Robert Charlebois is a Quebec singer-songwriter who began his artistic career by starting to take classes at the National Theater School in Montreal between 1962 and 1965, while simultaneously pursuing a career as a singer. Career of songwriter which sees him make in particular the first parts of the spectacles of Félix Leclerc.
He released his first album "Vol.1" in 1965, an album which went somewhat unnoticed but which nevertheless obtained a nice esteem success.
He will have to wait another 3 years and the year 1968 to finally see his efforts rewarded. The album "Robert Charlebois with Louis Forestier" which came out that year contains in particular a title called..."Lindberg", a title which will be a real hit and propel him into the limelight in a spectacular way.
1969 saw him set foot on the stage for the first time at the Olympia in Paris. A performance that will make a milestone with a supercharged Charlebois whose performance will however leave the public somewhat unmoved and which will especially see the artist throwing his battery of rage on the first row of spectators...!
This did not prevent him from continuing its rise to the top at the start of the 1970s with two new major successes, "Ordinaire" and "Conception".
A rise that reached its climax in 1974 during the mega concert "SuperFrancofête", a concert which would attract no less than 125,000 people and which saw him shine around his "spiritual fathers", Gilles Vigneault and Félix Leclerc.
Jack of all trades and somewhat abandoning music in the middle of the decade, we see him appear at the cinema in 1975 in a high-end spaghetti western version Sergio Leone called…"A genius, two associates, a bell".
A triumphant return to music the following year, in 1976, with the release of the title "Je reviendrai à Montreal", the flagship title of his career taken from the album "Longue distance" released that same year.
The end of the 1970s will unfortunately prove to be more complicated to manage than expected with the release of several relatively successful titles. Semi-failures that pushes him to think seriously about what happens next.
The early 1980s saw him completely reorient his life, both privately and musically. On the private side, he separates from Mouffe, his wife who served him as much as his wife as well as emeritus lyricist for many years. On the music side, he turned to two big names of the moment, namely Didier Barbelivien and Luc Plamondon.
Two radical changes which will produce little effect and which will even, on the contrary, stifle the singer's creative madness and gradually relegate him to the back of the pack.
A decline that he could never stop despite the release of many albums thereafter.
To discover or rediscover...
Discography (among others ...) :
60s Decade :
Demain l'hiver 1968
Lindberg 1968
Tout ecartillé 1969
Québec love 1969
70s Decade :
Miss Pepsi 1970
Les ailes d’un ange 1970
Ordinaire 1970
Dolores 1971
Limoilou 1971
Conception 1972
Fu man chu 1972
Avril sur Mars 1973
Je rêve à Rio 1974
Urgence 1974
Quand les hommes vivront d’amour 1975
Tendresse et amitié 1975
Je reviendrai à Montréal 1976
The frog song 1976
J’veux d’l’amour 1979
80s Decade :
Moi Tarzan, toi Jane 1981
Meurs pas 1981
J’t’aime comme un fou 1982
News 1982
Les talons hauts 1983
C’est pas physique c’est électrique 1985
Jukebox 1986
90s Decade :
J'veux pu qu'tu m'aimes 1990
Silence on danse 1990
Vivre en ce pays 1990
Indépendantriste 1992
Immensément 1993
Le batteur du diable 1997
Le plus tard possible 1997
2000s Decade :
Au lieu de travailler 2001
J'y arrive pas 2001
2010s Decade :
7 heures du soir 2010
On n'en guérit jamais 2010
Des livres et moi 2019
Les filles de mon âge 2019
2020s Decade :
Fais-toi z'en pas (tout l'monde fait ça) 2021
Tendresse et amitié 2021
Tracks :
1968 ... totally delirious beginnings which immediately surround the character : this singer is not going to do anything like everyone else, that's clear ...
1968 ... crazy beginnings but a sequel that shows a talent well above average. From his first year of existence, the young singer strikes hard and positions himself as one of the most beautiful discoveries of the year thanks to this title. He has everything to do great things and the years to come will vividly prove it. HU-GE !
1969 ... he confirms with this title all the good that we already think of him. What is strong with him is that he always adds a little touch of delirium in perfectly structured and accomplished titles. A detail that will forever remain its trademark ...
1969 ... a very simple style, just like the melodies, but formidably effective. He found the perfect recipe between the wacky and the conventional, a real feat ...
1970 ... he mixes all the influences of the North American continent, whether American or Canadian. A subtle blend that is almost unique in its kind and which is necessarily its strength !
1970 ... a decade of the 60s to show what we are capable of and a decade of the 70s to move up a gear and become a legend. This is more or less the program to come. Starting with this title ...
1970 ... he alternates titles totally wacky and titles with certain gravity. A very astonishing permanent big gap which shows a maturity more than evident on the part of a singer who has just started. Bluffing !
1971 ... things don't get better on the wacky side. Especially when he adds a crazy tempo that makes some titles giddy. Be careful of overspeed though ...
1971 ... we return to a more or less normal tempo, we were afraid than he left the road. The problem with him is that too much wacky could kill the wacky at one point ...
1972 ... he mixes all styles, tempos, sounds, influences like rarely other artists before him. It is a real UFO in this decade 70 where most of the singers are all preformatted in the same way ...
1972 ... we set off again in overspeed and the total wacky side. At one point, he will still have to manage to land a little to avoid tiring people, that's clear ...
1973 ... when he wants, he can ! A clean title, with obvious inspiration much more in line with the expectations of the public. We want more !
1974 ... we set off again, but the South American style already lends itself much more, hence a result to match. But mixing Country influences on some tracks and South American influences on others is unique to say the least ...
1974 ... a nice title full of finesse that rests, to say the least. An effectiveness in the Intimist which is confirmed title after title and which shows that he should go there much more often...in this area
1975 ... the legendary trio. A unique moment that brings together 3 of the biggest names in Quebec song, whether confirmed or future Grand. Rare moments that write the legend a little more ...
1975 ... a pretty ballad where he once again demonstrates all his enormous potential in the 'emotional' register. And it is precisely in this particular field that he will experience his greatest success ...
1976 ... the title of the consecration. He will write here quite simply one of the most beautiful pages of his musical history and obtain his direct ticket to posterity. A pure moment of magic that simply feels good. MAS-TER-FUL !
1976 ... with him, we go from one extreme to another without stopping. We go straight from pure magic to pure madness, there is no other word. But we will not remake him again as they say !
1979 ... an end of the decade that ends quietly, smoothly and it's not bad. The question now is how will the transition to the 80s be made ...
1981 ... one would have thought that as a pure product of the 70s, the transition to the 80s would be violent and above all unfavorable. For now, things are going pretty well ...
1981 ... he has never been as effective as in Intimist. A new proof with this title which works perfectly and allows him to remain in the big league with obvious ease !
1982 ... he was able to adapt to new trends and it pays off. Of course, he will not end up at the top of the Charts but what he continues to offer largely holds up and that is the essential !
1982 ... after a decade of the 1970s where he alternated between the worst and the best, the decade of the 1980s saw him calm and much more structured. The decade of full and total maturity !
1983 ... rhythmic, playful tracks, while being light and airy as we like them. No more rantings and frenzied delusions, everything he produces now is very successful !
1985 ... which will undoubtedly remain his biggest success of the decade. An excellent title which proves that we will still have to count on him in the years to come, that's clear !
1986 ... and even when he sets off again in the eccentric, it is structured and it fits perfectly with the times. Hope it lasts ...
1990 ... after a half-hearted end of the 80s to say the least, here he is back in 1990 in a certain form. Here he delivers a title that holds up perfectly and shows that he does not intend to stop there ...
1990 ... he lost that grain of madness that characterized him during the 1970s in favor of a style more adjusted to his time. Who would complain ...
1990 ... an excellent start to the 90s which saw him particularly inspired, to say the least. When you think back to what he was doing in the 70s, it's really the big gap !
1992 ... an adventure that continues, after all, year after year, decade after decade. It is certain that what he continues to propose is far from being ridiculous !
1993 ... another nice title, very simple but with a tailor-made melody. The Charlebois of the 90s does not really have much to do with the Charlebois of before, that's clear
1997 ... we still suspected that at some point, the great adventure would draw to an end. Certainly, we are not quite there yet but we are approaching it slowly but surely. But whatever the case, how beautiful the adventure was !
1997...at least the adventure at the highest level because the adventure will continue anyway. Of course, we're not going to lie to each other, the best years are now behind him but it doesn't matter, the main thing is to participate as they say...
2001...he will even attempt the transition to the next decade. To do what, only he has the answer, that's for sure...
2001... the passage will be stealthy to say the least. A small turn and then goes away. Well on the other hand, it's better that than simply disappearing...
2010... the air holes are more and more violent but he comes back every time. The main thing for him now is to have fun, quite simply and regardless of whether there is success or not...
2010...it is clear that we are no longer really dealing with the same whimsical singer that we knew at the start of his career. On the other hand, the opposite would have been surprising...
2019...we lose sight of him for almost 9 years and here he is back again. He won't let go until the end and will come back at least once a decade, that's his goal now...
2019... an exceptional longevity all the same. You still have to remember that he started his career at the end of the 60s ! There aren't many like him left in business...
2021...he will come back at least once a decade ! So here he is starting his 7th decade of career, who would have thought that possible ? Not many people, that's for sure...
2021...we imagine that this title will not be the last. Because we know that with him nothing is ever finished and there is therefore a good chance that we will find him later. To be continued...
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Greatest Hits :
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