Gilles Rivard

Born on March 1, 1949 in Drummondville (Canada) and died on November 19, 1991, Gilles Rivard was a Quebec folk singer and cartoonist. He began his career in the 1960s with the musical group Les Avantis, and went on to write songs for the group Offenbach, including the song "High But Low". In 1975, he launched his recording career with a self-titled album. In 1977, with the help of producer Gilles Valiquette, he scored a hit with his second album, La Tête En Fête, followed by Quelle Belle Vie. The songs "Chanter danser", "La Tête en fête", "Partir", "Quelle belle vie" and "Sous les mots" became his biggest career hits. In 1978, he created the theme for the TV series Chez Denise , as well as that of Le Vagabond in 1979, a series inspired by the 1958 film The Littlest Hobo . That same year, he represented Canada at the Spa Festival in Belgium. In the early 1980s, he created the comic strip character Guenille. Gilles Rivard died of cancer at the age of 42 in 1991. The Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada awarded him the SOCAN Classics prize for his hits "Quelle belle vie" and "La Tête en fête " in 1995.