Biography:Jerry Robichaud

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Jerry Robichaud


     
 Given name:     Gerry
 Middle name:     
 Family name:     Robichaud
 Place of birth:     Saint Paul, New Brunswick
 Place of death:     
 Year of birth:     1931
 Year of death:     2013
 Profile:     Musician
 Source of information:     Vivian Williams
     

Biographical notes


Gerry Robichaud began to play the fiddle at an early age, with the help of his mother and four other fiddlers in his immediate family. As a boy he made the acquaintance of Oscar Melanson, a bed-ridden fiddler, who would whistle the old tunes for Gerry to learn. In 1955 Gerry moved his family to Waltham, Massachusetts. He was active in the French Canadian community there, having played on weekends at the local French Club for several decades. Gerry’s music reflects the early influence of the late Don Messer, whose weekly radio programs were a regular feature in Gerry’s family. He also got much of his music from Tommy Doucet, a fiddler originally from the Maritime Provinces, whom Gerry met soon after coming to the States.