Pop and rock singer-songwriter Jean-Pierre Ferland, OC CQ was born in Montreal, Quebec, Canada on June 24, 1934. He began his career in 1956 by working as an accountant for Radio-Canada. He then began taking guitar lessons and by early 1958, he had begun writing his own material and became part of a group of songwriters called Les Bozos. He made his singing debut in 1959 on the TV show Music-Hall and released his debut album, Jean-Pierre, that same year. He scored a radio hit in 1960 with “Du Côtél de la lune” and achieved significant attention when he released his sophomore album, Rendez-vous à La Coda, in 1961. His song “Feuilles de gui” won the televised competition show Chansons sur mesure as well as winning the grand prize at the Gala international de la chanson, which was held in Brussels, Belgium. Jean-Pierre Ferland spent a good portion of the 1960s in Europe, writing and recording albums such as J’aime, j’estime, j’amoure (1962), Jean-Pierre Ferland à Bobino (1963), M’aimeras-tu, m’aimeras-tu pas (1964), and Je reviens chez nous (1968). He won the grand prize at the Montreal Record Festival in both 1965 and 1968. His success continued in 1970 with the release of the album Jaune, which was a huge commercial success and featured musical assistance from artists such as Tony Levin (bass) and David Spinozza (guitar). He followed that album with the landmark 1971 release Soleil as well as Les Vierges du Québec (1974) and Le Showbusiness (1975). In 1976, he performed alongside four other singers - Claude Léveillée, Gilles Vigneault, Robert Charlebois et Yvon Deschamps – at a large concert billed as 1 fois 5, which was later released as an album and won the Académie Charles Cros Award. In the 1980s, he turned his attention to television and hosted several shows including Station soleil (1981-87), Tapis rouge (1986), L’autobus du showbusiness (1987) and Ferland/Nadeau (1990). After an eight-year absence from the charts, he returned to recording with the 1992 album Bleu, Blanc, Blues and scored a hit single with “T'es belle.” Three years later, his song “Une Chance qu'on s'a” reached number 1 on the singles chart in Quebec. His scheduled final live performance in October 2006 was postponed due to a stroke he suffered on the day before the show. However, the performance was rescheduled for January 2007, and he retired after that performance. However, he made a few appearances after that including a 2008 duet with Celine Dion and as a coach on La Voix in 2013. Jean-Pierre Ferland was made an Officer of the Order of Canada in 1996 and a Knight of the National Order of Quebec in 2003. Jean-Pierre Ferland died on April 27, 2024, at the age of 89.
