J. O. LaMadeleine

LaMadeleine, J.O.

J. (Joseph) O. (Ovila) LaMadeleine. Violoneux, b Valleyfield, Que, 1 May 1880, d Montreal 28 Jan 1973. He took up the violin at 10 - he played the instrument left-handed - and was an accomplished fiddler when he moved in 1919 to Montreal. There he participated in many folk music events and, in the late 1920s, operated a music store at 6674 rue Boyer. In 1927 he made his first records for Starr, completing 54 78s in the next 15 or more years. He also made two 78s for Columbia in 1928. He was accompanied on some recordings by his son Marcel, a guitarist, and performed on others with the singers Aurore Beaulé (his daughter) and Ovila Légaré. The discographer Gabriel Labbé, who lists LaMadeleine's 78s in Pionniers du disque folklorique québécois, notes that Polka de Donalda, Polka canadienne, Valse des lilas, and Valse du bonheur were his most popular recordings. A detailed discography (unpublished) for J.O. LaMadeleine was completed by Guthrie T. Meade in 1985.

See also Albert LaMadeleine (his son).