Claude Rajotte (born July 3, 1955) is a well-known
Canadian
Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...
DJ/VJ/music critic from
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
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, ...
.
Life
Rajotte was born in
Drummondville
Drummondville () is a city in the Centre-du-Québec region of Quebec, located east of Montreal on the Saint-François River. The population as of the Canada 2021 Census was 79,258. The mayor of Drummondville is Stéphanie Lacoste.
Drummondville ...
,
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, ...
on July 3, 1955. His career started at the local radio station CHRD, in 1974. After short stints in
Ottawa
Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...
and
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, ...
, he settled 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 ...
and started to work for
CKOI-FM
:For the CKOI radio network, see '' CKOI (network)''.
CKOI-FM (96.9 FM) is a commercial radio station in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It airs a French-language contemporary hit radio format and is owned and operated by Cogeco. The studios are in Pl ...
in 1976.
While being a
DJ for
CHOM-FM
CHOM-FM (97.7 Hertz, MHz) is a commercial radio, commercial FM radio, FM radio station in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Owned and operated by Bell Media, it broadcasts a mainstream rock radio format. The studios are in the Bell Media Building at 1717 ...
(1982–2002), he spoke
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Culture, language and peoples
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
* ''English'', an Amish ter ...
with a marked
French Canadian
French Canadians, referred to as Canadiens mainly before the nineteenth century, are an ethnic group descended from French people, French colonists first arriving in Canada (New France), France's colony of Canada in 1608. The vast majority of ...
accent that was liked by his radio audience. In the 1980s, Rajotte was in the habit of continually switching from English to French during his broadcasts. With his unmistakable accent, francophones connected immediately, however, that did not detract anglophone listeners, leading to complaints from CHOM's main competitor at the time, the francophone radio station CKOI, Rajotte's former employer. Canada's broadcasting regulators, the
Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission
The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC; ) is a public organization in Canada tasked with the mandate as a regulatory agency tribunal for various electronic communications, covering broadcasting and telecommunic ...
(CRTC), ruled that CHOM DJs were not allowed to speak in French on the air, despite the requirement that CHOM must broadcast a certain proportion of French language songs.
He was also a fixture for over 17 years (1987–2004) on
MusiquePlus (the French counterpart to
MuchMusic
Much is a Canadian English language discretionary specialty channel owned by BCE Inc. through its Bell Media subsidiary that airs programming aimed at teenagers and young adults. It is headquartered at 299 Queen Street West in what was o ...
). He was a VJ and a much appreciated album critic. His review show called ''
Le Cimetière des CD'' (''The Cemetery of
CD''s) was on the air for ten consecutive years. Once a week during the show, Rajotte would hold a "destroy", an event during which he would physically destroy a newly released album which he particularly disliked using unorthodox methods. He was also a regular host of the channel's alternative video show, ''
Nu Musik'' during the 1980s, and ''
Rage
Rage may refer to:
* Rage (emotion), an intense form of anger
Games
* Rage (collectible card game), a collectible card game
* Rage (trick-taking card game), a commercial variant of the card game Oh Hell
* ''Rage'' (video game), a 2011 first- ...
'' during the 1990s (which was renamed ''The Claude Rajotte Show'').
From 2004 to 2011, Rajotte hosted a late-night radio show on Radio-Canada's
Espace Musique
Ici Musique (stylized ICI Musique) is the French-language music radio service of Canada's national public broadcaster, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (''Société Radio-Canada''). It is the French equivalent of the English CBC Music, alt ...
. He was also a frequent contributor to
Bande à part. In the summer of 2011, he quits Radio-Canada and returns to MusiquePlus. August 2014, his TV program ''Rajotte'' moves to Musimax until December 2015. He also hosted a weekly radio show for almost two years on CIBL-FM until December 2020. His most recent mixes are all on his Mixcloud page. https://www.mixcloud.com/DJ_Rajotte/
Rajotte as cultural icon
Rajotte is widely considered to be a cultural icon in Quebec and is regularly referenced in art, literature, and media.
Compilations by Rajotte
*2001: ''Le Cimetière des CD'' (Gold Jam Records)
*2007: ''L'univers de Rajotte'' (
CBC Records
CBC Records was a Canadian record label owned and operated by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, which distributed CBC programming, including live concert performances, in album and digital format(s)."CBC Records is the corporation's biggest ...
)
*2008: ''L'univers de Rajotte 2'' (
CBC Records
CBC Records was a Canadian record label owned and operated by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, which distributed CBC programming, including live concert performances, in album and digital format(s)."CBC Records is the corporation's biggest ...
)
References
Further reading
*
*
*
External links
* https://www.facebook.com/claude.rajotte1
* https://www.mixcloud.com/DJ_Rajotte/
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rajotte, Claude
1955 births
Mass media regulation in Canada
Canadian television hosts
Canadian radio hosts
Living people
People from Drummondville
LGBTQ DJs
Canadian LGBTQ broadcasters
Canadian gay musicians
21st-century Canadian LGBTQ people