Raymond Berthiaume
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Raymond Berthiaume | |
|---|---|
 Raymond Berthiaume | |
| Background information | |
| Born | May 9, 1931 Laval, Quebec, Canada |
| Origin | Quebec, Canada |
| Died | June 23, 2009 (aged 78) Montreal, Quebec, Canada |
| Genres | Jazz |
| Occupations | Jazz Singer, musician, producer, composer |
| Labels | Disques Mérite |
| Website | Disque Mérite |
Raymond Berthiaume (born May 9, 1931 and died June 23, 2009) was a Canadian jazz singer, musician, producer and composer from Quebec, Canada.
Berthiaume was born in Laval, Quebec, on May 9, 1931. He studied piano and saxophone at College Laval. In 1948, he created an instrumental group named The Three Bars. The owner of the bar in which they performed suggested they select a vocalist, knowing that a singer would make the group more popular. Berthiaume was chosen, and became the group's vocalist.[1] The move seemed to work, and the group was soon hailed as the best in the city. They played in the high-class nightclub El Morocco, where Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett, and Vic Damone had all performed.
In 1954, the music label RCA Victor signed the trio, and they performed the Italian hit N'oublie Jamais (Never Forget), in French. This became a hit for the group, selling nearly 40,000 copies[2] Despite the fame, Berthiaume preferred to spend time in recording studios then on stage.[3]
In 1956, Berthiaume began to record music for advertising, notably Sweet Caporal cigarettes. On the back of this performance, he was in high demand to perform in commercials for other companies.
In 1968, he performed a French cover version of Frank Sinatra's The World We Knew, entitled Un Monde Avec Toi (A World With You), for which he won an award at the "Gala des artistes".
He died of cancer on June 23, 2009,[4] in Montreal (Québec) after being hospitalized for ten days.
