Genealogy : Exceptional Labrecque

Jacques Labrecque was born on June 8, 1917 in Saint-Benoît, Deux-Montagnes. He is the son of Charles Labrecque, a farmer, and Berthe Rhéaume.

At two, his family moved to Montreal. From the late 1920s to the late 1930s, the study of vocal art, music theory, music theory, Harmony and musical dictation are made with private teachers. It develops training both classical and traditional.

In 1934, at the age of 17, Jacques Labrecque began successfully as a tenor and performed songs on programs such as "Le Réveil rural" at the Radio-Canada radio station. At the end of the 1930s, he sings at the "Variétés lyriques" in Montreal.

At the age of 29, he signed a three-year contract with the National Concerts and Artists of New York and began a tour in Acadia.

In 1951, he continued his career as an interpreter of Canadian traditional song in Europe. He recorded recordings in London with the company DECCA and presented a singing tour in Paris in 1952. During this period, he draws his folk repertoire from the source of the folklorists' archives like Marius Barbeau. Among other things, it aims to popularize the repertoire of French Canadian song.

After a stay of six years in Europe, Jacques Labrecque returned to the country in 1956.

On his return to Montreal, he experienced his first success with the song "La Parenté" by Jean-Paul Filion (1957). In addition to traditional folk songs, Jacques Labrecque incorporates into his repertoire works of young authors that he reveals to the public, including Tex Lecor "Le Grand Jos", Lawrence Lepage "Kino le trappeur", and Gilles Vigneault "Jos Hébert".

acques Labrecque made a scandal by recording the songs "Monsieur Guindon" (by Jean-Paul Filion) and "Jos Montferrand" (by Gilles Vigneault) who are banned from radio broadcasts for their vulgar language.

In the winter of 1960 he embarked on a horse-drawn sleigh ride of more than 300 miles from Montreal. Along the river, its destination is that of the Carnaval de Québec. He repeats this scenic hike for three consecutive years for the same occasion.

In the 1980s he became a producer of albums and directed the Éditions et Disques Patrimoine, whose collection "Géographie sonore du Québec" an anthology of traditional songs collected by folklorists. In Charlevoix, Jacques Labrecque organizes and animates "Veillées de contes" as well as being director of the Galerie du Patrimoine, which exhibits works from the region. Passionate about song and traditional music, Jacques Labrecque devoted his life to the dissemination of Canadian heritage first as an interpreter and then as a producer and publisher.

He died on March 18th, 1995 at the age of 77, and today there are about twenty titles including several compilations of his best hits.