Minto Country Music Wall of Fame - FREDERICK J.N. RICHARD

Fred was born in Minto, N.B. on July 9, 1941 to Domine and Peter Richard. At an early age Fred was surrounded by music as Peter played the fiddle and Domine the organ. Music was the centerpiece of the Richard household.

The Richard Family had 13 members and as Fred grew up he would play along with his brothers and sisters. Country music was a main stay in the Slope Road home of Domine and Peter. As Fred grew up he was immersed in talent all around him. Ray playing lead guitar, Art with the bass and banjo, Ivan with the flat top and bass, Ulysse with the fiddle, Noel with the mandolin, Aurele & Zoel with vocals and flat top and the rest of the family singing along. While in high school, Fred’s brothers, Joe and Arthur, joined him in singing on the Fredericton Jamboree on CFNB radio.

During high school, he started writing songs and was very proud to say that the then very popular Cliffy and Jerry recorded one of his songs “Angel of Love” with Quality Records. The song did well and was played on Canadian radio stations all over Canada. Cliffy Short was voted to the “Wall of Fame” two years ago. After graduating from high school, Fred decided to move to Waltham, Massachusetts, USA, which is just outside of Boston. A few years later, he met his wife Rita and they were married in 1965. They have one son, Peter, who recently married Cindy.

For the past 20 years, Fred has been traveling all over the eastern United States playing in his own band. They have been the entertainment for many large business conferences in New York City- Boston, MA- Hartford, Connecticut- Baltimore, Maryland- Washington, D.C- Roanoke, Virginia to name a few. He recently wrote and recorded a song for the Island of Hilton Head, South Carolina. The song is called “Hilton Head Island” and Fred hopes to have it as the official greeting song for people who vacation on Hilton Head. He has also written and recorded “Just Yesterday” which became very popular.

During the 2000 Minto High School reunion, Fred wrote a song called “ My Home Town” which was a hit at the event. The song depicted good old times at Minto High School. Fred still has many dreams and goals and one is to someday write a #1 hit for a big country star.