Gilles Brown
Gilles Brown | |
|---|---|
| Born | February 6, 1943 |
| Died | February 6, 2016 (aged 73) |
| Occupations | Singer-songwriter, Producer |
Gilles Brown (6 February 1943 – 6 February 2016) was a Canadian singer-songwriter and producer from Quebec.
Biography
Gilles Brown was born in Montreal, Quebec, Canada[1]: 56 on 6 February 1943.[2][3]
He was trained in journalism and communications.[4]
He formed the Valentins with Pierre Laurendeau in 1962. The Valentins became somewhat popular thanks to the song "Parce que". He also had his debut as a radio announcer in 1962.[1]: 56
He went solo in 1964[1]: 56 [5] and had his first hit with "Monsieur la basse", a French adaptation of "Mr. Bass Man" by Johnny Cymbal.[5] He also became successful through "Ce soir", "C’est toi que j’aime", "Mon ange", "Le chef de la bande" and "Agent secret". He participated in the tour Musicorama in 1966.[1]: 56
Gilles Brown was one of Quebec's first yé-yé performers. He had a stable level of popularity during multiple years, but never became a great star.[1]: 56
He was a prolific songwriter, writing for Les Sultans and Stéphane, and making francophone adaptations of hundreds of anglophone songs for the producers Denis Pantis, Tony Roman, Guy Cloutier and Yves Martin.[1]: 56
He wrote the biggest hits of multiple performers in 1963–1973, including César et les Romains ("Toi et moi"), Fernand Gignac ("Ne pleure pas"), the Gendarmes ("Ne me quitte pas"), Michèle Richard ("Les boîtes à gogo") and Anne Renée ("Un amour d'adolescent").[1]: 56 During this same period, he also wrote for Robert Demontigny, Jenny Rock, Claire Lepage, Michel Louvain, Les Lutins, Les Milady's, Les Baronets, Les Hou-Lops, Steve Fiset, Margot Lefebvre, Tony Massarelli, Ginette Reno, Claude Stében, Johnny Farago, Patrick Zabé, Liette Lomez, Céline Lomez, François Bégin, France Castel, Jean Nichol, Dany Aubé, Nada, Donald Lautrec, Jacques Boulanger, Jacques Salvail, Jean Malo, Nicole Martin, Anne Renée, Simon and Raynald Papillon.[5]
Between 1971 and 1973, he recorded songs in a duo with Yves Martin, some of which like "Il ne faut pas pleurer" were very successful. In the early 1980s, he returned to songwriting and wrote the texts and music of three of Claude Valade's albums. He produced the latter under the label Création. He was part of the board of directors of the SPACQ.[1]: 56
Brown died of cancer on 6 February 2016[3] in Montreal.[6] He had spent the last years of his life managing the art galleries Clarence-Gagnon in Montreal and in Baie-Saint-Paul,[5] which he owned since the 1980s.[4]
Discography
| Year | Title |
|---|---|
| 1962 | Apprendre à twister/Lucie |
| 1962 | Lise/Je peux t’aimer |
| 1963 | Parce que/Reviens Diane |
| 1963 | Hélène/Un gars sans une fille |
| 1963? | Quand on est amoureux/Footsee |
| 1964 | Monsieur la basse/On se trouvera |
| 1964 | Ensemble/On n’est plus en vacances |
| 1964 | Ce soir/Quand celle qu’on aime sourit |
| 1964 | C’est la bamba/C’est toi que j’aime |
| 1965 | Mon ange/Ce danger, c’est moi |
| 1965 | Le chef de la bande/Toujours des beaux jours |
| 1965 | Silhouettes/Vive la liberté |
| 1966 | Les cloches sonnent/Adieu, bonne chance |
| 1966 | Agent secret/On est jeune qu’une fois |
| 1967 | Son nom est Lison/Elle a pleuré |
| 1967 | Cette fille/Il est devenu quelqu’un |
| 1967 | C’est pour vous que je chante/Moi j’aime les filles |
| 1967 | Parce que/Tu n’es plus une petite fille |
| 1968 | Le karaté/Ne t’en va pas |
| 1969 | Le grand imposteur/J’ai rêvé d’un ange |
| 1969 | C’est l’été qui revient/La rose et l’amour |
| 1969 | Ce soir/Cette fille/C’est pour vous que je chante/Agent secret |
| 1971 | Un souvenir/On est ben tannés |
| 1971 | Il ne faut pas pleurer/Non monsieur |
| 1972 | Il faut se dire adieu/Je t’invite à l’amour |
| 1972 | Alors pourquoi ne pas dire que tu m’aimes/La route est longue |
| 1972 | Ce soir/Pour tous les âges |
| 1973 | Pardonne-moi/Tant que l’on s’aimera |
| 1973 | Viens, viens/Prends mon coeur |
| 1973 | Ciao, ciao Maria/Je ne pourrai plus oublier |
| 1974 | Parce que/Diane |
| 1978 | Ce soir/C’est pour vous que je chante |
| 1978 | C’est toi que j’aime/Mon ange |
| 1984 | Les enfants/Si |
| Year | Title |
|---|---|
| 1963 | Les Valentins |
| 1964 | Voici Gilles Brown |
| 1965 | C’est toi que j’aime |
| 1967 | Agent secret |
| 1968 | 15 disques d’or |
| 1969 | Gilles Brown: 15 succès |
| 1969 | Ce soir |
| 1972 | Yves Martin et Gilles Brown |
| 1973 | Il faut se dire adieu |
| 1974 | Yves Martin et Gilles Brown: disque d’or |
| 1974 | 21 disques d’or |
| 2000 | C'est pour vous que je chante |
References
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Thérien, Robert; D'Amours, Isabelle (1992). Dictionnaire de la musique populaire au Québec 1955-1992 (in French). Québec: Institut québécois de recherche sur la culture. ISBN 2-89224-183-9.
- ↑ Cleantalk (2016-02-08). "Décès de Gilles Brown de la galerie Clarence Gagnon". Journal d'Outremont (in French). Retrieved 2026-03-23.
- 1 2 "Gilles Brown n'est plus". Journal de Montréal. 8 February 2016. Retrieved 2026-03-23.
- 1 2 Côté, Hélène (2012-10-17). "De chanteur populaire à galeriste: le parcours atypique de Gilles Brown". Journal d'Outremont (in French). Retrieved 2026-03-23.
- 1 2 3 4 "Brown, Gilles". www.auteurscompositeurs.com. Retrieved 2026-03-23.
- ↑ Godard, Christine (2016-02-07). "Gilles Brown n'est plus". retro-souvenirs (in French). Retrieved 2026-03-23.
- ↑ "Gilles Brown | Discographie". disqu-o-quebec.com. Retrieved 2026-03-23.