Michel Rivard
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Michel Rivard (born September 27, 1951), is a singer-songwriter and musician from Quebec. He was born in Montreal. His father was the comedian Robert Rivard. Michel began his career at an early age appearing in a Canadian television series and in TV commercials.
His career as a writer and composer began in earnest when he became a member of the theatrical group Quenouille Bleue, (Blue Distaff), established in 1970. Later, he became a member of Théâtre Sainfoin, when it was founded in 1973.
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[edit] Beau Dommage and beyond
Four years later in 1974 Rivard and other members of Théâtre Sainfoin, formed the group Beau Dommage (an old Québécois expression meaning “Why Not"). Rivard wrote and composed for Beau Dommage. Beau Dommage became a very popular group, and as a result of his song writing ability Rivard's popularity increase as well. Perhaps his most popular song from this era is “Complainte du phoque en Alaska” (“Lament of a Seal in Alaska”). Although Beau Dommage disbanded in 1978 there were reunion concerts in 1984 and 1994, both of which Rivard participated in. Characteristic of Rivard’s creative energy, he also put out his first solo album in 1977, Méfiez-vous du grand amour (Cap ST-70053) “Be wary of the great love”.
In 1978, as a sign of his increased prestige, Michel opened for Maxime Forestier and was accompanist for Forestier at the Olympia in Paris. Although an unlikely pairing, it resulted in a continued friendship. Rivard released his second LP, De Longueuil à Berlin (Cap SKAO-70067), in 1979; this year also marked the beginning of Rivard's appearance in a series of concerts in Paris.
[edit] 1980s: Film, music, and...politics?
The following years saw Rivard involved in various collaborations, including film collaborations. These film collaborations included roles in Les Enfants de Kennedy, and Maria Chapdelaine. He also wrote scores for films, such as André Melançon's L'Espace d'un été, and Jean-Michel Ribes's Rien ne viola plus. He also acted playing the lead in Simoneau's "Pourquoi M. Zolock s'intéresse-t-il tant à la bande déssinée?" ("Why is Mr. Zolock so interested in Comic Strips?") (1982). He joined Ligue nationale d'improvisation, (the national improvisational league) in 1980 and performed for several years with them. Not wanting to miss an opportunity for some political humor, Rivard was a candidate for the satirical Rhinoceros Party of Canada in 1980 when he ran against former Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau.
He returned to music in 1983 with the release of his third LP, Sauvage (Kébec Disc KD-589). This LP included 'Schefferville, le dernier train,' (Schefferville, the last train) a tune that became quite popular and which was written for the film Le Dernier glacier (Rivard also acted in this film). Rivard made a music video of another song on Sauvage: 'Rumeurs sur la ville' (Hum of the city). It was directed by Louis Saia and Andre Gagnon and won the Felix Video Clip of the Year for 1985 – awarded at the ADISQ (Association du disque, de l'industrie du spectacle québécois et de la vidéo)[1] award ceremonies.
During this time Rivard toured Quebec. He released a fourth LP, called “Bonsoir... Mon nom est Michel Rivard et voici mon album double” (“Good evening, my name is Michel Rivard and here’s my double album”) (Kébec-Disc KD-625-626). This was a live recording made during his 1983-4 concerts. These live show recordings display his adeptness at comic improvisation as well as his musical creativity.
In December of 1988, the Convocation Hall in Toronto opened its doors to Michel Rivard. It was the first time in ten years that a Quebecois sang in French there. Rivard continued to garner awards: In 1988 he won two more Felix awards “Concert of the Year” and “Male Singer of the Year.” He also participated in concerts supporting political and humanitarian issues, among them: the Amnesty International concert “Human Rights Now!” along with Youssou N’Dour, Tracy Chapman, Bruce Springsteen, and others.
What was to become his most popular album, “Un trou dans les nuages” (A Hole in the Clouds) was issued in late 1987 (Audiogram AD-10009). It included songs that would be enduring hits for him: ‘Ma blonde et les poissons,' 'Libérer le trésor,' 'Je voudrais voir la mer,' 'Le privé,' and 'Un trou dans les nuages.' Rivard received many awards for this album including the Charles-Cros Academie International Grand Prize.
Rivard released another album in 1989, “Michel Rivard”, a compilation of greatest hits. He continued to perform concerts in Canada and Europe.
[edit] The 1990s
Rivard’s seventh album “Le gout de l’eau…et autres chansons naïves” came out in 1992. It too became another award winning album for him and in 1993 Rivard performed at the Olympia theater in Paris.
At this point in time Rivard’s prominence as a creative musician and poetic lyricist with a broad humanitarian vision put him on a par with the two great performers of a previous Québécois generation, Gilles Vigneault and Félix Leclerc. Rivard’s 'Complainte du phoque en Alaska' was one of the few songs recorded by Leclerc that Leclerc did not write himself. Rivard also shares with those two men, though more moderately, a concern and interest in Quebec's nationalist aspirations.
In 1998, Rivard released the haunting and personal, Maudit Bonheur (Damned Happiness). He had his own variety television show, Studio TV5, for a couple of years, where he invited musicians, songwriters, and singers that he enjoyed performing with and jammed with them.
[edit] The 2000s
Rivard’s concert career continues and he also continues to perform in theatre. In 2002 his album “Simple” (a live concert album) came out, and in 2004 “Bonsoir…mon nom est toujours Michel Rivard et voici mon album quadruple” (“Good evening my name is still Michel Rivard and here is my quadruple album”)[2] came out.
[edit] Notes
- ^ ADISQ was created to promote the Quebec recording industry and its artists. The first president of ADISQ, Gilles Talbot, launched the idea of an annual gala because many Quebecois artists were dissatisfied with the fact that they were only rarely nominated to compete in the annual Juno Awards.
- ^ Unfortunately, while Michel Rivard’s CDs are available in Canadian music stores that carry Quebecois performers, they are not at all available through major international distributors, such as Amazon. See the Audiogram site listed below.
