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Marjo (singer)

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Marjo
Background information
Birth nameMarjolène Morin
Born (1953-08-02) 2 August 1953 (age 71)
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Genresrock, pop
Occupation(s)singer, songwriter
Instrumentvocals
Years active1979–present

Marjolène Morin (born 2 August 1953), professionally known as Marjo, is a Canadian singer-songwriter from Quebec.[1]

Background

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Morin was born and raised in Montreal, Quebec.[2] She worked as a model and editor for the fashion magazine Madame, and as manager of the Montreal jazz club L'Air du temps,[2] and was cast in two musicals by François Guy.[2]

She joined the band Corbeau in 1979, two years after the group was started by Pierre Harel.[2] After Corbeau disbanded, she cowrote and recorded "Touch Me", the theme song for the film A Woman in Transit (La Femme de l'hôtel), which earned a Genie Award for Best Original Song in 1985.[3]

Solo career

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She released her debut album, Celle qui va, in 1986.[1] One of her first concerts to promote the album on its initial release was as an opening act for Eartha Kitt, but a press conference to promote the concert ended in controversy when Kitt pulled Morin's hair and spilled wine in her lap.[4][5] The album ultimately sold more than 250 000 copies, was certified double platinum by the Canadian Recording Industry Association, and won three Prix Félix.[6] One critic wrote at the time that her stage show generated so much electricity that she was the musical equivalent of James Bay.[7] The album was subsequently released in France under the title Amoureuse, and was promoted by a tour of Europe.[8]

In 1988, she appeared on Gerry Boulet's influential album Rendez-vous doux, as a duet vocalist on the song "Les Yeux du cœur".[9]

She followed up with Tant qu'il y aura des enfants in 1990.[10] The album was again a chart success in Quebec; in addition to the hit singles "À bout de ciel" and "Je sais, je sais", the album included the English language song "Crazy Notions".[10] She won four Prix Félix for the album, including Best Rock Album and Best Song for "Je sais, je sais".[11] The album was again certified double platinum for sales of over 200,000 copies.[12]

She returned in 1995 with the album Bohémienne.[12] The album was certified platinum by October 1995,[13] garnered awards from SOCAN for the singles "Bohémienne" and "Trop d'amour",[14] and was a shortlisted Juno Award nominee for Best Francophone Album at the Juno Awards of 1996.[15]

She released the albums Bootleg Blues in 1998, Sans retour in 2001 and Turquoise in 2005.[16] In 2009 and 2010, she released the albums Marjo et ses hommes, Vol. 1 and Marjo et ses hommes, Vol. 2, which featured songs from throughout her career newly rerecorded as duets with a variety of male vocalists including Martin Deschamps, Jonathan Painchaud, Yann Perreau, Éric Lapointe, Richard Séguin, Richard Desjardins, Mario Pelchat, Gilles Vigneault, Dan Bigras and Luc de Larochellière.[17] The second volume also included the original recording of "Les Yeux du cœur", which had not previously been available on one of Marjo's albums. She has not released a new album of material since Vol. 2, but has continued to undertake occasional live performances, most recently at a 2017 Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day concert on the Plains of Abraham in Quebec City.[18]

In 2016, she took her first acting role, in Sophie Dupuis's film Family First (Chien de garde).[19]

Discography

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Albums

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  • 1986: Celle qui va
  • 1990: Tant qu'il y aura des enfants
  • 1995: Bohémienne
  • 1998: Bootleg Blues
  • 2001: Sans retour
  • 2005: Turquoise
  • 2009: Marjo et ses hommes, Vol. 1
  • 2010: Marjo et ses hommes, Vol. 2

References

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  1. ^ a b "Marjo". The Canadian Encyclopedia, 5 November 2007.
  2. ^ a b c d "Marjo broke ground for female Quebecois songwriters". Sherbrooke Record, 8 October 2010.
  3. ^ "The Marjo magic". The Globe and Mail, 13 February 1988.
  4. ^ "Ignored by anglos Marjo rocks Quebec; She's the hottest French ticket in province." Montreal Gazette, 23 January 1988.
  5. ^ MusiMax via YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JriHQV_mMmg
  6. ^ "Marjo, The Box, Rivard top Felixes with 3 each". Montreal Gazette, 26 October 1987.
  7. ^ "'Sainte Marjo' hottest attraction on Quebec music scene". Ottawa Citizen, 19 February 1988.
  8. ^ "Marjo sets sights on European rock market". Montreal Gazette, 4 April 1988.
  9. ^ "Gerry Boulet: Quebec rocker rose with fledgling industry". The Globe and Mail, 19 July 1990.
  10. ^ a b "Marjo has her act and her life together". Montreal Gazette, 6 October 1990.
  11. ^ "Marjo wins four Felix awards". Ottawa Citizen, 15 October 1991.
  12. ^ a b "Platinum diva Marjo resurfaces; Rockeuse ends hiatus with release of Bohemienne, concert tour". Montreal Gazette, 18 March 1995.
  13. ^ "Gold, platinium records piling up". Vancouver Sun, 26 October 1995.
  14. ^ "SOCAN honors Vigneault". Montreal Gazette, 20 November 1996.
  15. ^ "Juno nominees reflect success of female singers: Shania Twain leads with seven nominations, followed by Alanis Morissette with six, Susan Aglukark with five and Celine Dion with four". The Globe and Mail, 1 February 1996.
  16. ^ "La relève en musique est «plate», selon Marjo". Le Journal de Montréal, 15 May 2015.
  17. ^ "Le retour de Marjo... en duo". La Presse, 20 November 2009.
  18. ^ "Fête nationale: lancement des festivites vendredi, partout au Quebec". Canadian Press, 23 June 2017.
  19. ^ "Marjo au grand écran". La Presse, 15 November 2016.
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