Tributes are pouring in to the man behind such hits as “Le petit roi,” “Je reviens chez nous” and “Une chance qu’on s’a.”
Author of the article:
Published Apr 28, 2024 • 3 minute read
Article content
Tributes have been pouring in since the death Saturday of celebrated Quebec lyricist, composer and singer Jean-Pierre Ferland. He was 89.
The composer of “Une chance qu’on s’a” died of natural causes, said the agency representing him. He was admitted on Feb. 14 to a long-term care hospital in St-Gabriel-de-Brandon in Quebec’s Lanaudière region.
Article content
Since the announcement of his death, reaction on social media has been widespread. Some of it:
Advertisement 2
Article content
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau posted on Saturday night on the platform X that “Jean-Pierre Ferland was a giant of francophone music. He wrote and sang songs which will forever be a part of Quebec culture. We will miss him greatly.”
Quebec Premier François Legault hailed Ferland as “a great architect of Quebec chanson … I listened to his album ‘Jaune’ over and over. So many great successes: ‘Le petit roi,’ ‘Je reviens chez nous,’ ‘Une chance qu’on s’a’ … composer of the unforgettable song ‘Un peu plus haut, un peu plus loin,’ performed by Ginette Reno on Mount Royal.”
Quebec culture minister Mathieu Lacombe, who earlier Saturday had attended the funeral of former provincial Liberal cabinet minister Benoît Pelletier, wrote on X: “Great people are leaving us. (Ferland’s death) is such sad news … we will miss his songs, his words, his deeply personal style. My thoughts are with his family and those close to him. Thank you for everything, M. Ferland.”
Parti québécois head Paul St-Pierre Plamondon said: “We have lost an artist who marked the spirits of several generations of Quebecers. his voice and his melodies will continue to resonate in our souls and in our heads … I offer my sincere condolences to everyone close to him and to the entire artistic world.”
Today’s One Read
Article content
Advertisement 3
Article content
Québec solidaire co-spokesperson Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois: “Jean-Pierre Ferland made Quebec sing. ‘Jaune’ brought Quebec music into modernity. His legacy is enormous. In my name and in the name of Québec solidaire, I offer my sincere condolences to his family and everyone close to him. Adieu Monsieur Ferland.”
Marc Tanguay, interim leader of the Quebec Liberal party, saluted “a veritable giant, a legend of Quebec music.” He said Ferland’s “songs will remain engraved in our collective memory. Many of us will be humming them for years to come. Through a long career marked by success, it’s worth mentioning his album ‘Jaune,’ which came out in 1970 and is most certainly … one of the best of all time.”
“There are very few giants of our songs and our soul,” said Bloc québécois head Yves-François Blanchet on X. “Jean-Pierre – passionate, in love with every minute and every note … who gave goose bumps to an entire people, alongside Ginette et Céline.”
Montreal mayor Valérie Plante said that Ferland’s “songs will resonate for a long time in our homes. His memory will be honoured forever at Place des Fleurs-de-Macadam, on Mount Royal Ave.”
The plaza, a multifunctional space on Mount Royal Ave. E. between Boyer and de Mentana Sts. is the previous site of a gas station operated by Jean-Pierre Ferland’s father, Armand, and it is named for one of his songs: Its title translates as “flowers in asphalt.”
“The charmer of Quebec has died,” said Quebec City mayor Bruno Marchand, “His departure leave an enormous void in Quebec culture, but his vast legacy will comfort us during these sad moments. Thank you, M. Ferland.”
Singer Céline Dion paid homage to Ferland by saying he “had a major impact on the music industry” and by sharing a video of the two of them performing ‘Une chance q’on s’a.’
Advertisement 4
Article content
Singer, songwriter and actor Roch Voisine said he was “extremely saddened to learn of the death of one of the giants of francophone song, the incomparable Jean-Pierre Ferland … his album Jaune changed everything, as did the hundreds of songs he offered us after it. Rest in peace, Monsieur Ferland.”
The Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada (SOCAN) posted: “Infinite gratitude for the immense œuvre which Jean-Pierre Ferland bequeaths to Quebec and Canadian society and to the entire francophone world. He carried Quebec song a bit higher and a bit farther and we are eternally grateful for this.”
The Association québécoise de l’industrie du disque (L’ADISQ) saluted the career of “a great pillar of Quebec song, who received the Félix award (an award given annually by L’ADISQ to artists working in the music and humour industry in Quebec) in 1997. May his music resonate for many years to come.”
Article content
