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Raymond Lévesque

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Raymond Lévesque
Born(1928-10-07)October 7, 1928
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
DiedFebruary 15, 2021(2021-02-15) (aged 92)
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
GenresPop
OccupationSinger-songwriter
Instrument(s)Vocals, piano
Years active1940s–1980s

Raymond Lévesque (October 7, 1928 – February 15, 2021) was a Canadian singer-songwriter and poet from Quebec.[1] One of the pioneers of the chansonnier tradition in Quebec,[2] he was best known for writing "Quand les hommes vivront d'amour", one of the most famous pop standards in French-language popular music.[1]

Early life

Lévesque was born in Montreal on October 7, 1928. He learned piano under Rodolphe Mathieu and drama under Madame Audet.[1] Shortly after, he met his wife and they married soon after. Inspired by the work of Charles Trenet,[3] he began writing songs in the 1940s and started performing in various cabarets around Montreal. He had his first significant breakthrough in 1947, when he was invited to perform several of his songs on CKAC radio by Fernand Robidoux.[4]

Career

Lévesque was cohost with Colette Bonheur of the variety series Mes jeunes années on Radio-Canada from 1952 to 1954. He subsequently spent several years living in France, where he recorded for Barclay Records and had his songs recorded by French artists such as Bourvil, Jean Sablon, Cora Vaucaire and Eddie Constantine.[1] During this time he wrote "Quand les hommes vivront d'amour", which was inspired by the contemporaneous Algerian War; first recorded by Constantine, the song has since been recorded and performed by many artists in both France and Canada.[1] Other noted songs he wrote during this era included "Les Trottoirs", "La Vénus à Mimile", "Le Coeur du Bon Dieu" and "Rosemont sous la pluie".[1]

After returning to Quebec in 1959, he took acting roles in several téléromans and hosted the children's television series Coucou, and cofounded a boîte à chansons called Chez Bozo with Jean-Pierre Ferland, Clémence DesRochers, Hervé Brousseau, André Gagnon and Claude Léveillée.[5] In 1968, he also began to write poetry and plays, and became politically active in the Quebec separatist movement.[6]

Later life

Lévesque received a lifetime achievement award from the Prix Félix in 1980.[4] By the mid-1980s, Lévesque had suffered profound hearing loss and was diagnosed as deaf. He abandoned music but continued to write, publishing several further works of poetry, fiction and political satire.[7]

Lévesque was awarded the Prix Denise-Pelletier in 1997. He was named a winner of the Governor General's Performing Arts Award in 2005,[8] but declined the honour due to his sovereignist views.[9]

In 2016, a new song written by Lévesque, titled "Les jours d'amour", was recorded and released by singer Marie-Josée Longchamps.[10] He died on February 15, 2021, in Montreal. He was 92, and had been diagnosed with COVID-19 during the COVID-19 pandemic in Quebec in the time leading up to his death.[7][11]

Discography

Albums

  • 1962 – Chansons et monologues[12]
  • 1965 – Raymond Lévesque à la Butte-à-Mathieu[13]
  • 1967 – Après 20 ans[13]
  • 1971 – Raymond Lévesque[12]
  • 1972 – Qui êtes-vous, Raymond Lévesque?[12]
  • 1975 – Raymond Lévesque chante pour les travailleurs[12]
  • 1977 – Le p'tit Québec de mon cœur[12]

Compilations

  • 1989 – Collection souvenir[12]
  • 1993 – Québec love : Raymond Lévesque[13]
  • 1999 – Raymond Lévesque : 50 ans de chansons – Quand les hommes vivront d'amour[14]
  • 2005 – Raymond Lévesque – Collection Québec Info Musique[14]

Bibliography

Poetry

  • 1956 – Quand les hommes vivront d'amour[4]
  • 1971 – Au fond du chaos[4]
  • 1971 – Le malheur n`a pas des bons yeux[4]
  • 1974 – On veut rien savoir[4]
  • 1977 – Le Temps de parler[4]
  • 1981 – Électrochoc[4]
  • 1989 – Quand les hommes vivront d'amour II[4]
  • 2012 – La nouvelle pensée[15]

Plays

• 1968-Médée [16]

  • 1970 – Bigaouette[4]
  • 1974 – Tharèse[4]
  • 1980 – On veut savoir[4]
  • 1983 – C'est à ton tour mon cher René[4]
  • 1986 – Waitress[4]
  • 1988 – Deux mille ans après Jésus-Christ[4]

Autobiography

  • 1986 – D'ailleurs et d'ici[4]

Novels

  • 1995 – Ketchup : ou comment refaire le monde[17]
  • 2000 – Le petit Lalonde[17]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Versailles, Claire; Taylor, Rachelle (June 11, 2008). "Front de libération du Québec (FLQ)". The Canadian Encyclopedia. Historica Canada. Retrieved February 17, 2021.
  2. ^ Bruno Roy, "Chansonniers". The Canadian Encyclopedia, February 7, 2006.
  3. ^ "RAYMOND LÉVESQUE (1928 – …)". Star Québec, March 31, 2013.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p L'herbier, Benoît (July 29, 2007). "Raymond Lévesque". The Canadian Encyclopedia. Historica Canada. Retrieved February 17, 2021.
  5. ^ "Giant of Quebec music; Wrote for Edith Piaf, and honoured by both Canada and France". Ottawa Citizen, June 26, 2011.
  6. ^ "Wait is on for Bill 86 regulations; Key nationalists divided on sign law". The Gazette (Montreal), June 2, 1993.
  7. ^ a b Gilbert, Mario (February 16, 2021). "Raymond Lévesque, prolific Quebec songwriter and sovereignty activist, dies at 92". Montreal Gazette. The Canadian Press. Retrieved February 17, 2021.
  8. ^ "Governor General honours six artists". Windsor Star, September 30, 2005.
  9. ^ "Poet rejects G-G arts award over sovereignty issues". Windsor Star, October 26, 2005.
  10. ^ "Une nouvelle chanson signée Raymond Lévesque". Le Journal de Montréal, July 7, 2016.
  11. ^ Le père de Quand les hommes vivront d’amour emporté par la COVID-19 (in French)
  12. ^ a b c d e f "Discographie – chansons interprétées par Raymond Lévesque". Radio-Canada. Retrieved February 17, 2021. (in French)
  13. ^ a b c "Raymond Lévesque – Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved February 17, 2021.
  14. ^ a b "Johnny Pacheco – Album Discography (All)". AllMusic. Retrieved February 17, 2021.
  15. ^ Gaudet, Agnès (April 10, 2013). "Raymond Lévesque honoré sur scène". Le Journal de Montréal. Retrieved February 17, 2021. (in French)
  16. ^ "Medée". curio.ca. Retrieved September 8, 2021.
  17. ^ a b "Bibliographie – Raymond Lévesque". Radio-Canada. Archived from the original on September 22, 2017. Retrieved February 17, 2021. (in French)
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