The Voyageurs

The Voyageurs were a Regina, Saskatchewan vocal and instrumental group active from circa 1961 through at least 1965. The lineup consisted of Murray Wallace, bandleader, melody vocalist and guitarist; Dave Moe, bassist, vocalist and lead instrumentalist; Ray Purdie, tenor vocalist; and Fred Williams, bass fiddler.

The young musicians, then approximately 18 and 19 years old, were frequent performers in Regina coffee houses. Contemporary liner notes described their repertoire as ranging from lively bluegrass rhythms to contemporary blues.

The Voyageurs released an exceptionally scarce two-song single through Lumby Productions of Saskatoon, issued under catalogue number 45-LP101. It paired ‘The Voyageurs’, an original composition by Murray Wallace, with the Bill Cook song ‘You Can Have Her’.

The group also accompanied Mohawk fiddler Jim Conners, who hailed from “the eastern town of Napanee, Ontario,” on the Arc Records album Reels, Jigs and Hornpipes, issued circa 1962. The record featured Canadian, Irish and French-Canadian fiddle standards, including ‘Red Haired Boy’, ‘Maid Behind the Bar’, ‘Bonnie Prince Charlie’, ‘Fisher’s Horn Pipe’, ‘Mother’s Reel’, ‘Sputnick Breakdown’, ‘Big John McNeil and Dusty Miller’ and ‘High Level Horn Pipe’.

Conners’ liner notes described him as a full-blooded Mohawk who began playing fiddle while young and later performed throughout Ontario and New York State. His repertoire combined familiar old-time fiddle material with French-Canadian arrangements. A French-language edition of the album was also issued under the title Jigues, Danses Carrées et Rigodons.

By 1965, The Voyageurs were featured on the Lumby Productions compilation Saskatchewan Jubilee: The Young Sound, Volume 1. Their contribution was Wallace’s original composition ‘The Voyageurs’. The album’s liner notes identified the group as Regina coffee-house entertainers and confirmed their four-member lineup.

The Voyageurs’ small surviving catalogue reflects the breadth of their repertoire. Their recordings moved between original vocal music, bluegrass, contemporary blues, old-time fiddle tunes and French-Canadian dance music.

Although little further documentation of the group has surfaced, their Lumby single, work with Jim Conners and appearance on Saskatchewan Jubilee preserve the history of a versatile young Prairie ensemble active during an important period in Saskatchewan’s independent recording scene.

-Robert Williston