Francophone folk singer Francine Raymond was born on June 9, 1956, in Montreal, Quebec. She took her first steps in the early 1960s music by performing as a soloist in the choir of the Marie-Reine-de-la-Paix church and later learning how to play lap steel guitar. After writing her first couple of songs and cutting her teeth in the local gigging circuit playing with Les Séguin and Gilles Valiquette, she teamed up with the Péloquin brothers to form Hollywood and Vine, a group that was active between 1977 and 1984. During this time, Francine Raymond had her first taste of success as a solo artist with the Pierre Bertrand duet "Un été mer et monde," the theme song to the Québec 84 celebrations, and served as a background vocalist for the likes of Michel Rivard, Paul Piché, Michel Berger, Johnny Hallyday, and Francis Cabrel. Released in 1987, her eponymous studio debut helped put her on the map through the Luc Plamondon-penned radio hit "Vivre avec celui qu'on aime," which was recognized with an SDE award. She followed this success with Souvenirs retrouvés (1989), nominated for Best Pop/Rock Album at the ADISQ Gala, and Les années lumières (1993), which enjoyed great popularity on the local charts thanks to the hit singles "Y'a les mots" and "Pense à moi." Over the next few years, Francine Raymond issued her fourth full-length Dualité (1996) and celebrated her tenth anniversary in the music industry with the release of the compilation Dix ans de succès - 1987-1997 (1998). Paradis Perdu, her fifth full-length, appeared in 2002.
