Raymond Berthiaume

Pop and jazz singer, songwriter, musician, and producer Raymond Berthiaume was born in Laval, Quebec, Canada on May 9, 1931. After studying piano and saxophone at Collège Laval, he co-founded the trio Les 3 Bars with Fernand Thibault and Roger Gravel in 1948. Popular in bars and cabarets in Quebec, they released their first single, “Mister Sandman,” in 1955. Their second single, “N’oublieoublie,” was a massive success and sailed to the top of the Quebec charts. However, after the release of the single “Chant d’automne” (1959), Les 3 Bars broke up and Raymond Berthiaume pursued a solo career. He released his first album, Son Quatuor Vocal Et Instrumental, in 1960. He followed that album with Chantons en choeur (1963), Clarinette de danse (1965), and Joie de vivre (1966). Raymond Berthiaume also provided backing vocals for several artists and performed with many choirs for radio and television appearances. He achieved his first solo success in 1967 with the singles “Mon Grand Ballon jaune” and the Number 1 hit "Un Monde avec toi", which was a French version of “The World We Knew” by Frank Sinatra. In 1968, he won the Best Popular Singer trophy at the Festival du Disque. In 1972, he issued the album Parle Plus Bas, which featured his version of the title track, the theme to the movie The Godfather. Switching gears on his career, he co-hosted the television show Que Reste-T-Il? alongside Claude Blanchard and France Castel. After the release of his 1977 album L'Amour Est Passé Dans Ma Vie, he took an extended break before returning with the 1998 album Chansons Inoubliables du Cocktail Lounge, which found him reinterpreting some of his greatest hits in a jazz style. He followed that album with Noël Et Toi (2000), Mélancolie (2001), and Au Fil du Temps (2008). Raymond Berthiaume died on June 23, 2009, at the age of 78.