Born in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, Dunn was a singer and acoustic guitarist. He released several full-length albums of recorded music including "Willie Dunn" (1971), "The Pacific" (1980) and "Metallic" (1999). "Metallic" reprises material from both earlier releases. Dunn's most famous song, "I Pity the Country", was a criticism of colonialism and anti-indigenous racism; he was also known for the song "Son of the Sun", which Kashtin covered on their second album "Innu". In 2004 Dunn released the album "Son of the Sun" with sixteen songs (including three live recordings).