Crystal Plamondon (born in 1963 in Plamondon,

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

, Canada) is a trilingual singer and performer of Cajun and country music. Plamondon's birth town was founded by her great-grandfather. She began singing publicly at the age of ten but didn't record until 1990 when she made her own cassette. Plamondon lists her musical influences as Daniel Lanois,

Zachary Richard Ralph Zachary Richard (born September 8, 1950) is an American singer-songwriter and poet. His music is a combination of Cajun and Zydeco musical styles. Biography Zachary Richard began his musical career at the age of 8, as soprano in the Bish ...

Dolly Parton Dolly Rebecca Parton (born January 19, 1946) is an American singer-songwriter, actress, philanthropist, and businesswoman, known primarily for her work in country music. After achieving success as a songwriter for others, Parton made her album d ...

Sting Sting may refer to: * Stinger or sting, a structure of an animal to inject venom, or the injury produced by a stinger * Irritating hairs or prickles of a stinging plant, or the plant itself Fictional characters and entities * Sting (Middle-eart ...

, and

Emmylou Harris Emmylou Harris (born April 2, 1947) is an American singer, songwriter and musician. She has released dozens of albums and singles over the course of her career and has won 14 Grammys, the Polar Music Prize, and numerous other honors, including ...

. Her CDs include ''Carpe Diem'' in 1993, ''La Rousse Farouche'' in 1996, and ''Plus de Frontières'' in 2002. ''Plus de Frontières'' (English: No Borders) was nominated for a

Western Canadian Music Award The ''Western Canadian Music Awards'' (WCMAs) are an annual awards event for music in the western portion of Canada. The awards are provided by the Western Canada Music Alliance, which consists of six member music industry organizations from Br ...

for "Outstanding Francophone Recording" in 2003. She speaks three languages:

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

, and

Cree The Cree ( cr, néhinaw, script=Latn, , etc.; french: link=no, Cri) are a Indigenous peoples of the Americas, North American Indigenous people. They live primarily in Canada, where they form one of the country's largest First Nations in Canada ...

. In 1992, she received the Molson Canadian ARIA (Alberta Recording Industry Association) Performer of the Year Award. In 1993, she was nominated for YWCA's Tribute to Women Award, for Arts & Culture. In 1994, Plamondon was given formal recognition of her talents by being made an honorary citizen of Breaux Bridge, Louisiana. Her music videos, ''Rendez-vous en Louisiane'' and ''Cajun Girl/ La Cajine'' filmed in Plamondon, Alberta, receive regular play in the southern U.S. and in Canada. Plamondon had a television special filmed in Benin, West Africa and in her Alberta home in November, 1998 called ''Passeport Musique'' for Radio Canada. She has also performed live on Parliament Hill in 1997 for the

Canada Day Canada Day (french: Fête du Canada), formerly known as Dominion Day (french: Fête du Dominion), is the national day of Canada. A federal statutory holiday, it celebrates the anniversary of Canadian Confederation which occurred on July 1, 18 ...

celebration; and on October 18, 2000, Crystal sang the ''Famous Five Anthem'' for the inauguration of the "Women are Persons!" monument on Parliament Hill to commemorate the day that women were declared "persons" in 1929. Four of Plamondon's songs have been featured in the CBC TV show ''

Heartland Heartland or Heartlands may refer to: Businesses and organisations * Heartland Bank, a New Zealand-based financial institution * Heartland Inn, a chain of hotels based in Iowa, United States * Heartland Alliance, an anti-poverty organization i ...

''. After living in southern Alberta and Louisiana, Plamondon is now living in the Plamondon area, and performs at the Calgary Stampede, local venues and at tour stops in Canada.

Discography

Singles

* ''Carpe Diem!'' (1993) marked Crystal's first #1 hit "Capitaine" followed quickly by "On va faire le rigodon" in France.

Albums

;Solo * ''Carpe Diem! ''(1993) * ''La Rousse Farouche/ Wild Red'' (1996) * ''Plus de Frontières - No Borders'' (2002) This CD was nominated for a Western Canadian Music Award for "Outstanding Francophone Recording" * ''On a Song and a Prayer / Une Chanson, une prière'' (2009) * ''TORCH! ''(2010) * ''Half Gospel, Half Heartbreak'' (2015) ;Contributing artist * Big Valley Jamboree (1993) * ''

The Rough Guide to the Music of Canada ''The Rough Guide to the Music of Canada'' is a compilation album originally released in 2003. Part of the World Music Network Rough Guides series, it gives a wide overview of the music of Canada. Though contemporary styles are represented, the al ...

'' (2005)

References

;Citations {{DEFAULTSORT:Plamondon, Crystal Living people People from Lac La Biche County Franco-Albertan people Canadian women singer-songwriters Canadian folk singer-songwriters Singers from Alberta French-language singers of Canada 1963 births