GOD Has A New Friend Sitting At The Table

John Allan Cameron spent decades giving to those around him. Yesterday, the stars gave him an 'awesome Cape Breton sendoff'

By JOE WARMINGTON

The Godfather would have approved.

This was one goodbye that was done just right. Heck, this Godfather, who proudly wore a kilt, taught half the room how to do it in the first place.

When it came to celebrating Celtic music, no one did it better than John Allan Cameron.

Sure, there was a funeral yesterday for the legend, who died on the weekend at the age of 67. All the more reason to celebrate the way they do it down home.

You can't have all of that talent in a room and not get something going. It was a traditional Celtic goodbye. A ceilidh. In Pickering, of all places.

"That was the most awesome Cape Breton sendoff," said friend Brenda Robichaud.

You didn't have to be on the East Coast yesterday. It was here. You could hear the foot-stompin' Celtic sound inside the St. Isaac Jogues Church from the street. And neighbours from miles away could hear the sound of 13 pipers.

The last three days have been a giant goodbye for the Godfather of Celtic Music.

'SPECIAL PERSON'

"He was a special person who touched the lives of so many," said close friend Marty MacDougall.

Don Cherry knew Cameron for many years as a friend and "as my first bartender" on the Grapevine show. "He was the No. 1 Celtic entertainer in Canada and did more charities than anybody," he said. "He was one of those guys who always had a smile on his face and we are going to miss him."

Ashley MacIsaac said it was his commitment to charity that set him apart from other legends. "He didn't have to do that but he did," he said. "He played hundreds of benefits all over the place."

MacIsaac, fiddle legend Sandy MacIntyre and other musicians paid tribute to Cameron by doing a little jamming. It was incredible.

Even though you could see his wife, Angela, and son, Stuart, were shaken up by their loss, you could also see they understood the Godfather was there and enjoying every minute.

"He was a wonderful person," said former Leaf Glenn Healy, one of the pipers filling the air. "There are givers and takers and John Allan was a giver. He was the first guy to answer the call for help and will be missed by both the music community and the hockey community, too."

Celebrity piper John Elliott of the Peel Regional Police Pipe and Drum band, who has played three times with Sir Paul McCartney, said it was "an honour" to pipe for the legend yesterday.

Other bands to participate included The 8th Wing Band and the Celtic Heritage Band of Fergus. One pipe band would not be enough for the Godfather.

John Allan Cameron's selflessness is what made it so easy for so many celebrities to come to his funeral yesterday. On hand were Tom Cochrane, Murray MacLaughlin, Denise Donlon, The Good Brothers, The Campbell Brothers, Sandy Hawley, Catherine McKinnon, Greg Keelor of Blue Rodeo and Walter Gretzky.

"That was a marvellous sendoff," said Wayne's dad. "Great individual was John Allan. I knew him for 30 years. He used to come to all our golf and tennis tournaments. If you needed John Allan, he would just say, 'When and where?' It was just as simple as that."

'LOVED AND ADORED'

And let's not forget what he did for Canadian musicians.

"We all loved and adored him," said Catherine McKinnon.

They both came from the Don Messer show, which led to some pretty big careers, including those of Anne Murray, The Rankin Family and the Barra MacNeils.

Cameron was one of those guys who said yes, not no. He wanted you to be successful.

"He was a real gentleman who had such a big and open heart," said Keelor. When Blue Rodeo first got started, it was Cameron who gave them the nod that helped them gain acceptance. "He was quite a musical mentor."

It's a real end of an era. But what an era. He gave people a chance and a chance is all a lot of these people needed. The rest is history. Canadian history.

"There is a sense of loss but there is a sense of legacy there," said MacIsaac. "When you played with him, you felt like you were at home in Cape Breton."

They were all at home yesterday, remembering the icon everybody called the Godfather.

"John knew everybody from the Queen on down," said CBC producer Gord Thomson.

And now it's God's chance to meet him. Watch out Heaven, kilts and toe-tappin' are coming your way if the Godfather has anything to say about it.