Marjolène Morin (born 2 August 1953), professionally known as Marjo, is a Canadian singer-songwriter from Quebec."Marjo"
'' The Canadian Encyclopedia'', 5 November 2007.

Background

Morin was born and raised in Montreal, Quebec."Marjo broke ground for female Quebecois songwriters". ''

Sherbrooke Record ''The Record'' is the only daily (Monday–Friday) English language newspaper based in Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada. It serves the Eastern Townships region of that province. It is one of the French-speaking province's last two English-language dail ...

'', 8 October 2010. She worked as a model and editor for the fashion magazine ''Madame'', and as manager of the Montreal jazz club L'Air du temps, and was cast in two musicals by François Guy. She joined the band Corbeau in 1979, two years after the group was started by

Pierre Harel Pierre is a masculine given name. It is a French form of the name Peter. Pierre originally meant "rock" or "stone" in French (derived from the Greek word πέτρος (''petros'') meaning "stone, rock", via Latin "petra"). It is a translation ...

. After Corbeau disbanded, she cowrote and recorded "Touch Me", the theme song for the film ''

A Woman in Transit ''A Woman in Transit'' (french: La Femme de l'hôtel) 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 ...

(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; also known as the "Etrog Awards," for scu ...

for Best Original Song in 1985."The Marjo magic". ''

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of approximately 2 million in 2015, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on weekdays and Saturdays, although it ...

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

, 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'', 23 January 1988. MusiMax via YouTube 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, and won three Prix Félix. One critic wrote at the time that her stage show generated so much electricity that she was the musical equivalent of James Bay. 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'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". '' Montreal Gazette'', 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". '' Montreal Gazette'', 18 March 1995. She returned in 1995 with the album ''Bohémienne''. The album was certified platinum by October 1995, garnered awards from SOCAN for the singles "Bohémienne" and "Trop d'amour", and was a shortlisted

Juno Award The Juno Awards, more popularly known as the JUNOS, are awards presented annually to Canadian musical artists and bands to acknowledge their artistic and technical achievements in all aspects of music. New members of the Canadian Music Hall of ...

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 1988, ''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 is a musical composition for two performers in which the performers have equal importance to the piece, often a composition involving two singers or two pianists. It differs from a harmony, as the performers take turns performing a solo ...

s with a variety of male vocalists including Martin Deschamps,

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, Eloi, in 2002, and released four solo a ...

Yann Perreau Yann Perreau (born 1976) is a Canadian singer songwriter from Quebec specialising in rock-electro music. Between 1994 and 1999, he was a member of Doc et les Chirurgiens, before becoming a solo artist. Biography Beginnings Yann Perreau grew up i ...

, Éric Lapointe, Richard Séguin,

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 disban ...

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,

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 Luc de Larochellière. 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 (french: Fête de la Saint-Jean-Baptiste, la Saint-Jean, Fête nationale du Québec), also known in English as ''St John the Baptist Day'', is a holiday celebrated on June 24 in the Canadian province of Quebec Que ...

concert on the Plains of Abraham in Quebec City. In 2016, she took her first acting role, in Sophie Dupuis's film '' Family First (Chien de garde)''."Marjo au grand écran"
'' La Presse'', 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 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