365 DAYS PROJECT

2007   SEPTEMBER 24   #267

Mme St. Onge - Les 10 plus grands succes de...

MP3:
01 Il (Help) (2:33)
02 Et maintenant (3:05)
03 C'est le Freddy (2:16)
04 Tant de choses a dire (3:10)
05 Prends-moi (Try Me) (2:53)
06 Demain (3:02)
07 C'est si triste que je voudrais pleurer (I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry) (2:05)
08 Les marionnettes (2:31)
09 La fille d'Ipanema (One Note Samba) (1:29)
10 Chez moi (Call Me) (2:50)

Many of you may remember Mme St. Onge from the original 365 Days, where MP3-#009 (way back in January 2003) featured a somewhat frighteningly off-key French language rendition of the Beatles song "Help". Of course, what may appear frightening to some... sounds just right for the connoisseur of the strange and the off-beat. This LP came highly recommended as THE strangest Quebec recording made and (at least for us) it still holds that designation.

There can be no doubt that this is a send-off album, that it was done with a good sense of humour, and that those behind this recording had at least some idea of the existence of Mrs. Miller. (If you don't know who Mrs. Miller is, you may be listening in the wrong place right now). None of us have any idea who exactly was behind this recording and that mystery remains to be solved. Although we have not (as yet) sent the vinyl out for carbon dating, the references to 'Beatnick' clubs, where Mme. St Onge is purported to have performed, would place this somewhere between 1955 and 1975, though we guess it to be closer to the later of these dates.

For any amateur sleuths in the audience, along with the music, a few other clues are offered by the cover and record label:

Several of the songs are co-credited to the (recently deceased) Quebec singer-songwriter T(ony) Roman;

The only known photo of Mme St. Onge, found on the cover, looks suspiciously... er... masculine...

Slyly humorous liner notes (in French) with dedications to Mme St. Onge's neighbour 'Freddie Gagnon' and to 'amateur radio fans in south Labrador'!

If anyone has any information to solve this mystery we would all be pleased to hear from you.

And now, for your er... listening pleasure, we now present Mme St. Onge's ten greatest hits in all their vinyl glory.

- Contributed by: Brian and Cheryl

Images: Front and Back Cover

Media: 33rpm - 12" vinyl record
Album: Les 10 plus grands succès de...
Label: Laval Records Ltée. Montréal, Canada (Distributor)
Catalogue: ACM-701 (CT-34345)
Credits: Tracks 5, 7, 10 co-credited to T. (Tony) Roman
Date: None noted

 

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