I would like to see New York...
Daniel Lavoie, whose real name is Joseph-Hubert-Gérald Lavoie, is a Canadian singer-songwriter whose particularity, apart from his artistic talents, is to have been born in Manitoba, a French-speaking community within an English-speaking province.
He learned to play the piano at the age of 4, but the real kick-off of his musical career came when he won the competition for the show "Jeunesse oblige" in 1967 while he was stopping off in his town. Contest organized by Radio Canada.
Then, from the 70s, he played musicians first with the group "Spectre" then with "Dieu de l'amour vous aime" (that's the name of the group, it's me who you say…). A musical journey that will bring him to Quebec where he will settle there.
He first played in clubs and cafes, recorded his first album "Short Term" in 1975 with relative success. Then came the album "Lullaby for a lion" in 1976 which this time enjoyed a great enthusiasm, at least locally.
It was from the third album "Nirvana bleu", which was released in 1979 and from which the title "La danse du smatte" was to be extracted, that things took a much more favorable turn for the artist. Success in Canada, France and even Germany.
So much so that he received a "Félix" in 1980 as Best Performer of the Year. Prizes and rewards are raining down.
The consecration came in 1984 when the album "Attention tension" was released, which was to be extracted from the enormous "Ils s'aiment", a magnificent ode to love and a flagship single that would sell more than 2 million copies!
A euphoric period that later gave way to calmer years when the artist was active but without regaining the same level of success as before.
Little air hole that lasts until 1998, when he accepts to play the role of Frolo in a musical called… .. "Notre Dame de Paris". Musical by Luc Plamondon and Richard Cocciante, which will become a real phenomenon in France, revealing artists hitherto unknown and making them real stars as rarely before in France.
Still active, the singer has some surprises in store for us in the years to come. To be continued ...
To discover or rediscover.
Discography (among others ...) :
J'ai quitté mon île 1974
Dans l'temps des animaux 1977
La danse du smatte 1979
Boule qui roule 1980
Henry 1981
Passe passe et le temps 1982
Roule ta boule 1983
Ils s’aiment 1984
Tension attention 1985
Que cherche-t-elle ? 1986
Je voudrais voir New-York 1986
La nuit se lève 1987
Les longs manteaux 1987
Dis lui, dis lui Mona 1988
Qui sait ? 1990
Jours de plaine 1991
Allume la tv 1992
Weak for love 1993
Belle 1998
Clips :
1974 ... the preliminaries. A smooth debut on a pretty ballad that begs to be heard ...
1977 ... a Daniel that is refined over time. Like good wine, it will take a few more years of ripening to give the best of himself ...
1979 ... the end of the decade which brought him a first notable success. It just goes to show that perseverance always pays off one day or another ...
1980 ... he demonstrates over the years an undeniable talent for so-called 'emotional' titles. And we will not be long in having a striking confirmation ...
1981 ... the beginning of the decade when we find Daniel in Ketchup sauce. Well, why not, but the attempt to break into the Anglo-Saxon sphere will not produce much effect ...
1982 ... year after year, the style is slowly but surely refined. The proof with this very nice title ...
1983 ... a Daniel who continues his little way. Nothing fancy yet but things could change quickly ...
1984 ... after a quiet start to the decade but without any real relief, the time for recognition has finally come. But above all of the consecration. Thanks to this title to magical lyricism and inspiration. He signs here the title of his life and surely one of the most beautiful songs of the end of the XXth century. MO-NU-MEN-TAL !
1985 ... the years go by but are not necessarily alike. Daniel delivers us this time a rhythmic title at will and which shows that he can also go hunting in this kind of register ...
1986 ... chase the natural, it comes back at a gallop. The Intimist domain is really the one where he feels best ...
1986 ... in the same vein. A year 1986 undoubtedly placed under the sign of sweetness ...
1987 ... this time, the years go by and look the same. We find again Daniel in Intimist mode. Be careful, too many Intimist kills the Intimist ...
1987 ... again, and again, and again in the 'emotional' register ... It's always well done but it will eventually tire Daniel ...
1988 ... there you have it, a little rhythm doesn't hurt, on the contrary. Scheduled turn or smoke screen...good question doctor ?
1990 ... and no, it was indeed a diversion. We set off again on the same pretty road but the monotony wins us over ...
1991 ... Daniel plays Daniel. We will have changed decades without the style evolving more or less. Pity...
1992 ... a nicely inspired track that works well. In the Intimist, it's one of his most successful, there's no photo !
1993 ... back to Ketchup mode. Unfortunately, the breakthrough didn't work the first time around and it won't work the second time ...
1998 ... the role of a lifetime. A legendary song for a legendary trio. A marvel that will forever remain one of his greatest successes ...
Wiki :
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daniel_Lavoie
Official Website :
Greatest Hits :
https://www.deezer.com/us/artist/9155
Discography :
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-E3xvIOSnWwiUn1hcjeLcw/featured