Les Bel Canto

Canadian (Québec city) ensemble created in 1962. They start out in dance halls and get young people dancing to instrumental pieces. In 1964, with the arrival of the Beatles, they transformed into a vocal group. Sporting a stage appearance combining red velvet costumes, lace jabots and long wavy hair, they were quickly given the nickname "Seigneurs Nouvelle Vague" which goes hand in hand with their sought-after repertoire. They changed their name to "Les Kanto" in 1970. They disbanded in the spring of 1971 but returned to the stage at the Saint-Jérôme arena in 1985. Manager: Jean Beaulne.

The founding members were lead vocal and guitarist Claude Falardeau (1962-68) and guitarists Aurèle "Dany" Bolduc (1962-71) and his brother Guy Bolduc (1962-64). They made their debut with drummer Marcel Lebel (1962-64). Bassist René "D'Antoine" Letarte (1962-71) joined the group later. Following the resignation of Marcel and Guy, they were replaced by André Fortin (1964-71) from Jonquière and Pierre "Moustique" ou "Mousse" Paquet (1964-71) from Québec city.
Their first 45RPM appeared in 1964 on the label Première. They will experience their first major success with their own composition "Découragé" and "Feuille De Gui" written by Jean-Pierre Ferland; two sides of the same record at the top of the charts. In addition to obtaining the award "Qualité Sur Disques" in 1969, they were elected Group of the Year. They performed on the biggest stages in Quebec at the time and the most fashionable cabarets. In 1970, they were invited for two weeks to the Universal Exhibition in Osaka, Japan.
The Bel Canto produced four authentic albums as well as about twenty 45RPM, the majority of which occupied the first positions of the charts of the time: Une Croix Sur Mon Nom (#1 in the charts; 1969, 7 weeks), Quand Revenirs-Tu?, Bonsoir À Demain, Seul, Coui-Coui, are just a few successful titles for which René Letarte wrote all the texts.

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