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Brothers Claude (Quincy) and Roger Damphousse were born in Ottawa, Roger in 1944 and Quincy in 1949. As children, their father taught them chords on the piano so that they could accompany him while he played the fiddle, and their family has a long history of musicians who enjoy pickin’ and grinnin’.
At the age of 15, Roger was playing guitar at barn dances and, in 1963-64, he began his first bar gig with Gilles Tremblay, Gene Desmond and the late Chiefie Morin at "The Longest Bar in the Gatineau" in Kazabazua, Quebec. 1965-66 found him playing with Pauline Noland in Luskville and around the Pontiac and, in 1967, he hit the road with the Jimmy Allen Quartet out of Toronto, playing with Julie Lynn and Chiefy Morin. Back in Ottawa, Roger joined Gerry Levac, Jack McDonald and Gerry Desmond, playing at the Sportif in Gatineau for two years before joining Terry Carisse’s band. With Terry, he travelled the road, mostly doing the Ontario circuit but also spending some time on the East Coast.
Quincy played the Ottawa Valley until 1970 when he joined the Honey West Show, travelling the country with Chiefie Morin and Wayne Rostad. It was at this time, and courtesy of Chiefie and Wayne, that he picked up his nickname. Over the years, Quincy has performed and recorded with Joe Teevens, Bob King, Terry Carisse, Irwin Prescott, Marie King, Colleen Peterson, The Prescott Brothers, and many others, and some of his fondest memories are playing in the warm-up band for the Roy Orbison Show, playing steel guitar for Cajun Doug Kershaw at the Arts Centre, performing on Wayne Rostad’s show on CJOH and playing in Nashville with Ronnie Prophet.
These days, Quincy is semi-retired from the music business but still enjoys jamming with friends when the opportunity arises. Unfortunately, Roger succumbed to complications from a hard fought battle with cancer on March 22, 2019.
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