Winston Fitzgerald

Winston "Scotty" Fitzgerald (1914–1987) was a Cape Breton fiddler. He was a pioneer in recorded performances of the music, and has heavily influenced the style and repertoire of later generations of players.

Bio

Fitzgerald was born on February 16, 1914, at White Point,

Fitzgerald served a stint in the army during World War II, then settled in Sydney after the war. He took a correspondence course from the U.S. School of Music, learning a lot of useful bowing techniques. In 1947, he formed a group called the "Radio Entertainers" with Beattie Wallace (piano) and Estwood Davidson (guitar). The group recorded numerous 78s, as well as four LPs. As he became better known, Fitzgerald also got exposure playing on the "Cliff MacKay" and "Don Messer" shows. Later, he played as part of the Cape Breton Symphony on The John Allan Cameron Show. Never a full-time musician, he worked at a variety of jobs, including cooking, carpentry, and aluminum siding work.

Many of Fitzgerald's recordings are now out of print, but a selection culled from his albums has been reissued as Classic Cuts by Breton Books & Music. A significant portion of his repertoire has been preserved in a book called Winston Fitzgerald: A Collection of Fiddle Tunes, issued by Cranford Publications.

References

• Cranford, Paul (1997), Winston Fitzgerald: A Collection of Fiddle Tunes
• MacGillivray, Allister (1981), The Cape Breton Fiddler, College of Cape Breton Press.
  ISBN 0-920336-12-4
  .

• Winston Fitzgerald: Classic Cuts