Garolou is a French Canadian

French Canadian

French Canadian or Francophone Canadian, , generally refers to the descendents of French colonists who arrived in New France in the 17th and 18th centuries...

 folk-rock group created in 1975. It was originally called Lougarou, but had to change its name after being sued by a dance troup named Les Loups-garous. The group became popular not only in Quebec

Quebec

Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....

 but across Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

, with its rock sound and its lyrics taken from French and French Canadian traditional songs.

In 1993 the band made a return supported by many concerts each year. The band performed at many music festival

Music festival

A music festival is a festival oriented towards music that is sometimes presented with a theme such as musical genre, nationality or locality of musicians, or holiday. They are commonly held outdoors, and are often inclusive of other attractions such as food and merchandise vending machines,...

s such as the Festival International d'été de Québec and the Festival franco ontarien. The band released in 1997 a live album

Live album

A live album is a recording consisting of material recorded during stage performances using remote recording techniques, commonly contrasted with a studio album...

 called Réunion that captured Garolou's live experience and, two years later, a brand new album called Mémoire Vive.

Garolou has won two Felix Award

Félix Award

The Félix Award is a music award, given on an annual basis to artists in the Canadian province of Quebec.The first Félix awards were presented on September 23, 1979, by the Association du disque, de l'industrie du spectacle québécois...

s (ADISQ Gala) for the albums Garolou (1978) and Romancero (1980) and a Gold certification for the album Garolou (1978).

Actual members

• Marc Lalonde
  Marc Lalonde
  Marc Lalonde, PC, OC, QC is a retired Canadian politician and Cabinet minister.Lalonde was born in Île Perrot, Quebec and obtained a Master of Laws degree from the Université de Montréal, a Master's degree from Oxford University, and a Diplôme d'études supérieures en droit from the University of...
  
   : Bass
  Bass guitar
  The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
  
   and vocals
• Michel Lalonde : Guitar
  Guitar
  The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
  
   and vocals
• Michel (Stan) Deguire : Drums and percussions
• Gaston Gagnon : Electric guitar
  Electric guitar
  An electric guitar is a guitar that uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction to convert vibrations of its metal strings into electric audio signals. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is amplified before sending it to a loudspeaker...
  
   and vocals
• Réginald Guay : Keyboards
  Keyboard instrument
  A keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
  
   and vocals

Former members

• Gilles Beaudoin
  Gilles Beaudoin
  Gilles Beaudoin was a Canadian politician and a former Mayor of Trois-Rivières.-Background:He was born on October 12, 1919. He owned and managed a furniture store located on rue Champflour. He was married to Dolorès Blais since 1943 and was the father of five children. -Political career:Beaudoin...
  
   : Electric guitar
  Electric guitar
  An electric guitar is a guitar that uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction to convert vibrations of its metal strings into electric audio signals. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is amplified before sending it to a loudspeaker...
  
   and vocals (Garolou album)
• Georges Antoniak : Electric guitar
  Electric guitar
  An electric guitar is a guitar that uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction to convert vibrations of its metal strings into electric audio signals. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is amplified before sending it to a loudspeaker...
  
   and vocals (Lougarou album)
• Steven Naylor
  Steven Naylor
  Steven Paul Naylor is an English cricketer. Barrow was a right-handed batsman who bowled right-arm fast-medium. He was born at Billingham, County Durham....
  
   : Keyboards
  Keyboard instrument
  A keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
  
   and vocals (Lougarou album)

Additional musicians (albums)

• Robert (Bobby) Lalonde : Violin
  Violin
  The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
  
   (Lougarou, Romancero and Réunion albums)
• Reynald Wiseman : Saxophone
  Saxophone
  The saxophone is a conical-bore transposing musical instrument that is a member of the woodwind family. Saxophones are usually made of brass and played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. The saxophone was invented by the Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax in 1846...
  
   (Romancero and Centre-Ville albums)

Additional musicians (concerts)

• Robert (Bobby) Lalonde : Violin
  Violin
  The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
  
  
• Bruno Dumont
  Bruno Dumont
  Bruno Dumont is a French film director. To date, he has directed five feature films, all of which border somewhere between realistic drama and the avant-garde. His films have won several awards at the Cannes Film Festival. Two of Dumont's films have won the Grand Prix award: both L'Humanité and...
  
   : Saxophone
  Saxophone
  The saxophone is a conical-bore transposing musical instrument that is a member of the woodwind family. Saxophones are usually made of brass and played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. The saxophone was invented by the Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax in 1846...
  
  

Albums

• 1999 Mémoire Vive (album)
• 1997 Réunion (live album)
• 1982 Centre-Ville (album)
• 1980 Romancero (album)
• 1978 Garolou (album)
• 1976 Lougarou (album)

Compilation albums

• 1991 Tableaux d'hier V.2
• 1991 Tableaux d'hier V.1
• 1981 Profil (album)

Other compilations

• 2000 Québec Rock, vol. 2 (CD)
• 1998 La nuit sur l'étang 1973-1998 (CD)
• 1981 Les Félix / Gagnants 1980 (CD)

Popular songs

• "Ah toi belle hirondelle"
• "Germaine"
• "La belle Françoise"
• "À la claire fontaine"
• "Victoria"
• "La partance"
• "La complainte du Maréchal Biron"
• "Aux Illinois"

External links

• Garolou @ ProgQuébec.com
• Gaston Gagnon official website