Garolou is a Canadian
progressive and
folk-rock group. Formed in 1975 by
French Canadians
French Canadians, referred to as Canadiens mainly before the nineteenth century, are an ethnic group descended from French colonists first arriving in France's colony of Canada in 1608. The vast majority of French Canadians live in the provi ...
from
Ontario
Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...
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, ...
, the band was originally called Lougarou, but had to change its name after being sued by a dance troupe named ''Les Loups-garous''. The group became popular not only in
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, ...
but across
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...
, with its rock sound and its lyrics taken from French and French Canadian traditional songs.
In 1993 the band made a return supported by many concerts each year. The band performed at many
music festival
A music festival is a festival, community event with music, performances of singing and instrument playing that is often presented with a theme such as musical genre (e.g., rock music, rock, blues, folk music, folk, jazz, classical music), nation ...
s such as the Festival International d'été de Québec and the Festival franco-ontarien. The band released in 1997 a
live album
An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track or cassette), or digital. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th centur ...
called ''Réunion'' that captured Garolou's live experience and, two years later, a brand new album called ''Mémoire Vive''.
Garolou has won two
Félix Award
The Félix Award ( is an award, given by the ''Association du disque, de l'industrie du spectacle québécois'' (ADISQ) on an annual basis to artists working in the music and humor industry in the Canadian province of Quebec.
The award
The firs ...
s (ADISQ Gala) for the albums ''Garolou'' (1978) and ''Romancero'' (1980) and a Gold certification for the album ''Garolou'' (1978).
Band members
Current members
*
Marc Lalonde
Marc Lalonde (; July 26, 1929 – May 6, 2023) was a Canadian politician who served as a cabinet minister, political staffer and lawyer. A lifelong member of the Liberal Party, he is best known for having served in various positions of govern ...
:
Bass
Bass or Basses may refer to:
Fish
* Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species
Wood
* Bass or basswood, the wood of the tilia americana tree
Music
* Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in th ...
and
vocals
Singing is the art of creating music with the voice. It is the oldest form of musical expression, and the human voice can be considered the first musical instrument. The definition of singing varies across sources. Some sources define sing ...
*
Michel Lalonde :
Guitar
The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...
and
vocals
Singing is the art of creating music with the voice. It is the oldest form of musical expression, and the human voice can be considered the first musical instrument. The definition of singing varies across sources. Some sources define sing ...
*
Michel (Stan) Deguire
Michel may refer to:
* Michel (name), a given name or surname of French origin (and list of people with the name)
* Míchel (nickname), a nickname (a list of people with the nickname, mainly Spanish footballers)
* Míchel (footballer, born 1963), ...
:
Drums
The drum is a member of the percussion instrument, percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel–Sachs classification system, it is a membranophones, membranophone. Drums consist of at least one Acoustic membrane, membrane, c ...
and
percussions
A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Ex ...
*
Gaston Gagnon
Gaston is a masculine given name of French origin and a surname. The name "Gaston" may refer to:
People
First name
*Gaston I, Count of Foix (1287–1315)
* Gaston II, Count of Foix (1308–1343)
*Gaston III, Count of Foix (1331–1391)
*Gaston ...
:
Electric guitar
An electric guitar is a guitar that requires external electric Guitar amplifier, sound amplification in order to be heard at typical performance volumes, unlike a standard acoustic guitar. It uses one or more pickup (music technology), pickups ...
and
vocals
Singing is the art of creating music with the voice. It is the oldest form of musical expression, and the human voice can be considered the first musical instrument. The definition of singing varies across sources. Some sources define sing ...
*
Réginald Guay :
Keyboards and
vocals
Singing is the art of creating music with the voice. It is the oldest form of musical expression, and the human voice can be considered the first musical instrument. The definition of singing varies across sources. Some sources define sing ...
Former members
*Gilles Beaudoin :
Electric guitar
An electric guitar is a guitar that requires external electric Guitar amplifier, sound amplification in order to be heard at typical performance volumes, unlike a standard acoustic guitar. It uses one or more pickup (music technology), pickups ...
and
vocals
Singing is the art of creating music with the voice. It is the oldest form of musical expression, and the human voice can be considered the first musical instrument. The definition of singing varies across sources. Some sources define sing ...
(''Garolou'' album)
*
Georges Antoniak Georges may refer to:
Places
*Georges River, New South Wales, Australia
* Georges Quay (Dublin)
*Georges Township, Fayette County, Pennsylvania
Other uses
* Georges (name)
* ''Georges'' (novel), a novel by Alexandre Dumas
* "Georges" (song), a 19 ...
:
Electric guitar
An electric guitar is a guitar that requires external electric Guitar amplifier, sound amplification in order to be heard at typical performance volumes, unlike a standard acoustic guitar. It uses one or more pickup (music technology), pickups ...
and
vocals
Singing is the art of creating music with the voice. It is the oldest form of musical expression, and the human voice can be considered the first musical instrument. The definition of singing varies across sources. Some sources define sing ...
(''Lougarou'' album)
*Steven Nayl
:
Keyboards and
vocals
Singing is the art of creating music with the voice. It is the oldest form of musical expression, and the human voice can be considered the first musical instrument. The definition of singing varies across sources. Some sources define sing ...
(''Lougarou'' album)
Additional musicians (albums)
*
Bobby Lalonde (musician), Bobby Lalonde :
Violin
The violin, sometimes referred to as a fiddle, is a wooden chordophone, and is the smallest, and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in regular use in the violin family. Smaller violin-type instruments exist, including the violino picc ...
(''Garolou'', ''Romancero'' and ''Réunion'' albums)
*
Reynald Wiseman :
Saxophone
The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed on a mouthpiece vibrates to p ...
(''Romancero'' and ''Centre-Ville'' albums)
Additional musicians (concerts)
*
Bobby Lalonde (musician), Bobby Lalonde :
Violin
The violin, sometimes referred to as a fiddle, is a wooden chordophone, and is the smallest, and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in regular use in the violin family. Smaller violin-type instruments exist, including the violino picc ...
*
Bruno Dumont
Bruno Dumont (; born 14 March 1958) is a French film director and screenwriter. To date, he has directed twelve feature films, all of which border somewhere between realistic drama and the avant-garde.
His films have won several awards at the C ...
:
Saxophone
The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed on a mouthpiece vibrates to p ...
Discography
Albums
*1999
Mémoire Vive (album)
*1997
Réunion (live album)
*1982
Centre-Ville (album) Centreville, Centerville, Centre-ville or Centre-Ville and variants may refer to:
Places
Bahamas
* Centreville (Bahamas Parliament constituency)
Canada
* Centreville, British Columbia, a ghost town
* Centreville, New Brunswick, a village in C ...
*1980
Romancero (album)
A ''romancero'' is a collection of Spanish '' romances'', a type of folk ballad (sung narrative). The ''romancero'' is the entire corpus of such ballads. As a distinct body of literature they borrow themes such as war, honour, aristocracy and heroi ...
*1978
Garolou (album)
Garolou is a Canadian progressive rock, progressive and folk-rock group. Formed in 1975 by French Canadians from Franco-Ontarian, Ontario and Quebec, the band was originally called Lougarou, but had to change its name after being sued by a dance ...
*1976
Lougarou (album)
Compilation albums
*1991
Tableaux d'hier V.2
*1991
Tableaux d'hier V.1
The International Conference on Automated Reasoning with Analytic Tableaux and Related Methods (TABLEAUX) is an annual international academic conference that deals with all aspects of automated reasoning with analytic tableaux. Periodically, it joi ...
*1981
Profil (album)
Other compilations
*2000
Québec Rock, vol. 2 (CD)
*1998
La nuit sur l'étang 1973-1998 (CD)
*1981
Les Félix / Gagnants 1980 (CD)
Popular songs
* "Ah toi belle hirondelle"
* "Germaine"
* "La belle Françoise"
* "À la claire fontaine"
* "Victoria"
* "La danse de la limonade"
* "La partance"
* "La complainte du Maréchal Biron"
* "Aux Illinois"
* "La Vendée"
See also
*
Garolou Wikipedia page (French)
*
Music of Quebec
As a cosmopolitan province, Quebec is a home to various genres of music, ranging from folk to hip hop. Music has played an important role in Quebecer culture. In the 1920s and 1930s, singer/songwriter Madam Bolduc performed comedic songs in a ...
External links
Garolou@ ProgQuébec.com
Gaston Gagnon official website
{{Authority control
1975 establishments in Canada
Musical groups established in 1975
Canadian progressive rock groups
Canadian folk rock groups
London Records artists
Félix Award winners