Georges Thurston (December 29, 1951 – June 18, 2007) was a

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, ...

singer, author and composer and radio show host. He was known as Boule Noire (literal translation: "Black Ball") since 1975 and worked in the music industry as a solo artist for nearly 30 years and as part of musical groups for five years.

Early years

Born in Bedford, Quebec, Thurston later moved to Saint-Jerome, Quebec, where he formed his first band in 1965 called les Zinconnus and produced R&B music, his favourite musical genre. In 1969, he moved on to join the 25th Regiment band and remained with the group until the early 1970s. In the 1970s, he worked with several other Quebec artists including

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and

Michel Pagliaro Michel Armand Guy Pagliaro (born 9 November 1948) is a Canadian rock singer, songwriter and guitarist from Montreal, Quebec. Although he writes and records predominantly in French, Pagliaro has reached international success mainly with material ...

. He played the piano, bass and guitar. He would later be a composer for the group Toulouse. He is also featured as back up singer, on a 45RPM Hey Lord-Valentine (1972 release) by local singer-songwriter Robert Salagan.

Solo career

Thurston's solo career started in 1976 when he released his first solo album titled ''Boule Noire''. It included his first hit "Aimes-tu la vie?". During his 30-year solo career, he produced at least 14 albums in both English and French. His first English album, entitled ''Premiere'', was recorded in 1980. Thurston was one of the prominent figures in dance and R&B music in Quebec during the 1970s and 1980s and covered songs by other artists including

the Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...

song "

Let It Be Let It Be most commonly refers to: * ''Let It Be'' (album), the Beatles' final studio album, released in 1970 * "Let It Be" (song), the title song from the album Let It Be may also refer to: Film and television * ''Let It Be'' (1970 film), ...

" in 1995. He also represented Canada at several international music festivals including

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in 1976 and

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school then known as the southern branch of the C ...

in 1988. Thurston's 1978 album ''Aimer d'Amour'' was certified

triple platinum Music recording certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped, sold, or streamed a certain number of units. The threshold quantity varies by type (such as album, single, music video) and by nation or territory (see ...

. The title song, a cover of Leo Sayer's " Easy to Love", would later gain success in the early 1990s when 800,000 copies were sold in Europe. Thurston became a radio show host for

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 ...

Rythme FM Rythme FM is a network of French language, French-language adult contemporary FM broadcasting, FM radio stations broadcasting in most major markets of Quebec. The network was created and owned by Cogeco. History The brand "Rythme FM" was intr ...

radio station in 2000.

Biography book

Just prior to Thurston's death he released his autobiography called ''Aimes-tu la vie?'' after his first hit single. He revealed that he had often been disliked and mistreated. He also said that during his teenage years he nearly became a criminal, but that music helped him to survive through tough times.

Death

Thurston died of

colorectal cancer Colorectal cancer (CRC), also known as bowel cancer, colon cancer, or rectal cancer, is the development of cancer from the Colon (anatomy), colon or rectum (parts of the large intestine). Signs and symptoms may include Lower gastrointestinal ...

on June 18, 2007, in Montreal. He learned of his cancer in early 2006. He finished recording his last album later that year after extensive chemotherapy operations.

Bibliography

* ''Aimes-tu la vie?'' – autobiography (2007)

Discography

* ''Boule Noire'' (1976) * ''Les années passent'' (1977) * ''Aimer d'Amour'' (1978) * ''Il me faut une femme'' (1979) * ''Love me please love me'' (1980) * ''Premiere'' (1980) * ''Primitif'' (1980) * ''Boule Noire Reggae'' (1982) * ''Le tour des îles'' (1987) * ''Résolution'' (1991) * ''Soul Pleureur'' (1992) * ''Let it be'' (1995) * ''Réunion'' (2003) * ''Last call'' (2006)

References

External links

Official Website

Biography of Georges Thurston
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thurston, Georges 1951 births 2007 deaths 20th-century Black Canadian male singers 20th-century Canadian male singers Deaths from colorectal cancer in Canada Canadian rhythm and blues singers Deaths from cancer in Quebec Singers from Quebec Canadian people of Haitian descent People from Montérégie French-language singers of Canada 21st-century Black Canadian male singers 21st-century Canadian male singers 21st-century Canadian singers