Born and raised in Saint-Hyacinthe, Lamothe served in the Canadian Army during World War II, beginning his career in music by performing as The Singing Sergeant for his fellow soldiers. Following the end of the war, he recorded his first mini-album, Je suis un cowboy canadien, in 1946. He recorded a number of albums and singles over the next thirty years and frequently performed on tour, most frequently within Quebec but also from time to time in English Canada and at least one performance in Nashville