Ned Landry (1921 to 2018) was New Brunswick’s champion fiddler. He won the open class of the Canadian Open Old Time Fiddlers’ Contest in Shelburne, Ontario, in 1956, 1957, and 1962, recorded eight LPs for RCA Victor starting in 1955, and wrote several hundred fiddle tunes. Canada made him a Member of the Order of Canada in 1991, and the Canadian Grand Masters named a trophy after him.
Why Landry matters
Landry was one of the fiddlers who turned Down East dance music into a recorded, radio, and television sound in the 1950s and 1960s. He won the biggest contest in the country three times, and his tunes, including Ontario Swing and Bowin’ the Strings, entered the standard Canadian repertoire. For a picker, his records are a clean example of Maritime fiddling: tight, danceable, and built on strong melodies with a swing under them.
Life and career
Frederick Lawrence Landry was born on February 2, 1921, in Saint John, New Brunswick. He taught himself violin as a boy. His first radio appearance came in 1934, at age 13, on Don Messer’s CHSJ program Backwoods Breakdown, where he played harmonica rather than fiddle.
In 1939 he went to New York with the New Brunswick Lumberjacks and placed second on CBS radio’s Major Bowes’ Amateur Hour. He then became the first old-time fiddler to perform on television in Boston. In the 1950s he broadcast on CFBC radio in Saint John and began recording for RCA Victor in 1955. He completed eight LPs for the label and later made records for Arc, MMC, Afton, Prime Time, and his own Landry label.
He entered the Canadian Open Old Time Fiddlers’ Contest in Shelburne, often billed as the North American championship, and won the open class in 1956, 1957, and 1962. In 1959 he was disqualified for playing his three tunes in the wrong order, the only such disqualification at the contest between 1951 and 1976. In the 1960s he appeared on Don Messer’s Jubilee and other television shows and performed across Canada.
Two folios of his tunes were published: Ned Landry Favorite Fiddle Tunes in 1952 and Bowing the Strings with Ned Landry in 1959. He was made a Member of the Order of Canada in 1991. He kept composing and recording into his seventies and eighties, including Ned Landry: International Fiddling Champion in 1994, The Master and the Apprentice with Ken Wood in 1999, and Generations with Ivan Hicks in 2001. He died in Saint John on August 25, 2018, at age 97. Library and Archives Canada holds his papers.
Playing style
Landry played the Down East style that Don Messer made the national sound of Canada. The melody sits on top, clean and plain, with a steady bow that keeps a dance tempo.
What set him apart was his swing. Tune titles like Ontario Swing and Hillbilly Calypso tell you what he was after: a bouncy, off-beat feel borrowed from the country and pop music of the 1950s and laid over a square dance reel. He wrote in several Canadian regional styles, and his catalog runs from straight dance reels to novelty pieces. He also sang.
Influences and legacy
Don Messer gave Landry his first radio spot and later his national television exposure. Landry competed against Al Cherny, who won the Canadian Open in 1960 and 1961, and Graham Townsend, who took the title in 1963. Fiddler Vic Mullen began his professional career at 16 touring with Landry.
Later in life he recorded The Master and the Apprentice with Ken Wood and Generations with Ivan Hicks. The Canadian Grand Masters Fiddling Association gave him a lifetime contribution award, inducted him into its Hall of Honour in 1998, and named a trophy for him. His tunes remain in the Canadian contest and dance repertoire.
Signature tunes and songs
Ontario Swing Hillbilly Calypso Governor General’s Waltz Bowin’ the Strings.
Essential recordings
Ned Landry: International Fiddling Champion (Atlantica, 1994) The Master and the Apprentice, with Ken Wood (1999) Generations, with Ivan Hicks (2001)
Awards and honors
Canadian Open Old Time Fiddlers’ Contest, open class champion (1956, 1957, 1962) Member of the Order of Canada (1991) Canadian Fiddle Hall of Honour, Canadian Grand Masters Fiddling Association (1998) Dr. Helen Creighton Lifetime Achievement Award, East Coast Music Association (2002) Lifetime contribution award, Canadian Grand Masters Fiddling Championship North American Fiddlers Hall of Fame Nova Scotia Country Music Hall of Fame
Watch and listen
A fan upload of Landry’s recording Fiddlin’ Around. Listen for the swing feel under a straight Down East melody.
What to learn from Landry
Learn Ontario Swing. It is a short, catchy tune that shows how a Canadian old-time fiddler can borrow a swing feel without leaving the dance floor. The technique to steal is his contest discipline. Landry lost a title for playing a waltz, jig, and reel in the wrong order, and then came back and won again. Practice a three-tune set in that order, timed under four minutes, with the same clean tone at all three tempos.
Sources
Ned Landry, The Canadian Encyclopedia Canadian Open Old Time Fiddle Championship, Wikipedia Music of New Brunswick, Wikipedia Hall of Honour, Canadian Grand Masters Fiddling Association Ned Landry, Discogs Vic Mullen, Wikipedia
Related players
See the fiddle players hub and the bluegrass fiddle guide for more players. Landry came up on Don Messer’s radio show and traded Canadian Open titles with Al Cherny and Graham Townsend. Eleanor Townsend and King Ganam came from the same television era.