The Heady Days of Music in Montréal

The music we listened to in the 1960s & 70s was phenomenal, but we didn't know it then. It was music that we enjoyed, & it would always exist. We also had a wonderful radio station, CHOM-FM at 97.7.

There is so much music of the 1960s and ‘70s that I love and which became part of my social life in my growing-up years, before marriage, children and great responsibilities. I am not going to post here the usual well-known and -appreciated British and American bands, which are too many to name. Neither will I post here the well-known Canadian bands such as Guess Who, BTO, April Wine, or singers like Leonard Cohen and Burton Cummings. These are all performers whom I listened to, and enjoyed, yet this is not what I would like to discuss and post here at this moment in time.

What I will post here are the Québécois singers and bands that were popular in Montréal during my youthful years, chiefly because I do not think that they are known outside Québéc. Perhaps it is nostalgia speaking, but I would like to widen their audience. I can understand, then, why you might stop reading now. For those who are interested, here we go.

I begin with Robert Charlebois and Je reviendrai à Montréal (1976), which in my case is true. I am returning to Montréal, and by the next year this time, I hope to be walking the familiar streets of the city, visiting the mountain, Mont-Royal, and trying many of the food fares at Marché Jean-Talon (Jean-Talon Market). I look forward to immersing myself once again in a culture that offers me not only memories but also comfort.

Yes, I miss la cuisine montréalaise, among so many other things about the city and province. I am looking forward to seeing my beloved city and do so with great anticipation and with tremendous emotion. Montréal me manque. Beaucoup.Beaucoup.Beaucoup.

Je reviendrai à Montréal
Dans un grand Boeing bleu de mer
J'ai besoin de revoir l'hiver
Et ses aurores boréales

Then there is Harmonium, the progressive rock band. The first time that I heard this song, Pour un Instant (1974) I was mesmerized. It is so beautiful in its structure and its musicality. In its simplicity.

Pour un instant, j'ai oublié mon nom
Ça m'a permis enfin d'écrire cette chanson

This looks at the themes of personal identity and self-discovery. It was part of a large movement among youth focusing on moving away from old traditions and restrictive ways. Montréal was at the centre of this transformation from a Catholic-dominated culture to a secular one, in what was named its Révolution tranquille (Quiet Revolution)¹, an important historical event that still resonates and defines la province du Québec 60 years later.

I will follow that with Beau Dommage and Tous Les Palmiers (1974), a song about leaving the land of palm trees, sun and oranges and returning home to Montréal in the summer, where the city takes on new life. Summer in Montréal, there is nothing that I know like it, nothing in my memory that can compare to it.

Tous les palmiers, tous les bananiers
Vont pousser pareil quand je s'rai parti
J'm'en vas chez nous, c'est l'été
Chez nous, y ont sorti les chaises sur la galerie.

Next is Michel Pagliaro (The Pag) and J’entends frapper (1972), a song about overcoming personal obstacles with ambition and hard work.

J'entends frapper
Enfin ma chance a tourné
Je suis heureux d'apprendre
Que tout n'est pas terminé

Here is another Pag song, in English, What the Hell I Got (1975), a rock love song. He was a success in both languages, a true Canadian music icon.

I don't want to be lonely, no, no, no, no, no
I don't want to be lonely, lonely without love

Finally, I will end with a song that every le Québecois knows, “Gens de pays” (1975( by Gilles Vigneault. It is considered the unofficial anthem of Québec. It was first performed 50 years ago, on 24 June 1975, at Mont-Royal in Montréal, then called St.-Jean Baptiste Day and later on Fête nationale, removing its religious roots and thus making the festivities more secular.

Gens du pays, c'est votre tour / De vous laisser parler d'amou

There are so many more singers and groups that I could easily add, such as Ginette Reno, Diane Dufresne, Renée Claude, Nanette Workman, Boule Noire, Offenbach, and Ville Émard Blues Band. Quebec is such a creative place, with Montreal having just the right mix, or mélange, to make it, in my mind, the creative capital of Canada.

The radio station that gave all these songs airplay was CHOM-FM (97.7). Many of us had switched over from CKGM-AM (980), which we listened to in the morning, with Ralph “the Birdman” Lockwood. It is CHOM where I heard all the great music of my youth. CHOM introduced me to so many bands and singers, including every song that I posted here. Of course there was Doug Pringle, who was there at the beginning.

It was not strange for bands to play their songs at the CHOM studios on Greene Ave., across Westmount Square, in Westmount. I have, in particular, many good memories of Serge Plaisance and listening to him in the evenings from 1974 to 1980. He was my favourite dj.

Merci et à bientôt
Lifelong Animal Lover
Born at 315 ppm
Now at 428 ppm

1. Révolution tranquille (Quiet Revolution): Canadian Politics.ca: “The Quiet Revolution (La révolution tranquille) refers to a period of cultural and political change that occurred in Quebec throughout the 1960s. It began as a response to the traditional and conservative values held by the Catholic Church that dominated Quebec in the post-war period and after, resulting in rapid and significant social, political, and economic changes in the province.

[…]

“The Liberal Party’s victory over the incumbent Union Nationale Party in the June 1960 election marked a turning point in the history of Quebec. The new government, under the leadership of Jean Lesage, set out to replace the outdated conservative ideologies of Duplessis and modernize the province with a variety of reforms. This began the Quiet Revolution period which would last for the next 20 years. And as Lesage’s government was laying out their plans, attendance at churches in the province dropped precipitously; 30% in a matter of a few years. The province was beginning its move away from the traditional values of the Catholic Church and towards a more secular society.”

https://welcometocanadianpolitics.ca/the-quiet-revolution/