Michel Louvain
{{Short description|Canadian singer (1937–2021)}}
{{Use Canadian English|date=April 2021}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2021}}
{{Infobox musical artist
| name = Michel Louvain
| honorific_suffix = CM
| image = Les BB, 25 ans - 090.jpg
| image_size =
| landscape =
| alt =
| caption = Louvain in 2015
| birth_name = Michel Poulin
| birth_date = {{birth date|1937|7|12}}
| birth_place = Thetford Mines, Quebec, Canada
| origin = Canadian
| death_date = {{death date and age|2021|4|14|1937|7|12}}
| death_place = Montreal, Quebec, Canada
| genre =
| occupation = Singer, television presenter
| years_active = 1956–2021
| website = {{URL|michel-louvain.com}}
}}
Michel Louvain, {{post nominals|CAN|CM}} (July 12, 1937{{spnd}}April 14, 2021){{cite news|last1=Gilbert|first1=Mario|newspaper=Le Droit|url=https://www.ledroit.com/arts/michel-louvain-seteint-a-lage-de-83-ans-photos--videos-2797804978470ff3c326be25371bb743|title=Michel Louvain s'éteint à l'âge de 83 ans|date=April 14, 2021}} was a Canadian singer most popular in the 1960s and 1970s.[https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/michel-louvain-emc Michel Louvain] at The Canadian Encyclopedia. He recorded many hit songs,[https://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/discover/films-videos-sound-recordings/rpm/Pages/item.aspx?IdNumber=10045& "Top Singles"]. RPM, Volume 4, No. 10. November 1, 1965{{cite magazine|title=Tour de Chant|magazine=Billboard|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=O0UEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA38|date=December 5, 1960|publisher=Nielsen Business Media, Inc.|page=38|issn=0006-2510}} and also worked as a host for a variety of shows on television and radio.{{cite magazine|title=Tabloid Poll|magazine=Billboard|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1icEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA48|date=June 17, 1967|publisher=Nielsen Business Media, Inc.|pages=48–|issn=0006-2510}} In 1965 he was voted 'Mr. Radio–TV', Radio Canada's top show business personality, at the Gala des Artistes.{{cite magazine|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aSkEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA26|title=French-Canadian show oo-la-la affair; Awards spark rhubarb|date=October 30, 1965|magazine=Billboard|page=26|accessdate=June 16, 2010}}
Early life
Louvain was born Michel Poulin in Thetford Mines, Quebec, on July 12, 1937.{{Cite news|last=Gilbert|first=Mario|date=April 15, 2021|title=Quebec crooner Michel Louvain, who enthralled a generation of fans, dies at 83|url=https://www.thestar.com/entertainment/2021/04/15/quebec-crooner-michel-louvain-who-enthralled-a-generation-of-fans-dies-at-83.html|access-date=April 16, 2021|work=Toronto Star|language=en}}{{Cite news|title=Michel Louvain n'est plus|date=April 14, 2021|url=https://ici.radio-canada.ca/nouvelle/1780537/michel-louvain-deces-mort-chanteur|access-date=April 16, 2021|publisher=Radio-Canada|language=fr-ca}} His father worked as a miner. Louvain first sang as a child in the choir at his local church. He was employed as a hardware store decorator during his adolescence. He consequently moved out of his hometown to pursue a full-time career in singing. He first relocated to Sherbrooke, before settling down in Montreal.{{cite news|title=Obituary: Singer and TV host Michel Louvain was 'an idol' to Quebecers|url=https://montrealgazette.com/entertainment/local-arts/raymond-levesque-prolific-quebec-songwriter-and-sovereignty-activist-dies-at-92|first=Frédéric|last=Tomesco|date=April 15, 2021|accessdate=April 15, 2021|newspaper=Montreal Gazette}}
Career
Louvain began working as a master of ceremonies at a hotel in Laval when he was 20 years old. He was later signed to Apex Records in the 1960s.{{cite magazine|title=Disque artists win 2 top awards at Gala|magazine=Billboard|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VykEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA12|date=July 31, 1965|publisher=Nielsen Business Media, Inc.|pages=12–|issn=0006-2510}} His first hit was "Buenas Noches Mi Amor". Over the next 20 years, Louvain made many recordings, including the hit songs "La Dame en bleu" and "Je déclare l'amour au monde entier". His recordings in French were sold internationally in Belgium.{{cite magazine|title=Music Capitals of the World| magazine=Billboard|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eg8EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA28|date=January 29, 1966|publisher=Nielsen Business Media, Inc.|page=28|issn=0006-2510}} His song "C'est Un Secret" reached #14 in the Canadian RPM Magazine Top 40, November 29, 1965.{{cite web|url=http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/obj/028020/f2/nlc008388.5596.pdf| title=RPM Top 40 Singles - November 29, 1965}}
Louvain was the host of a succession of CFTM-TV (Montreal) and Radio-Canada TV variety shows. His performances attracted mostly young female fans.{{cite book|title=Montreal in the 50s: A Guide to Writing Historical Fiction|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=h7KaBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA7|date=November 26, 2014|publisher=Olivia Makinson|page=7|id=GGKEY:D46W0PNPZPF}} He first performed in nightclubs, and, when his following grew more mature, in entertainment theatres. In the 1980s, he staged grandiose music-hall shows, with female dancers and scenery, at the Place des Arts and across Quebec, including Autour du monde in 1984.
Louvain was the subject of a documentary film by Claude Demers, entitled Ladies in Blue (Les dames en bleu).{{cite news|url=https://montrealgazette.com/entertainment/local-arts/claude-demers-gets-very-personal-in-new-documentary-set-in-verdum|title=Claude Demers gets very personal in new documentary set in Verdun|last=Kelly|first=Brendan|date=December 22, 2014|work=The Gazette|location=Montreal|accessdate=December 27, 2014}}
Later life
Louvain was appointed Knight of the National Order of Quebec in 2010. Five years later, he was named a Member of the Order of Canada.[http://thechronicleherald.ca/canada/1296405-four-nova-scotians-among-order-of-canada-honourees "Four Nova Scotians among Order of Canada honourees"]. The Chronicle-Herald, July 1, 2015.[https://montrealgazette.com/news/local-news/seven-montrealers-appointed-to-order-of-canada "Seventeen Quebecers appointed to Order of Canada"]. Nathalie Laflamme, The Gazette (Montreal), July 1, 2015 In 2017, as a celebration of his 80th birthday, Louvain set out on a concert tour. One of the concerts was at the Festival d'Été de Québec in Quebec City.{{Cite web|last=Lawlis|first=Jamie|date=July 16, 2017|title=SPILL FESTIVAL REVIEW: FESTIVAL D'ÉTÉ DE QUÉBEC 2017|url=http://spillmagazine.com/spill-festival-review-festival-dete-de-quebec-2017/|access-date=November 9, 2020|website=The Spill Magazine|language=en-US}}Josianne Desloges, [https://www.lesoleil.com/arts/michel-louvain-et-losq-le-bonheurdun-crooner-cae041abe5f49287b161914ad5414262 "Michel Louvain et l'OSQ: le bonheur d'un crooner"]. Le Soleil, April 7, 2017. He released his 32nd album, La belle vie, in 2019. He was scheduled to tour throughout Quebec from September 2021, beginning in his hometown Thetford Mines.{{Cite web|date=April 15, 2021|title=Singer Michel Louvain, a Quebec icon, dies at 83|url=https://montreal.ctvnews.ca/singer-michel-louvain-a-quebec-icon-dies-at-83-1.5389037|access-date=April 17, 2021|website=CTV News Montreal|language=en}}
Louvain died in his sleep on the night of April 14, 2021, at the Hôpital de Verdun in Montreal. He was 83, and suffered from esophageal cancer, which he had been diagnosed with earlier that month. Condolences included the Premier of Quebec François Legault, saying "the people of Quebec have lost an idol", and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau who described Louvain as "one of Quebec's greatest singers".
Louvain was gay, but rarely spoke about his private life on the record to the media.Lise Ravary, [https://montrealgazette.com/opinion/columnists/lise-ravary-francophones-mourn-michel-louvain-anglos-say-who "Francophones mourn Michel Louvain, anglos say 'who?'"]. Montreal Gazette, April 19, 2021. He was in a 25-year relationship with Mario Théberge, although the couple did not officially marry until just a few days before Louvain's death in 2021.
Discography
- 1958: Michel Louvain{{cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/michel-louvain-mn0000911481/credits|title=Michel Louvain – Credits|work=AllMusic|accessdate=April 15, 2021}}{{cite web|url=http://ici.radio-canada.ca/biographie/michel-louvain|title=Biographie – Michel Louvain|publisher=Radio-Canada|accessdate=April 15, 2021}} {{in lang|fr}}
- 1959: Ici Michel Louvain
- 1961: Après minuit
- 1962: Michel Louvain chante ses succès
- 1962: Toi et moi
- 1964: Michel
- 1965: Aloha{{cite book|author=Philip Hayward|title=Widening the Horizon: Exoticism in Post-war Popular Music|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=b_wT02I1SFYC&pg=PA3|year=1999|publisher=J. Libbey|isbn=978-1-86462-047-4|page=3}}
- 1965: Cœur à chœur
- 1966: Un peu plus de chanson
- 1967: Formi... formidable
- 1968: Souvenirs exotiques
- 1969: Michel Louvain chante Marie
- 1973: Ma vie, c'est l'amour
- 1974: La Grande kermesse western
- 1974: La Dame en bleu
- 1978: En spectacle au Grand Théâtre de Québec
- 1979: En harmonie
- 1979: Message d'amour et de paix
- 1980: Michel Louvain 1980
- 1982: Michel Louvain: 1957–1982
- 1984: Michel Louvain
- 1986: Il faut s'aimer
- 1988: Noël avec vous
- 1988: L'Amour sera toujours l'amour
- 1989: Romantique
- 1993: Je déclare l'amour
- 1997: La collection Michel Louvain – Les grands succès
- 2002: Les Grands Succès
- 2007: Chante Noël
- 2015: Gentleman Crooner
References
{{Reflist|2}}
External links
- {{Official website}}
- {{Discogs artist}}
- {{IMDb name}}
- [https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/michel-louvain-emc Michel Louvain] at The Canadian Encyclopedia
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Louvain, Michel}}
Category:20th-century Canadian LGBTQ people
Category:20th-century Canadian male singers
Category:21st-century Canadian LGBTQ people
Category:21st-century Canadian male singers
Category:21st-century Canadian singers
Category:Canadian gay musicians
Category:Canadian LGBTQ singers
Category:Deaths from cancer in Quebec
Category:Deaths from esophageal cancer in Canada
Category:French-language singers of Canada
Category:Members of the Order of Canada