Red Shea (guitarist)
Red Shea (born Laurice Milton Pouliot; May 9, 1938 – June 10, 2008) was a renowned Canadian folk guitarist. Over his career, he helped define the sounds of artists such as Gordon Lightfoot and Ian and Sylvia Tyson, and was a regular on the TV show of Canadian Country music singer Tommy Hunter. In 1965, he began working in the studio with Gordon Lightfoot, and toured with him until 1970, when he left the touring band. He continued working with Lightfoot in the studio until 1975. He left and began working with Ian Tyson, hosted his own Canadian variety show, and became the band leader for Tommy Hunter’s TV show in the early 1980s. Red Shea died of pancreatic cancer on June 10th, 2008, just a month after his 70th birthday. Career Shea was a self-taught musician. In Saskatchewan in the late 1950s, Shea formed the Red and Les Trio with his brother Les and bassist Bill Gibbs, making appearances on Country Hoedown, a CBC Musical variety show. Later, Shea played backup guitar with the Bluegrass band The Good Brothers, who were from Richmond Hill, Ontario. On the folk circuit, Shea befriended Gordon Lightfoot, for whom he played lead guitar