Minto Country Music Wall of Fame

Jerry Rich (Gerald Richard) was born in Minto NB, in 1927. He lived in New England Settlement in the '30's and '40's where he went to school. When Jerry was 15 years old, Al Goguen, a musician who played the accordion and guitar came to his house. Jerry’s brother Willie had a guitar and Jerry didn't know how it happened but soon Al was teaching Jerry a few chords on the guitar. They used to hang around Tommy Zamaro's Pool Hall and Hot Dog stand. There was a community hall right beside Zamaro's and the person who ran the hall asked Al to play there on a Saturday night. Al, in turn, asked Jerry to play the guitar with him. That was the beginning of the music in Jerry's life. It wasn't long after that, they played at the Memorial Hall and the Rothwell Dance Hall. There was no sound system or vocals, just a couple of fiddlers and guitar players - Billy Velt and Celime Richard being two of them.

Jerry moved to Ontario but two years later returned to his home town. Once home, he met Jack Sullivan who operated the Casa Loma in North Minto. Jerry played music there for awhile and in 1952 he decided to go to Windsor, Ontario where he drove cab for 40 years. He met many musicians and made some guest appearances with some local bands. Lloyd Dorey was a fiddler who knew a disc jockey in Detroit at WCXI radio station. Lloyd was invited to do a couple of numbers on the air and Jerry went to play with him and was also asked to sing a couple of songs. Imagine a little fellow from Minto, NB on a big radio station in Detroit Michigan! After that Jerry did a lot of spots in the Windsor area as a guest, playing various clubs and halls.

One of the biggest thrills for him in the 70's was when Hank Williams Jr. came to Detroit and Jerry's band was the opening act! Hank Snow also performed in Detroit and Jerry met his famous steel guitar player Kayton Roberts back stage. He asked Jerry to visit him in Tennessee and he did join him a few times in the 80's and the 90's. They jammed together at his home a few times with his wife on keyboard. While in Tennessee Jerry visited Tootsie's Bar across the street from the Grand Ole Opry and on occasion did a guest spot.

In the early 90's he heard of an annual August event “A tribute to Hank Snow” taking place in Bridgewater, Nova Scotia. He began playing in this event on numerous occasions, which led to a bit of notoriety and his name started to become well known.

In 2001 he decided to return to NB and settled in Bouctouche. He continues to play at different local events and shows. In 2002 he was on station 89.5 FM in Shediac. In May 2006 he had another special memorable moment when he had the opportunity to perform at the beautiful Capital Theatre in Moncton. It was a tribute show to Hank Snow and he sang 3 of Hank's songs with a very friendly welcoming response from the audience.

Recently he put a CD together of original songs. Nothing fancy but he hopes it will be enjoyed by all. He also has a website: http.groups.myspace.com/jerryrich. Jerry is still single and living in Bouctouche, NB.