Renée Claude (born Renée Bélanger; July 3, 1939 – May 12, 2020) was a Canadian actress and singer Denise Ménard, Suzanne Thomas and Benoît L'Herbier
"Renée Claude"
''

The Canadian Encyclopedia ''The Canadian Encyclopedia'' (TCE; ) is the national encyclopedia of Canada, published online by the Toronto-based historical organization Historica Canada, with financial support by the federal Department of Canadian Heritage and Society of Com ...

'', January 20, 2010. who was known as an interpretive singer, particularly of songs by Stéphane Venne,

Michel Conte Michel Conte, born Michel Seunes, (17 July 1932 in Villeneuve-sur-Lot – 5 January 2008) was a French born, naturalized Canadians, Canadian choreographer, lyricist and composer of film music and television music.Louise Laplante. ''Compositeurs can ...

Georges Brassens Georges Charles Brassens (; ; 22 October 1921 – 29 October 1981) was a French singer-songwriter and poet. As an iconic figure in France, he achieved fame through his elegant songs with their harmonically complex music for voice and guitar and ...

and

Léo Ferré Léo Ferré (; 24 August 1916 – 14 July 1993) was a Monégasque poet and composer, and a dynamic and controversial live performer. He released some forty albums over this period, composing the music and the majority of the lyrics. He released ...

Early life

She was born Renée Bélanger 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 ...

. She studied piano at the

École de musique Vincent-d'Indy The école de musique Vincent-d'Indy is a subsidized private music college situated in Montreal, Quebec, Canada in the Outremont, Quebec, Outremont district, that specializes in music education. The school was named after the French composer, Vin ...

, took singing lessons from Alphonse Ledoux, and won a music competition on CKVL radio program ''Découvertes de Billy Munro'' in 1955.

Musical career

In 1960 she made her first major television appearance on Clémence DesRochers's Télévision de Radio-Canada variety show ''Chez Clémence''. Around the same era she began performing in

Quebec City Quebec City is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the Census Metropolitan Area (including surrounding communities) had a populati ...

's ''boîtes à chanson'', specializing in the songs of Ferré, Brassens and

Jean-Pierre Ferland Jean-Pierre Ferland, (; June 24, 1934 – April 27, 2024) was a Québécois singer and songwriter. He was noted for writing over 450 songs and releasing more than 30 albums. He was inducted into the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2007. ...

. She released her self-titled first album on

Distribution Select Distribution Select (formerly Distribution Musicor, Distribution GAM and Distribution Trans-Canada) was a Canadian music distribution company based in Montréal, Quebec, originally founded in 1965 as Disques Select. It was owned by Quebecor. On Dece ...

in 1963, and followed up with three more albums on the label by 1966. In 1967 she made an appearance on ''

The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson ''The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson'' is an American television talk show broadcast by NBC. The show was the third installment of ''The Tonight Show''. Hosted by Johnny Carson, it aired from October 1, 1962 to May 22, 1992, replacing ''T ...

'', and performed at

Expo 67 The 1967 International and Universal Exposition, commonly known as Expo 67, was a general exhibition from April 28 to October 29, 1967. It was a category one world's fair held in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is considered to be one of the most s ...

in Montreal. In the same year she moved to

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American reco ...

and released her breakthrough album ''Shippagan''; the album's title track was her first major hit single in Quebec, and she won the award for best singer at the Gala des artistes in 1968. However, ''Shippagan'' was her sole album for Columbia, as she moved to Barclay for her 1969 album ''C'est notre fête aujourd'hui''. She released five further albums on Barclay between 1969 and 1973, and scored popular hits in this era with the songs "C'est notre fête aujourd'hui", "Le Tour de la terre", "La Rue de la Montagne", "Tu trouveras la paix", "Le Début d'un temps nouveau", "C'est toi, c'est moi, c'est lui, c'est nous autres", "Quand le temps tournera au beau", "T'oublier, t'oublier" and "Sais-tu que je t'aime depuis longtemps". She then moved to

London Records London Recordings (or London Records and London Music Stream) is a British record label that marketed records in the United States, Canada, and Latin America for Decca Records from 1947 to 1980 before becoming semi-independent. The London nam ...

, for whom she released two albums in 1975 and 1976, and then to Solset Records, releasing an album in 1979. In the 1980s, with pop tastes changing, Claude began creating shows and albums that paid tribute to specific artists who had inspired her, including DesRochers, Brassens and Ferré. She won the

Grand Prix du Disque for French Song The Grand Prix du Disque for French Song is one of a number of prizes awarded by L'Académie Charles Cros as part of the yearly Grand Prix du Disque. The following is a partial list of winners (sometimes more than one per year): 1948 * Les Compag ...

from the

Académie Charles Cros The Académie Charles Cros (Charles Cros Academy) is an organization located in Chézy-sur-Marne, France, that acts as an intermediary between government cultural policy makers and professionals in music and the recording industry. The academy ...

in 1996 for her Ferré album ''On a marché sur l'amour''. In the 1990s she began taking acting roles, appearing in stage productions of ''Nelligan'', ''Tu faisais comme un appel'' and ''Marcel poursuivi par les chiens'', in the television series '' Avec un grand A'', '' Lance et compte'' and ''Triplex'', and in the films ''

It's Your Turn, Laura Cadieux ''It's Your Turn, Laura Cadieux'' () is a Canadian comedy film, directed by Denise Filiatrault and released in 1998. The film was based on the comedic novel by Michel Tremblay. The film centers on a group of women in Montreal who meet once a week ...

(C't'à ton tour, Laura Cadieux)'' and ''

North Station North Station is a commuter rail and intercity rail terminal station in Boston, Massachusetts. It is served by four MBTA Commuter Rail lines – the Fitchburg Line, Haverhill Line, Lowell Line, and Newburyport/Rockport Line – and the Amtr ...

(Station Nord)''. She was appointed a member of the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada () is a Canadian state order, national order and the second-highest Award, honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the Canadian Centennial, ce ...

in 2009.

Alzheimer's diagnosis and tributes

In February 2019, it was announced that Claude had been diagnosed with

Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease and the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in remembering recent events. As the disease advances, symptoms can include problems wit ...

. Following the announcement, singers

Ginette Reno Ginette Reno (born Ginette Raynault; 28 April 1946) is a Canadian people, Canadian singer, songwriter and actress. She has received nominations for the Genie Award, Genie and Gemini Awards and is a multi-recipient of the Juno Award. She is a ...

Diane Dufresne Diane Dufresne, (; born 30 September 1944) is a French Canadian singer and painter, and is known for singing a large repertoire of popular Quebec songs. Dufresne was born in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. She lived in Paris from 1965 to 1967 where ...

Céline Dion Céline Marie Claudette Dion (born 30 March 1968) is a Canadian singer. Referred to as the " Queen of Power Ballads", Dion's powerful, technically skilled vocals and commercially successful works have had a significant impact on popular musi ...

Isabelle Boulay Isabelle Boulay, (; born 6 July 1972) is a Canadian singer. Biography Born in Sainte-Félicité, Quebec, where her parents owned a restaurant, Boulay moved to the nearby city of Matane at the start of her adolescence, and studied literature a ...

, Luce Dufault, Louise Forestier, Laurence Jalbert, Catherine Major, Ariane Moffatt,

Marie Denise Pelletier Marie Denise Pelletier (born 3 April 1960) is a francophone Canadian singer. She served as President of Artisti, a copyright collective for music artists operated by Quebec's l'Union des artistes (UDA). Biography While studying literature and c ...

and Marie-Élaine Thibert participated in a supergroup recording of "Tu trouveras la paix" as a charitable fundraiser for Alzheimer's research. Some of the same artists, as well as Clémence DesRochers and

Kathleen Fortin Kathleen may refer to: People * Kathleen (given name) * Kathleen (singer), Canadian pop singer Places * Kathleen, Alberta, Canada * Kathleen, Georgia, United States * Kathleen, Florida, United States * Kathleen High School (Lakeland, Florida ...

, performed at a fundraising benefit concert on November 15, 2019 at

Montreal Symphony House The Montreal Symphony House () is a concert hall in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The Montreal Symphony House is located at the corner of de Maisonneuve Boulevard West and Saint Urbain Street, on the northeastern esplanade of Place des Arts in the ...

Death

Claude died from

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

on May 12, 2020, during the

COVID-19 pandemic in Canada The COVID-19 pandemic in Canada is part of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (). It is caused by SARS-CoV-2, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Most cases over the course o ...

Discography

* 1963: ''Renée Claude Volume 1'' * 1964: ''Renée Claude Volume 2'' * 1965: ''Renée Claude Volume 3 – Il y eut un jour'' * 1966: ''Renée Claude Volume 4'' * 1967: ''Shippagan'' * 1969: ''C'est notre fête aujourd'hui'' * 1969: ''Le tour de la terre'' * 1970: ''Le début d'un temps nouveau'' * 1971: ''Tu trouveras la paix'' * 1972: ''Je reprends mon souffle'' * 1973: ''Ce soir je fais l'amour avec toi'' * 1975: ''Je suis une femme'' * 1976: ''L'enamour, le désamour'' * 1979: ''Bonjour'' * 1981: ''Moi c'est Clémence que j'aime le mieux'' * 1983: ''Renée Claude chante Georges Brassens'' * 1986: ''Renée Claude'' * 1990: ''Nelligan'' * 1993: ''J'ai rendez-vous avec vous: Renée Claude chante Georges Brassens'' * 1994: ''On a marché sur l'amour: Renée Claude chante

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Claude, Renée 1939 births 20th-century Canadian actresses Canadian women pop singers Canadian film actresses Canadian television actresses Canadian stage actresses Actresses from Montreal Singers from Montreal French-language singers of Canada People with Alzheimer's disease 2020 deaths Members of the Order of Canada London Records artists 20th-century Canadian women singers Deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic in Canada