Johnny Wilmot

Johnny Wilmot (1916 – 1993), fiddler, grew up in Centreville, Cape Breton and picked up his distinctive style of fiddling with the influence of his three uncles. He was 17 when he began to play, and shortly thereafter, learned the intricacy of reading the note by age 18. His playing quickly developed as he was a fast learner, and by 19, he was performing publicly, playing at local picnics and dances in the local area. He also formed a band to play for local concerts, which included Sonny Slade, Elizabeth Fennel and Roy Romeo. In his early 20s, Johnny moved to Glace Bay where his blend of Scottish and Irish playing were recorded to a number of 78 rpm’s. Living in the area, he was able to appear on a weekly radio program at CJCB entitled, “The Irish Serenaders.” His radio experience was not limited to local stations either as he appeared in Charlottetown via CFCY and Boston’s WMEX. From 1959-1976, Johnny lived in Toronto and played regularly there. He returned to Cape Breton after this time, playing continuously and building up his reel-to-reel collection of local Scottish and Irish tunes. Musically, Johnny was fluently bilingual. He was one of the few musicians who had thoroughly digested both Cape Breton Irish and Cape Breton Scottish styles. While his own compositions often straddled this Irish-Scottish fence, his settings of traditional tunes kept the two separate, always displaying personal style without sacrificing the beauty and integrity of the 'original' melodies. His uniqueness in the Irish and Scottish vein has influenced many fiddlers of the current generation including Jerry Holland and Brenda Stubbert to name a few.