The Southern Ontario/WNY Radio-TV Forum » Lucille Starr

John D · September 5, 2020 9:44 am

I grew up; on my Mother's side; in a French Canadian family. Every Christmas as all the relatives would gather, my cousins (with great voices by the way) and my Aunt would break into The French Song by Lucille Starr. I hear that she has passed away; on Friday. Always loved that song.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kgy5grKI_ko

Last edited by John D (September 5, 2020 9:53 am)

Media Observer · September 5, 2020 2:32 pm

No French background in my family, but the song has been on my YouTube Favorites playlist for many years. She had a beautiful voice.

unclefester · September 5, 2020 5:05 pm

I absolutely LOVE that song!!

John have you got a source or two for this?

I can't find anything online

Her Wiki & Facebook pages show nothing about her passing.

Odd

Last edited by unclefester (September 5, 2020 5:23 pm)

paterson1 · September 5, 2020 5:43 pm

Born in St. Boniface Manitoba and but raised in BC in a French Canadian town called Maillardville. She was the first Canadian female to have a million seller with The French Song in 1964.

The song was a hit in Canada and in Europe, and reached #54 on Billboard. Her follow up song Jolie Jacqueline was also popular across Canada and in 1969 Lucille had a number one country hit with Cajun Love.

Interesting that all three of these songs had a mixture of English and French lyrics throughout. She was also unique in that she was a French Canadian singer not from Quebec or from New Brunswick but the west, and she always made a point that interviewers/writers knew that she was a Franco-Manitoban.

In 1963 Lucille was one of the earlier signings to A&M Records where she released four solo albums and two with her then husband Bob Regan. Some of her material was produced by Herb Alpert, co- owner of the label.

John D · September 6, 2020 9:19 am

unclefester. Found this, this morning on Wikipedia. "Lucille Starr (May 13, 1938 - September 4, 2020) was a Canadian Franco-Manitoban / British Columbian singer, songwriter, and yodeler best known for her 1964 hit single, "Quand Le Soleil Dit Bonjour Aux Montagnes" ("The French Song").

Last edited by John D (September 6, 2020 9:30 am)

AspectRatio · September 6, 2020 11:12 am

Wikipedia was subject to quite a lot of edits and reverts back-and-forth on this news since Friday. I haven't seen it reported more widely yet, but perhaps soon enough. One of the Wikipedia edits states, as the source, "announced by fellow Canadian Country singer Joyce Smith on Facebook".

paterson1 · September 6, 2020 11:35 am

AspectRatio wrote:
Wikipedia was subject to quite a lot of edits and reverts back-and-forth on this news since Friday. I haven't seen it reported more widely yet, but perhaps soon enough. One of the Wikipedia edits states, as the source, "announced by fellow Canadian Country singer Joyce Smith on Facebook".

I am surprised as well that this hasn't been reported much or at all in media so far. Nothing on CBC.ca or CTV that I could find and not picked up as yet by any of the news services.

Even checked the Winnipeg Sun and Free Press sites but nothing. This is strange.

unclefester · September 6, 2020 12:01 pm

And I checked the Vegas obits

No word there either

And I tried to find the lady who posted it on Facebook Ms. Joyce Smith

No luck

Let me quickly add that I trust John D 100% I really do

But this is very odd

paterson1 · September 6, 2020 12:07 pm

Yes it is in wiki with some edits and updates so John is correct. But wondering why no media has picked this up.

John D · September 6, 2020 2:55 pm

Thank you unclefester. I am relying on Larry LeBlanc whom I trust for information in the music business who has been friends with the family for some time. I understand the news may come out on Tuesday.

Last edited by John D (September 6, 2020 3:22 pm)

unclefester · September 6, 2020 3:38 pm

And I suspect it is in fact true as well John D

You trust your friend Mr. Leblanc & that's good enough for me

Lucille Starr had quite a voice

My wife and I were listening to her portfolio on YouTube for a while today

To my ears her voice had a bit of a Patsy Cline feel to it

No better compliment than that

unclefester · September 6, 2020 8:39 pm

And CBC is now carrying the story

Thanks John D

Very sad news

RIP

RadioActive · September 6, 2020 8:50 pm

unclefester wrote:
And CBC is now carrying the story

Manitoba-born country music queen Lucille Starr dies at 82

Here's my favorite part of the obit (if "favourite" is the appropriate word for something like this) :

"Starr also put her yodeling abilities to good use on The Beverly Hillbillies, where she provided the singing voice for Cousin Pearl."

Who knew?

paterson1 · September 6, 2020 9:57 pm

I couldn't find a lot of interviews with her on line. The link in the CBC obit (Queen you've never heard of) isn't too bad. The actual CBC obit is pretty lame. She became a star in the 60's and not 50's.

Hope more is written and reported about her this week and more interviews surface. First Canadian female to have a million seller is a bit of a big thing and the fact she did it with a bilingual song makes even more unique. Back in the 60's there were international hits, and The French Song was one of these, heard around the world.

drex · September 6, 2020 10:17 pm

Hi all,

I live in Maillardville which is the French part of Coquitlam I guess you could call it.
There is even street named after her here.

cheers from BC
Drex

Last edited by drex (September 6, 2020 10:17 pm)

John D · September 7, 2020 9:05 am

Official obit from CBC. Sorry if already posted.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/lucille-starr-country-music-manitoba-1.5714448

I’m impressed she did the yodel on Beverly Hillbillies. Bea Benadaret was a great comedic actress, First saw her as the neighbour on the Burns and Allen Show. She was also the voice of Wilma on the Flinstones. .

John D · September 7, 2020 9:10 am

Just a small piece of trivia regarding Lucille Starr. The French Song was produced by Mr. A&M himself, Herb Alpert. It was only the 2nd record he produced after The Lonely Bull. Both recorded in a garage before the studios were built.

RadioActive · September 7, 2020 8:26 pm

Something went wrong with your pic post, Unc. Did you want to give it a second try or edit the message? If you need help, let me know.

RadioActive · September 7, 2020 10:19 pm

I just heard from a user off board who tells me he's seeing the pic fine. Is anyone else just seeing a big blue block that says "Image Not Found?" I wonder why some are seeing it and some are not. Very strange. Here's what I see:

RadioActive · September 7, 2020 11:20 pm

Ironically, that one I CAN see.

Media Observer · September 8, 2020 12:57 pm

I get the same result as RA; however I can see the Ray Charles photo.

cash · September 8, 2020 2:08 pm

Starr also put her yodeling abilities to good use on The Beverly Hillbillies, where she provided the singing voice for Cousin Pearl.

RadioActive · March 8, 2022 1:12 am

For reasons I can't quite fathom, the CBC reposted this five year old feature article about the late Lucille Starr on their website on Monday. Some interesting facts about her life and how at first, she thought her most famous record wasn't a hit. (I find it odd that the piece doesn't even mention her follow-up, "Jolie Jacqueline.")

Lucille Starr: the Canadian country queen you've probably never heard of