Alys Robi
Alys (Alice) Robi (b Robitaille). Singer, (b Quebec City 3 Feb 1923, d 28 May 2011). As a child she made debuts in Quebec City at the Capitol Theatre (in the revue Ten Nights in a Bar Room ) and on radio stations CHRC and CKCV.
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Create AccountAlys (Alice) Robi (b Robitaille). Singer, (b Quebec City 3 Feb 1923, d 28 May 2011). As a child she made debuts in Quebec City at the Capitol Theatre (in the revue Ten Nights in a Bar Room ) and on radio stations CHRC and CKCV.
Jean-Pierre Ferland, author, composer, performer and television host (b Montréal 24 June 1934). Jean-Pierre Ferland started with the Les Bozos singing group in 1959, and then he broke out in 1962 by winning first prize in a Francophonie contest with Feuille de gui.
Catherine Ruth MacLellan, singer, songwriter (born 23 April 1980 in Burlington, ON). Catherine MacLellan is a contemporary folk-roots singer-songwriter whose recordings have won multiple East Coast Music Awards, Canadian Folk Music Awards, Music PEI Awards and a Juno Award. She is the daughter of “Snowbird” composer Gene MacLellan.
Lisa LeBlanc, singer, songwriter, musician (born 13 August 1990 in Rosaireville, NB). Lisa LeBlanc has known success ever since her first album came out in 2012. Her music, which she describes as folk-trash with bluegrass and Cajun accents, reaches a wide audience. Her songs are often humorous accounts of the perils of love. She has been compared to Bob Dylan, Dolly Parton and even Quebec singer-songwriter Plume Latraverse. Beneath her often funny lyrics, there are pearls of poetry. Her choice of words and her relentless sincerity transform the ordinary and anecdotal into a thing of beauty. Listening to Lisa LeBlanc, one can easily be laughing one minute and all choked up the next. She belongs to a generation of young Acadian artists — such as the Hay Babies, Radio, Joseph Edgar and Les Hôtesses d’Hilaire — who are firmly grounded in modern life. She says that she has been influenced by Sam Roberts, Feist, Aerosmith and, most strongly, by Stevie Nicks. Since LeBlanc’s career began, her albums have sold slightly over 140,000 copies in North America and Europe. She composes and sings in both French and English. Winner of the 2010 Festival international de la chanson de Granby, she has won many other awards in New Brunswick and Quebec and across Canada. LeBlanc first made her name with a song whose title echoes its refrain, with which many of her fans seemed to identify: “Aujourd’hui, ma vie c’est d’la m—de” (“Today, my life is s—t”).
Angela Jean Elisabeth Watt, lyric soprano (born 13 November 1915 in Brandon, MB; died 4 June 2017 in Kingston upon Thames, Surrey, England). West Coast lyric soprano Ann Watt enjoyed a high profile singing career in Vancouver in the 1940s. She was perhaps best known for her starring roles with Vancouver’s Theatre Under the Stars and for singing on CBC Radio’s wartime broadcasts. She drew praise for her vivacious and charming performances, her rich and lovely lyric soprano voice and her versatile range. She was inducted into the BC Entertainment Hall of Fame as a pioneer in 2013.
Lara Fabian (b Crokaert). Singer, songwriter, b Etterbeek, Belgium, 9 Jan 1970, naturalized Canadian 1995. The daughter of a Belgian father (who sang back-up vocals for Petula Clark) and a Sicilian mother, Lara Fabian enrolled at the Brussels Royal Conservatory of Music at age eight.
Adrianne Pieczonka. Soprano, b Poughkeepsie, NY, 2 Mar 1963; B MUS (Western Ontario) 1985, M MUS (Toronto) 1988. Adrianne Pieczonka and her family moved to Burlington, Ont., when she was 2 years old. She was encouraged to take piano lessons at an early age.
Corey Mitchell Hart, singer, songwriter (b at Montréal 31 May 1962). Hart rocketed onto the music scene with the release of the international hit "Sunglasses at Night" in 1983. His song "Never Surrender" won the 1985 Juno Award for single of the year.
Charlie Major, singer, songwriter (born 31 December 1954 in Aylmer, QC). Charlie Major is a journeyman singer-songwriter who achieved breakthrough success after years of hardscrabble persistence. His roots-rock tales of working-class life are cut from an aspirational blue-collar cloth similar to that of John Mellencamp and Bruce Springsteen. He has had 10 singles hit No. 1 on the Canadian country chart, including six from his debut album, The Other Side (1993), which was certified double platinum in Canada. He has won three Juno Awards for Country Male Vocalist of the Year and seven Canadian Country Music Association (CCMA) Awards. He was inducted into the Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame in 2019.
Alfred Bryan. Songwriter, lyricist, b Brantford, Ont, 15 Sep 1871, d Gladstone, NJ, 1 Apr 1958. Raised in Brantford and from 1886 in London, Ont, Alfred Bryan attended the Collegiate Institute before moving to Chicago, working as a newspaper reporter.
Albertine (Rosalie Odile) Morin-Labrecque (b Labrecque, m Morin, also known as Labrecque-Morin). Pianist, soprano, educator, composer, b Montreal 8 Jun 1886 or 1890, d there 22 or 25 Sep 1957; honorary D MUS (Montreal) 1935.
Lynda Lemay, singer-songwriter (born 25 July 1966 in Portneuf-Station, Québec). A Knight of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres and the recipient of numerous Félix Awards as well as one Victoire de la musique award, Québec artist Lynda Lemay showcases French-language music across the French-speaking world.
Joe Bocan (née Johanne Beauchamp), Québécoise actress and singer (born 8 September 1957 in Montréal, QC).
Isadore Borsuk (a.k.a. Bobby Breen), actor, singer (born 4 November 1928 in Montréal, QC; died 19 September 2016 in Pompano Beach, Florida). Boy soprano Bobby Breen was one of Hollywood’s most popular child stars of the 1930s. His cherubic appearance, angelic voice and innocent personality earned him a reputation as “the boy Shirley Temple.” After his Hollywood career ended at age 12, he spent his adult years performing in nightclubs, playing piano and running a talent agency. His cult status was secured when his picture was included on the cover of The Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967).
Paul Demers, singer, songwriter, composer and teacher (born 9 March 1956 in Gatineau, Québec; died 29 October 2016 in Orléans, Ontario). Recipient of two SOCAN awards, Demers was one of the founding members of the Association des professionnels de la chanson et de la musique (APCM) and wrote the song “Notre place” (Our Place), the official anthem of the Franco-Ontarian community. His body of work and artistic contribution shaped the next generation of francophone artists in the music industry.
This article was originally published in Maclean’s magazine on March 11, 1996. Partner content is not updated.
Félix Eugène Leclerc, OC, GOQ, singer-songwriter, poet, novelist, playwright, actor, broadcaster (born 2 August 1914 at La Tuque, QC; died 8 August 1988 at Ȋle d'Orléans, QC). Félix Leclerc was a revolutionary artist whose work in several fields marked a turning point in Quebec culture. As a poet and playwright, he was one of Quebec’s literary giants. As a singer, he was a superstar in Canada and Europe, particularly in France. He greatly influenced the course of the Québec chanson and paved the way for the popular chansonnier movement in Quebec and France. He was a vocal proponent of Quebec nationalism and helped galvanize the collective identity of the people of Quebec. Some of his most popular songs included “Notre sentier,” “Moi, mes souliers,” “Bozo” and “Le Tour de l’Ȋle.” He received three Grand Prix du disque from the Académie Charles-Cros in Paris, as well as the Prix de musique Calixa-Lavallée, the Prix Denise-Pelletier and the Diplôme d'honneur. He was made an Officer of the Order of Canada, a Grand Officer of the National Order of Québec and a Chevalier of France's Légion d'honneur.
This article was originally published in Maclean’s magazine on March 23, 1998. Partner content is not updated.
They are lining up to meet her in the flesh. Hundreds of broadcasters, delegates to a country radio conference, have gathered for a party at the new Planet Hollywood in Nashville.This article was originally published in Maclean’s magazine on January 13, 2003. Partner content is not updated.
"TO UNDERSTAND ME you have to meet me and be around me. And then, only if I'm in a good mood - don't meet me in a bad mood." Avril Lavigne, the 18-year-old pop sensation from Napanee, Ont., says this the first time I meet her.