Jeanpierre Ferland

Canadian singer and songwriter. Ferland began work with Radio-Canada in 1956 as an accountant, but his career there was short lived. Shortly after, he began taking guitar lessons with Stephen Fentock and began to fall in love with music, writing his first musical pieces. After two years of work with Radio-Canada, in February 1958, he began recording the first songs that would eventually comprise his first album Jean-Pierre. However, it was not until 1961 that he became known to the public, with the release of his second album, Rendez-vous à La Coda. From 1962 to 1970, Ferland spent much time in Europe (mainly in France and Belgium), writing music and recording albums, as well as performing at a multitude of venues, including shows in Olympia and Bobino. In 1968 he won the Académie Charles Cros Award. In 1996, he was made an Officer of the Order of Canada. In 2003, he was made a Knight of the National Order of Quebec. In 2005, Jean-Pierre Ferland was honoured by the AV Trust of Canada for the album Jaune with collaboration of Michael Georges. On 12 October 2006 Jean-Pierre Ferland had a stroke caused by fatigue and stress, causing him to cancel his final concert at the Bell Centre the following day. He did recover quickly, allowing him to give his farewell concert on 13 January 2007. Since retiring from the spotlight, Ferland has made an appearance on the plains of Abraham to perform with Céline Dion on 22 August 2008. Link to Wikipedia biography