Cornelia & Billy
Cornelia & Billy
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About Cornelia & Billy
Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia, Canada From small-town pageant winner to recording artist, Cornelia (Boucher) MacLeod met Billy MacLeod in high school. From there, the duo would become a prolific musical tandem, releasing five albums and four 45 recordings as ‘Cornelia and Billy’. They spent 20 years touring, making stops in Germany, Switzerland, Austria, France, Equador, Africa, Mexico, Japan and the United States. The two became fixtures in Cape Breton – specifically Richmond County, remaining true to their Acadian roots while also appearing on such televisions programs as the Tommy Hunter Show. Entertaining is a way of life for many Maritimers and Cape Breton's Cornelia and Billy MacLeod fell into that way of life naturally. Cornelia started at a young age, coming from a musical family and played variety shows and dances during her teen years. She started playing piano when she was four years old and it was a normal thing for the family to get together every night for a jam session. Billy picked up the guitar for something to do since the family had no television and little money for other entertainment. After graduating from the U.S. School of Music correspondence course he found some friends needed a bass player for their band and he took the job. Bill knew Cornelia in high school and later this relationship blossomed into a romance and eventual marriage. After the two were married Billy worked at the mill and Cornelia taught school, having graduated from university and teachers college with a specialty in music. Later the same year the duo went to Germany for three weeks on their first engagement by the Canadian government at the International Tourism Fair. Upon their return a Montreal agency signed them to a three month engagement in Morocco which proved to be a sad experience for them. They lost a lot of money, their equipment, but according to Cornelia, "we learned more with that experience than we would learn in 10 years of entertaining in Canada." Billy McLeod passed away Dec. 27, 2009: Island music community mourns loss of Billy MacLeod print this article LAURA JEAN GRANT The Cape Breton Post KEMPT ROAD — Billy MacLeod is being remembered as an all-around great guy, musician and entertainer by a wide circle of friends and the Cape Breton music community. MacLeod, 57, formerly of Kempt Road, Richmond County, died Dec. 27 at Northern Lights Regional Hospital in Fort McMurray, Alta. about a year after suffering a massive stroke. A funeral was held Sunday in Port Hawkesbury. In a career spanning more than 25 years, MacLeod travelled the world playing music as one half of the popular duo Cornelia and Billy. In recent years he worked as a supervisor with an Alberta company. Ken Anderson, a local Port Hawkesbury town councillor, knew MacLeod well and the two even played together in a band when they were teenagers. “A real great guy, great sense of humour, big heart, very kind,” he said, in describing MacLeod. “He wasn’t inward looking. Everybody else was a priority with Billy.” Based in Kempt Road for many years, Cornelia and Billy were a popular entertaining duo known for their great country sounds and many favourite folk and Maritime tunes. “They were well known and liked and respected and drew big crowds whether they were playing here or Calgary or northern Alberta,” recalled Anderson. “They toured all over the place. When I moved to Alberta, Billy used to come and play in Calgary and we’d all go and attend the functions and do other stuff like play a game of golf or whatever. That would have been in the late 70s and early 80s.” Local musician Cyril MacPhee also recalls those performances. “When I lived in Alberta in the early 80s, (Cornelia and Billy) used to play there all the time so we all hung around together before, during and after the gigs,” said MacPhee, who remembers MacLeod as a great fellow and excellent musician. “He was a great songwriter and a good guitar player and singer,” added Anderson. “Billy was quite an entertainer other than music. He was light-hearted and a jokester. He always had funny stories and jokes to tell which he would do in between sets and songs.” Anderson, who was on a local committee that organized a benefit for MacLeod in May at the D’Escousse Civic Improvement Centre, said the community is saddened by the loss. “We’re going to miss him, big time. He won’t be forgotten that’s for sure,” he said.
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