Quebec singing star and cultural icon Jean-Pierre Ferland died Saturday at the age of 89.
The man who left his mark on Quebec with the song “Une chance qu’on s’a” died of natural causes, according to his agency. He had been hospitalized on February 14 at the CHSLD Desy, in Saint-Gabriel-de-Brandon, in the Lanaudière region.
Born in Montreal on June 24, 1934, a date that predisposed him to become an emblematic figure of Quebec culture, Ferland had given a “final concert” at the Bell Center on January 13, 2007, officially ending his 42 years of career. But he didn’t disappear from the scene, not by a long shot.
He then participated – with Céline Dion and Ginette Reno, among others – in a concert on the Plains of Abraham in 2008 on the occasion of the 400th anniversary of Quebec City, and in a tribute to him at the Théâtre Saint-Denis in April 2009. organized by Rythme FM radio station.
In September 2009, Ferland also released an album of duets and trios titled “Bijoux de famille”, as well as collaborating with Gilles Vigneault and writing a new song for Céline Dion. Another live album follows in 2011: “Les Noces d’or de jaune”.
On August 14, 2010, he flew to the rescue of the small church in his adopted village, Saint-Norbert, which was threatened with closure despite having been recognized as a historical monument by the Quebec Religious Heritage Council. Ferland and Reno performed at a concert attended by 3,000 people and the fate of the church changed.
She participated in three festivals in 2011: the Festival franco-Ontarien d’Ottawa, the FrancoFolies de Montréal and the Festival d’été de Québec, and then, in 2012, in the special “Céline Dion… unassisted”, which attracted to 2.4 million viewers. In 2013, she appeared on TVA’s “La Voix.”
The prolific singer-songwriter’s discography numbers some 30 albums, including “Jaune,” his 1970 masterpiece that became, in a way, Quebec’s “Sergeant Peppers.” In just one year, about 60,000 copies were sold.
His career has been rewarded with numerous honors, including the Grand Prix of the Charles-Cros Academy in France, twice, in 1968 and 1977, the Best Singer-Songwriter Award at the Festival du disque de Montréal in 1965, and the Best Singer-songwriter at the Festival du disque de Montréal in 1965. Composer Award at the Gala des Artistes in 1972.
More recently, he was named a Companion of the Order of Canada in 1996 and a Knight of the National Order of Québec in 2003. In January 2007, he was inducted into the Canadian Composers Hall of Fame.
From HEC to ‘Jaune’
Before becoming an artist, Ferland attended the École des Hautes Études Commerciales and was hired as an accountant at Radio-Canada in 1956. Encouraged by his fellow students at the public broadcaster, he recorded his first songs in 1958 and attracted attention from the public three years. later with his second album and the titles “Les Immortelles” and “Ton visage”.
In 1962, “Feuilles de gui” won the “Chansons sur mesure” competition organized by Radio-Canada, as well as the grand prize at the International Song Gala in Brussels. A year later, she represented Canada in Sopot, Poland, at the third International Song Competition, winning the award for best performer in Krakow.
It was also during the 1960s that he began to make a name for himself in Paris. In 1962 he sang in the cabaret “La Tête de l’art” and in 1966 he moved to the City of Light for a month. He returned triumphantly to Quebec in 1968, with his hit “Je reviens chez nous”, written in a Paris hotel (while suffering from homesickness). Two years later, in 1970, he sang with the Montreal Symphony Orchestra at the Osaka International Exposition.
Returning to Quebec just as “L’Ostid’show” was revolutionizing the music scene, Ferland realized that he needed to renew his repertoire. He locked himself in Morin-Heights with a group of great musicians to produce a legendary album: “Jaune”
If the 70s were marked by the release of “Jaune”, it was also during this period when he gave gigantic concerts at the Place des Arts and recorded “T’es mon amour, t’es ma maîtresse” with Ginette Reno. He also performed at the St. John’s Day celebrations in 1976, with Claude Léveillée, Gilles Vigneault, Robert Charlebois and Yvon Deschamps.
Ferland also took advantage of the 1970s to make his first forays into film and television. In 1976, he acted as an actor, screenwriter and musician in the film “Chanson pour Julie”, by Jacques Vallée, before recording four programs of “Faut voir ça” for Radio-Canada in 1978; had already presented “Jeunesse oblige” on SRC television in the early 1960s. He continued in this line in the 1980s, presenting several programs: “Station soleil” (Radio-Québec, 1981-1987), “L’Autobus du showbusiness” (SRC, 1987), “Ferland/Nadeau” (Télé-Métropole, 1990).
In 1992, he released his first album in eight years, “Bleu blanc blues.” Encouraged by his reception, he returned in 1995 with “Écoute pas ça” (including “Une chance qu’on s’a”) and in 1999 with “L’Amour c’est d’l’ouvrage”. This return allowed him to reconnect with his audience, but also to be discovered by younger people.
A short retirement
In early 2005, Ferland launched his last tour, “Trois fois Ferland”, which took him to all corners of Quebec. After about 150 performances, he suffered a stroke on October 12, 2006, the day before the last show of this tour and of his career, the next day at the Bell Centre. This “farewell show” finally took place on January 13, 2007.
However, the artist is not retiring. He continued to perform on stage from time to time and was even a coach on the popular television show “La Voix” in 2013.
In 2021, after a difficult time during the COVID-19 pandemic, she released a new album, “Je n’veux pas sleeping ce soir”, in which she sings her work with other artists, including Florence K, Lynda Lemay and Gilles Vigneault. .
“I left this profession, I left it, I did a farewell show. And then, it didn’t last long,” he confided with a smile to Radio Canada host Patrice Roy, in an interview in May 2021.
“I was embarrassed, but I came back, and as quickly as possible. It is the most beautiful profession in the world, because it is the most surprising for the person who does it and invents it.”
Ferland is survived by his wife, Julie Anne Saumur, his children, Julie and Bruno, his grandchildren Édouard, Charlotte, Loïc and Jean-Félix, and his great-granddaughter, Livia.
Prime Minister François Legault paid tribute on Sunday to singer-songwriter Jean-Pierre Ferland and said he would contact the deceased’s family to propose holding a state funeral.
“If you wish, we will organize a state funeral,” Legault said at a news conference in Montreal.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on April 27, 2024.