THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD
1,438) Louise Forestier — “From Santa to America”
OK, I am not playing this song by the great French Canadian singer Louise Forestier (see #44, 149) on Christmas Day. As best I can make out the lyrics by the French Canadian singer, songwriter and actor Claude Gauthier, Santa is boycotting the kids in the U.S.A. because he is pissed about the Vietnam War — they’ll just have to get their toy guns somewhere else. In any event, the song in Forestier’s hands becomes a sort of intoxicating Julie Driscoll-esque [see #1,032-33, 1,312] psychedelic chanson.
As to Louise Forestier, the Canadian Encyclopedia tells us (courtesy of Google Translate):
Though she graduated from the National Theatre School in Montreal, it was as a singer that she came to public notice in 1966 when she received the Renée-Claude Trophy from Le Patriote and was named discovery of the year on the CBC TV program ‘Jeunesse oblige’. The extaordinary success of the revue L’Osstidcho (1968), then of L’Osstidchomeurt (1969) with Robert Charlebois (see #44, 1,185), Yvon Deschamps, and Mouffe which introduced her to a large public. She and Charlebois recorded “Lindberg” and took part in a whirlwind tour of France in 1969. . . . In April 1970 she was the star in the musical play by Michel Tremblay and François Dompierre Demain matin Montréal m’attend, whose title song was a hit. In 1971 she made an appearance with Charlebois at an MSQ concert, and gave a few recitals. The following year she played a role in Jacques Godbout’s film IXE-13 . . . . Forestier took her place among the top Quebec stars in 1973 with the folk song “La Prison de Londres”. [She] then turned from the hard rock of her early years to a repertoire largely inspired by Quebec folk music, and to a more personal style. Preferring to present new songs – several . . . her own, she performed regularly on TV during the 1970s and presented her shows . . . throughout Quebec and in France. After the first of two 1976 tours of France, Forestier won the ‘Manteau d’Arlequin’ prize, awarded by the critics of that country for the best presentation of French song. In 1978 she began to assemble a group of young musicians led by the pianist Charlot (Charles Barbeau). That year she took part in the Festival de la chanson francophone in Bourges, France, and in the International Song Festival, Sopot, Poland. In 1980, [she] played Marie-Jeanne, the robot waitress in the rock opera Starmania presented in Montreal . . . . Two years later . . . she staged the hit show Je suis au rendez-vous. She was co-host of the Radio Québec program ‘Station soleil’ in 1984 and was elected woman of the year in the arts field. In 1986, she went to the USSR to sing music by Jacques Brel with the Belgian troupe of the Théâtre de l’esprit frappeur. In the fall she presented La Passion selon Louise which won the Félix Awards for writer of 1987. . . .
https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/louise-forestier-emc
As to Claude Gauthier, the Canadian Encyclopedia tells us (again courtesy of Google Translate):
Having made his début in career began in 1959 when he won first prize in the Les étoiles de demain contest at CKVL radio station (in Verdun) with “Le soleil brillera demain.” He also began singing in the boîtes à chansons [the intimate rooms which sprang up in the mid-1950s outside the normal entertainment circuits and in which most young Quebec chansonniers made their start] that were emerging at the time. In 1961, he recorded his first LP . . . which included “Ton nom” and “Le grand six pieds.” The latter earned him the Grand prix du disque canadien from Montréal’s CKAC radio station (1961). In the 1960s, the young troubadour appeared throughout Québec and beyond. He took part in the Mariposa Folk Festival in Ontario and was invited to New York’s prestigious Carnegie Hall in 1964, where he shared the stage with Buffy Sainte-Marie. The two co-wrote the hit song “T’es pas une autre” (“Until It’s Time For You To Go”), later covered by Michèle Richard, Pierre Lalonde and Renée-Claude in French and by Elvis Presley and Neil Diamond in English. The following year, Gamma released 10 of Gauthier’s new songs, including “Geneviève,” which he sang in the film Entre la mer et l’eau douce (1967) . . . . his film début. In 1966-1967, he appeared in [the] soap opera Septième nord on Radio-Canada. In 1967, he sang . . . at the Vive le Québec show at the Paris Olympia. He had been at the Olympia the previous year . . . for the Pleins feux sur le Canada event. That same year, he and Louise Forestier performed at the Terre des Hommes Expo Theatre for Expo 67 . . . . In 1969, Gauthier was awarded a Festival du disque award for his LP Cerfs-volants. . . . In 1972, he represented Canada in Spa, Belgium, at the Festival international de la Francophonie and recorded an album, Le plus beau voyage, in France. . . . Gauthier abandoned live shows for two years (1973–74) to pursue film. He acted in three movies: Les Ordres . . . Partis pour la gloire . . . and La piastre . . . , for which he also wrote the theme song “Les beaux instants[.]” . . . He returned to singing in October 1975 . . . . In 1977, he took part in the Grand gala de la chanson francophone de Strasbourg in France. He subsequently became a kind of cultural ambassador for Québec . . . .
https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/claude-gauthier-emc
Here is Claude Gauthier:
Pay to Play! The Off the Charts Spotify Playlist! + Brace for the Obscure 60s Rock Merchandise
Please consider helping to support my website/blog by contributing $6 a month for access to the Off the Charts Spotify Playlist. Using a term familiar to denizens of Capitol Hill, you pay to play! (“relating to or denoting an unethical or illicit arrangement in which payment is made by those who want certain privileges or advantages in such arenas as business, politics, sports, and entertainment” — dictionary.com).
The playlist includes all the “greatest songs of the 1960’s that no one has ever heard” that are available on Spotify — now over 900 songs. The playlist will expand each time I feature an available song.
All new subscribers will receive a Brace for the Obscure 60s Rock magnet. New subscribers who sign up for a year will also receive a Brace for the Obscure 60s Rock t-shirt or baseball cap. See pictures on the Pay to Play page.
When subscribing, please send me an e-mail (GMFtma1@gmail.com) or a comment on this site letting me know an e-mail address/phone number/Facebook address, etc. to which I can send instructions on accessing the playlist and a physical address to which I can sent a magnet/t-shirt/baseball cap. If choosing a t-shirt, please let me know the gender and size you prefer.
Just click on the first blue block for a month to month subscription or the second blue block for a yearly subscription.
Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! / Off the Charts: 60s Rock Revelations😊 