Garolou is a Canadian
progressive and
folk-rock group. Formed in 1975 by
French Canadians
French Canadians (referred to as Canadiens mainly before the twentieth century; french: Canadiens français, ; feminine form: , ), or Franco-Canadians (french: Franco-Canadiens), refers to either an ethnic group who trace their ancestry to Fren ...
from
Ontario
Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...
and
Quebec
Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...
, the band was originally called Lougarou, but had to change its name after being sued by a dance troupe named ''Les Loups-garous''. The group became popular not only in
Quebec
Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...
but across
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
, with its rock sound and its lyrics taken from French and French Canadian traditional songs.
In 1993 the band made a return supported by many concerts each year. The band performed at many
music festival
A music festival is a community event with performances of singing and instrument playing that is often presented with a theme such as musical genre (e.g., rock, blues, folk, jazz, classical music), nationality, locality of musicians, or h ...
s such as the Festival International d'été de Québec and the Festival franco-ontarien. The band released in 1997 a
live album
An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...
called ''Réunion'' that captured Garolou's live experience and, two years later, a brand new album called ''Mémoire Vive''.
Garolou has won two
Félix Award
The Félix Award (french: Trophée Félix or Prix Félix) is an award, given by the ''Association du disque, de l'industrie du spectacle québécois'' (ADISQ) on an annual basis to artists working in the music and humor industry in the Canadian p ...
s (ADISQ Gala) for the albums ''Garolou'' (1978) and ''Romancero'' (1980) and a Gold certification for the album ''Garolou'' (1978).
Band members
Current members
*
Marc Lalonde
Marc Lalonde (; born July 26, 1929) is a retired Canadian politician and cabinet minister.
Life and career
Lalonde was born in Île Perrot, Quebec, and obtained a Master of Laws degree from the Université de Montréal, a master's degree from ...
:
Bass and
vocals
Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...
*
Michel Lalonde :
Guitar
The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...
and
vocals
Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...
*
Michel (Stan) Deguire :
Drums
A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...
and
percussions
A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Excl ...
*
Gaston Gagnon :
Electric guitar
An electric guitar is a guitar that requires external amplification in order to be heard at typical performance volumes, unlike a standard acoustic guitar (however combinations of the two - a semi-acoustic guitar and an electric acoustic gui ...
and
vocals
Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...
*
Réginald Guay :
Keyboards
Keyboard may refer to:
Text input
* Keyboard, part of a typewriter
* Computer keyboard
** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping
** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware
Music
* Musi ...
and
vocals
Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...
Former members
*Gilles Beaudoin :
Electric guitar
An electric guitar is a guitar that requires external amplification in order to be heard at typical performance volumes, unlike a standard acoustic guitar (however combinations of the two - a semi-acoustic guitar and an electric acoustic gui ...
and
vocals
Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...
(''Garolou'' album)
*
Georges Antoniak :
Electric guitar
An electric guitar is a guitar that requires external amplification in order to be heard at typical performance volumes, unlike a standard acoustic guitar (however combinations of the two - a semi-acoustic guitar and an electric acoustic gui ...
and
vocals
Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...
(''Lougarou'' album)
*Steven Nayl
:
Keyboards
Keyboard may refer to:
Text input
* Keyboard, part of a typewriter
* Computer keyboard
** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping
** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware
Music
* Musi ...
and
vocals
Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...
(''Lougarou'' album)
Additional musicians (albums)
*
Bobby Lalonde (musician), Bobby Lalonde :
Violin
The violin, sometimes known as a ''fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone (string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in the family in regular ...
(''Garolou'', ''Romancero'' and ''Réunion'' albums)
*
Reynald Wiseman :
Saxophone
The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed on a mouthpiece vibrates to pr ...
(''Romancero'' and ''Centre-Ville'' albums)
Additional musicians (concerts)
*
Bobby Lalonde (musician), Bobby Lalonde :
Violin
The violin, sometimes known as a ''fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone (string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in the family in regular ...
*
Bruno Dumont :
Saxophone
The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed on a mouthpiece vibrates to pr ...
Discography
Albums
*1999
Mémoire Vive (album)
*1997
Réunion (live album)
*1982
Centre-Ville (album)
*1980
Romancero (album)
*1978
Garolou (album)
*1976
Lougarou (album)
Compilation albums
*1991
Tableaux d'hier V.2
*1991
Tableaux d'hier V.1
*1981
Profil (album)
Other compilations
*2000
Québec Rock, vol. 2 (CD)
*1998
La nuit sur l'étang 1973-1998 (CD)
*1981
Les Félix / Gagnants 1980 (CD)
Popular songs
* "Ah toi belle hirondelle"
* "Germaine"
* "La belle Françoise"
* "À la claire fontaine"
* "Victoria"
* "La partance"
* "La complainte du Maréchal Biron"
* "Aux Illinois"
See also
*
Garolou Wikipedia page (French)
*
Music of Quebec
Like many cosmopolitan cities, Quebec is a home for all genres of music. From folk music to hip hop music, hip hop, music has always played an important role in Quebecer culture. In the 1920s and '30s singer/songwriter La Bolduc, Madam Bolduc pe ...
External links
Garolou@ ProgQuébec.com
Gaston Gagnon official website
{{Authority control
1975 establishments in Canada
Musical groups established in 1975
Canadian progressive rock groups
Canadian folk rock groups
London Records artists
Félix Award winners