MAC BEATTIE A Visit To The Ottawa Valley

Monday, January 9, 2012

Mac Beattie and the Ottawa Valley Melodiers are one of my very favourite "classic" Canadian country bands, and I am most pleased to present seven of their vintage Banff albums at the Scratchy Attic.
"A Visit to the Ottawa Valley" was the group's first LP, originally issued on the Rodeo label (RLP 64) c. 1960, and reissued on Banff (RBS 1170) in 1963. Some of the recordings comprising the LP were definitely first released as singles in the fifties on the Rodeo and London labels; I'm not sure if any of these tracks were recorded at the time of the album's release or not.
John MacNab Beattie (1916-1982) was a native of Arnprior, Ontario. He led the Melodiers from 1937 on and off until his death, and became a legend in the Ottawa Valley playing dances, bars, radio and television. He composed songs about Valley life and culture, several of which have become classics. His autobiography, "This Ottawa Valley of Mine" was published shortly after his death in 1982 and is a fascinating document of not only Mac and the Melodiers, but of Valley life in the early and mid 20th Century. If you can't track down a copy, you can visit a wonderful website dedicated to Mac here.

Includes jacket and label scans.

Tracks:

1. The Log Drivers Song
2. Moonlight Memory
3. Moonshine Mac
4. Blue Laurentians
5. My Renfrew County Home
6. The Arnprior Centennial Song
7. Lake Dore Waltz
8. Tribute To Frank Martin Of Lake Dore, Ont
9. Little Stubby Toes
10. Such Is The Life Of A Band

*download here*