facing Cabot Square in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Called "the most storied building in hockey history" by '' Sporting News'', it was an indoor arena which served as the ...

in 1952 and 1954. Through the 1970s he performed as an actor in a number of films, most notably '' We Are Far from the Sun (On est loin du soleil)'', ''

The True Nature of Bernadette ''The True Nature of Bernadette'' (french: La Vraie Nature de Bernadette) is a 1972 Canadian drama film directed by Gilles Carle. It was entered into the 1972 Cannes Film Festival. The film was also selected as the Canadian entry for the Best Fo ...

(La Vraie nature de Bernadette)'', ''

The Doves Doves are an English indie rock band formed in Manchester. The band is composed of twin brothers Jez Williams (guitar, vocals) and Andy Williams (drums, vocals), and Jimi Goodwin (bass, vocals, guitar). Additionally, the band employs Martin Reb ...

(Les Colombes)'' and '' The Death of a Lumberjack (La Mort d'un bûcheron)'', and won the

Canadian Film Award The Canadian Film Awards were the leading Canadian cinema awards from 1949 until 1978. These honours were conducted annually, except in 1974 when a number of Quebec directors withdrew their participation and prompted a cancellation. In the 1970s ...

for Best Supporting Actor in 1973 for the latter role. In 1978 he won the Best Supporting Performer in a Non-Feature film for his role in ''

The Machine Age The Machine Age may refer to: * The Machine Age (film), ''The Machine Age'' (film), a 1977 Canadian short television film * The Machine Age (EP), ''The Machine Age'' (EP), a 2003 EP by Chemlab See also

* Machine Age, an era that includes the e ...

(L'Âge de la machine)''. 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 The National Film Board of Canada (NFB; french: Office national du film du Canada (ONF)) is Canada's public film and digital media producer and distributor. An agency of the Government of Canada, the NFB produces and distributes documentary fi ...

. He suffered a stroke while performing in

Rimouski Rimouski ( ) is a city in Quebec, Canada. Rimouski is located in the Bas-Saint-Laurent region, at the mouth of the Rimouski River. It has a population of 48,935 (as of 2021). Rimouski is the site of Université du Québec à Rimouski (UQAR), t ...

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 (1948-2019), also sometimes credited as "Willie Lamothe, Jr.", was a former rock musician who was associated with the bands Offenbach and Corbeau. Lamothe died on October 19, 1992, at age 72.

In popular culture

* Charles Brunet made a celebrity comic about Willy Lamothe in 1953.

References

External links

* *
Entry at thecanadianencyclopedia.ca
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lamothe, Willie 1920 births 1992 deaths Canadian country singer-songwriters Canadian male singer-songwriters Canadian singer-songwriters Canadian male film actors Canadian television variety show hosts Male actors from Quebec Canadian military personnel from Quebec Canadian Army personnel Canadian Army personnel of World War II Singers from Quebec French-language singers of Canada French Quebecers People from Saint-Hyacinthe Best Supporting Actor Genie and Canadian Screen Award winners Members of the Order of Canada Musicians from Quebec 20th-century Canadian male singers