Marjolène Morin (born 2 August 1953), professionally known as Marjo, is a Canadian singer-songwriter from

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

."Marjo"
''

The Canadian Encyclopedia ''The Canadian Encyclopedia'' (TCE; ) is the national encyclopedia of Canada, published online by the Toronto-based historical organization Historica Canada, with financial support by the federal Department of Canadian Heritage and Society of Com ...

'', 5 November 2007.

Background

Morin was born and raised in

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

, Quebec."Marjo broke ground for female Quebecois songwriters". '' Sherbrooke Record'', 8 October 2010. She worked as a model and editor for the fashion magazine ''Madame'', and as manager of the Montreal

jazz club A jazz club is a venue where the primary entertainment is the performance of live jazz music, although some jazz clubs primarily focus on the study and/or promotion of jazz-music. Jazz clubs are usually a type of nightclub or bar, which is licens ...

L'Air du temps, and was cast in two musicals by

François Guy François () is a French masculine given name and surname, equivalent to the English name Francis. People with the given name * François Amoudruz (1926–2020), French resistance fighter * François-Marie Arouet (better known as Voltaire; 16 ...

. She joined the band Corbeau in 1979, two years after the group was started by Pierre Harel. After Corbeau disbanded, she cowrote and recorded "Touch Me", the theme song for the film ''

A Woman in Transit ''A Woman in Transit'' () is a 1984 Canadian French-language drama film directed by Léa Pool.Gerald Pratley, ''A Century of Canadian Cinema''. Lynx Images, 2003. . p. 243. Plot Andrea Richler (Paule Baillargeon) is a well-known director who retur ...

(La Femme de l'hôtel)'', which earned a

Genie Award The Genie Awards were given out annually by the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television to recognize the best of Canadian cinema from 1980–2012. They succeeded the Canadian Film Awards (1949–1978), known as the "Etrog Awards" for sculptor ...

for

Best Original Song The following is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various films, festivals, and people's awards. Best Actor/Best Actress *See Best Actor#Film awards, Best ...

in 1985."The Marjo magic". ''

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Newspapers in Canada, Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in Western Canada, western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of more than 6 million in 2024, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on week ...

'', 13 February 1988.

Solo career

She released her debut album, ''Celle qui va'', in 1986. One of her first concerts to promote the album on its initial release was as an opening act for

Eartha Kitt Eartha Mae Kitt (née Keith; January 17, 1927 – December 25, 2008) was an American singer and actress. She was known for her highly distinctive singing style and her 1953 recordings of "C'est si bon" and the Christmas novelty song "Santa Baby" ...

, but a press conference to promote the concert ended in controversy when Kitt pulled Morin's hair and spilled wine in her lap."Ignored by anglos Marjo rocks Quebec; She's the hottest French ticket in province." ''

Montreal Gazette ''The Gazette'', also known as the ''Montreal Gazette'', is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper which is owned by Postmedia Network. It is published in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is the only English-language daily newspape ...

'', 23 January 1988.

MusiMax via YouTube Max is a Canadian French language specialty channel owned by Remstar Media Group, a division of Remstar. The channel primarily broadcasts entertainment programming, focusing on scripted television series and films. Established in 1997 as MusiMax ...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JriHQV_mMmg The album ultimately sold more than 250 000 copies, was certified double platinum by the

Canadian Recording Industry Association Music Canada is a non-profit trade organization that was founded 9 April 1963 in Toronto to represent the interests of companies that record, manufacture, produce, and distribute music in Canada. It also offers benefits to some of Canada's leadin ...

, and won three

Prix Félix Prix was an American power pop band formed in Memphis, Tennessee, in 1975 by Tommy Hoehn and Jon Tiven. The group ended up primarily as a studio project. Its recordings were produced by Tiven along with former Big Star member Chris Bell, who ...

. One critic wrote at the time that her stage show generated so much electricity that she was the musical equivalent of

James Bay James Bay (, ; ) is a large body of water located on the southern end of Hudson Bay in Canada. It borders the provinces of Quebec and Ontario, and is politically part of Nunavut. Its largest island is Akimiski Island. Numerous waterways of the ...

. The album was subsequently released in France under the title ''Amoureuse'', and was promoted by a tour of Europe. In 1988, she appeared on

Gerry Boulet Joseph Gaétan Robert Gérald (Gerry) Boulet (March 1, 1946 – July 18, 1990) was a French Canadian rock singer.

's influential album ''Rendez-vous doux'', as a duet vocalist on the song "Les Yeux du cœur". She followed up with ''Tant qu'il y aura des enfants'' in 1990."Marjo has her act and her life together". ''

'', 6 October 1990. The album was again a chart success in Quebec; in addition to the hit singles "À bout de ciel" and "Je sais, je sais", the album included the English language song "Crazy Notions". She won four Prix Félix for the album, including Best Rock Album and Best Song for "Je sais, je sais". The album was again certified double platinum for sales of over 200,000 copies."Platinum diva Marjo resurfaces; Rockeuse ends hiatus with release of Bohemienne, concert tour". ''

'', 18 March 1995. She returned in 1995 with the album ''Bohémienne''. The album was certified platinum by October 1995, garnered awards from

SOCAN The Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada (SOCAN) is a Canadian performance rights organization that represents the performing rights of more than 175,000 songwriters, composers and music publishers. The organization collect ...

for the singles "Bohémienne" and "Trop d'amour", and was a shortlisted

Juno Award The Juno Awards (stylized as JUNOS), or simply known as the Junos, are awards presented by Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences to recognize outstanding achievements in Canada's mu ...

nominee for Best Francophone Album at the

Juno Awards of 1996 The Juno Awards of 1996, representing Canadian music industry achievements of the previous year, were awarded on 10 March 1996 in Hamilton, Ontario at a ceremony in the Copps Coliseum. Anne Murray was the host for the ceremonies, which were broad ...

. She released the albums ''Bootleg Blues'' in 1998, ''Sans retour'' in 2001 and ''Turquoise'' in 2005. In 2009 and 2010, she released the albums ''Marjo et ses hommes, Vol. 1'' and ''Marjo et ses hommes, Vol. 2'', which featured songs from throughout her career newly rerecorded as

duet A duet (italian language, Italian: ''duo'') is a musical composition for two Performing arts, performers in which the performers have equal importance to the piece, often a composition involving two singers or two pianists. It differs from a har ...

s with a variety of male vocalists including

Martin Deschamps Martin Deschamps (born 23 June 1970) is a Canadians, Canadian rock music, rock singer from Quebec. He records and performs both as a solo artist and as the lead vocalist for the reunited Offenbach (band), Offenbach. Young age Deschamps was bo ...

Jonathan Painchaud Jonathan Painchaud (born September 17, 1974) is a Canadian singer-songwriter from Iles de la Madeleine, Quebec. Painchaud is a former member of the group Okoumé. He released a duo album with his brother, Éloi, in 2002, and released four solo ...

, Yann Perreau, Éric Lapointe,

Richard Séguin Richard Séguin (born March 27, 1952, in Pointe-aux-Trembles, Québec Canada) is a Québécois songwriter, musician and singer. His music career began in the 1970s with the duo Les Séguin, with his twin sister Marie-Claire. The duo achieved ...

Richard Desjardins Richard Desjardins (born March 16, 1948) is a Québécois folk singer and film director. Career Desjardins and his friends formed the country rock ensemble Abbitibbi in the 1970s; Desjardins played piano, guitar, and sang. When the group disbande ...

Mario Pelchat Mario Pelchat (born 1 February 1964) is a Canadian Francophone singer from Quebec. He received the Felix Award in 1990 and 1992. Biography Pelchat was born in Dolbeau-Mistassini, Quebec and has performed since 1973. His first 45 RPM single was ...

Gilles Vigneault Gilles Vigneault (; born 27 October 1928) is a Canadian poet, Publishing, publisher, singer-songwriter, and Quebec nationalism, Quebec nationalist and Quebec sovereignty movement, sovereigntist. Two of his songs are considered by many to be Qu ...

Dan Bigras Dan Bigras (born 23 December 1957) is a francophone rock singer and actor from Canada. He has released a number of albums of rock music, beginning with ''Ange Animal'' in 1990. He is the spokesman of ''Refuge des Jeunes de Montréal'' (meaning ...

and

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. The second volume also included the original recording of "Les Yeux du cœur", which had not previously been available on one of Marjo's albums. She has not released a new album of material since ''Vol. 2'', but has continued to undertake occasional live performances, most recently at a 2017

Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day (), also known in English as ''St John the Baptist Day'', is a holiday celebrated on June 24 in the Canadian province of Quebec. It was brought to Canada by French settlers celebrating the traditional feast day of the Na ...

concert on the

Plains of Abraham The Plains of Abraham () is a historic area within the Battlefields Park in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. It was established on 17 March 1908. The land is the site of the Battle of the Plains of Abraham, which took place on 13 September 1759, ...

in Quebec City. In 2016, she took her first acting role, in

Sophie Dupuis Sophie Dupuis is a Canadian film director and screenwriter from Val-d'Or, Quebec, who studied at Concordia University and the Université du Québec à Montréal whose feature film debut ''Family First (film), Family First (Chien de garde)'' premie ...

's film '' Family First (Chien de garde)''."Marjo au grand écran"
''

La Presse is a French-language online newspaper published daily in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1884, it is now owned by an independent nonprofit trust. ' was formerly a broadsheet daily, considered a newspaper of record in Canada. Its Sunday edi ...

'', 15 November 2016.

Discography

Albums

* 1986: ''Celle qui va'' * 1990: ''Tant qu'il y aura des enfants'' * 1995: ''Bohémienne'' * 1998: ''Bootleg Blues'' * 2001: ''Sans retour'' * 2005: ''Turquoise'' * 2009: ''Marjo et ses hommes, Vol. 1'' * 2010: ''Marjo et ses hommes, Vol. 2''

References

{{Authority control 1953 births Living people Actresses from Montreal Canadian women rock singers Canadian women singer-songwriters Singers from Montreal French-language singers of Canada Best Original Song Genie and Canadian Screen Award winners Canadian film actresses Canadian women pop singers 20th-century Canadian women singers 21st-century Canadian women singers 20th-century Canadian singer-songwriters 21st-century Canadian singer-songwriters