John Cassidy

(1945-2015) 

by Roddy Ellias 

This past December, our community lost a bright but unsung musical light. John Cassidy’s body was found in his apartment by his good friend Glenn Hyde Clarke, on December 22nd. 

Without a doubt, he was one of the finest and most wonderfully musical guitarists in our city. John started out playing saxophone and clarinet in a concert band at Camp Borden, along with his good friend Ted Gerow. John’s parents moved to Ottawa in the early sixties, and Ted’s to Montreal, but when John joined the Musicians’ Union here in O-town in 1964, Ted decided to move here to play music with him. They both ended up in the Juno Award winning band called the Esquires, along with Brian Lewicki, Richard Patterson and Doug Orr. The band also included Bruce Cockburn for a while. (Yes, John played guitar in the band.) 

I first met John in the sixties at Metro Music on Bank Street. We were both studying with Bob Sabourin, who owned the shop. Bob was a great teacher, and John and I would often compare notes – mostly about how Bob would make us feel if we didn’t quite have everything done that he had assigned the week before! I remember John to be warm, super talented, super musical, kind, friendly and with no ego. He wasn’t a self promoter and maybe that’s why not enough people had the good fortune to hear him play. 

Danielle Sabourin (Bob’s daughter, who now runs Metro Music) shared some wonderful thoughts: 

“I can remember John coming into the shop for many, many years. Sometimes he would arrive driving a cab, sometimes his bicycle, then, as the years went on, he would arrive on foot. He would try out guitars – man, could he play! He would look through the books, always polite, always asking about my Mother, Chris, and how was she doing? I think they used to have some pretty good chats when Mom worked in the shop, and he was taking lessons back in the 60’s. He was truly sorry when she passed as he was when Bob passed. He held a great respect for my father’s playing and teaching. 

“I hadn’t seen him for a few years, then just a few weeks ago he stopped in at Metro. I was somewhat startled to see him with a walker, but he was incredibly nimble with it. He showed me how he could use it to go up and down stairs…no problem at all. His spirits were incredibly bright, he was in the best state of mind that I can ever recall in spite of many health issues which included having spent a YEAR in hospital recently to recover from a broken back. We had a great chat, spoke about all that you would expect: guitars, my Mom and Dad, the shop…a few of the local musicians who had recently asked me if I had heard from him. He spoke of maybe trying to get out and play a little with them again…” 

I’m grateful that he came to visit one last time and that he was in such great spirits. Rest in peace, John, may there always be a little guitar for you to play!

Source: eNews Harp, March 2016