Robert Charlebois

Robert Charlebois, OC, OQ (born June 25, 1944) is a Québecois author, composer, musician, performer and actor.

Charlebois was born in Montreal, Quebec. Among his best known songs are Lindberg (the duo with Louise Forestier in particular), Ordinaire, Les Ailes d'un Ange and Je reviendrai à Montréal. His lyrics, often written in joual, are funny, relying upon plays on words. He won the Sopot International Song Festival in 1970.

In 1970 he sang with Italian singer Patty Pravo the Italian song La solitudine. In the same year, he performed at the Festival Express train tour in Canada, but did not appear on the documentary film.

In 1968, he had an acting role in Jean Pierre Lefebvre's film Straight to the Heart (Jusqu'au cœur). He co-starred with Terence Hill, Miou-Miou and Patrick McGoohan in the western Un genio, due compari, un pollo (A Genius, Two Partners and a Dupe, 1975) as Steamengine Bill. Thirty-eight years later, Charlebois had a cameo as Jean-Seb Bigstone, the French-Canadian Broadway producer, in the 2012 Gad Elmaleh/Sophie Marceau film Happiness Never Comes Alone.

The Quebec-based microbrewery Unibroue was owned, in part, by Charlebois until it was purchased by Sleeman Breweries in 2004 which in turn was bought by Japanese beer brewing giant Sapporo in 2006.

Honours

 * In 1994, Charlebois received a Governor General's Performing Arts Award for Lifetime Artistic Achievement for his contribution to music in Canada.
 * In 1999, he was appointed an Officer of the Order of Canada. In 2008, he was made an Officer of the National Order of Quebec.
 * Charlebois was one of the four musicians who were pictured on the second series of the Canadian Recording Artist Series issued by Canada Post stamps on July 2, 2009.
 * On June 21, 2010, Charlebois received an honorary doctorate from Concordia University in Montreal. In his acceptance speech he made the remark that this was the first post-secondary diploma he had received in his life.

Music in films

 * Between Salt and Sweet Water (Entre la mer et l'eau douce) (1967) by Michel Brault, with Geneviève Bujold, Claude Gauthier
 * Je T'aimerai Toujours (1969; TV Movie)
 * Two Women in Gold (Deux Femmes en or) (1970) by Claude Fournier, with Monique Mercure, Louise Turcot
 * A Genius, Two Partners and a Dupe (1975) by Damiano Damiani, with Terence Hill, Patrick McGoohan
 * L'Agression (1975) by Gérard Pirès, with Jean-Louis Trintignant, Catherine Deneuve
 * The Bride Who Came In from the Cold (1983) by Charles Nemes, with Thierry Lhermitte, Barbara Nielsen
 * Sauve-toi, Lola (1986) by Michel Drach, with Carole Laure, Jeanne Moreau
 * C.R.A.Z.Y. (2004) by Jean-Marc Vallée, with Michel Côté and Marc-André Grondin
 * Gabrielle (2013) by Louise Archambault, with Mélissa Désormeaux-Poulin and Alexandre Landry

Selected discography

 * 1965 – Volume 1
 * 1966 – Volume 2
 * 1967 – Demain l'hiver...
 * 1968 – Robert Charlebois avec Louise Forestier
 * 1969 – Québec Love
 * 1971 – Un gars ben ordinaire
 * 1971 – Le Mont Athos
 * 1972 – Fu Man Chu (aka Charlebois) (#51 CAN )(single Conception was #83 )
 * 1973 – Solidaritude
 * 1974 – Je rêve à Rio
 * 1976 – Longue Distance
 * 1977 – Swing Charlebois Swing (featuring guitar by Frank Zappa on Petroleum)
 * 1979 – Solide
 * 1981 – Heureux en amour?
 * 1983 – J't'aime comme un fou
 * 1985 – Super Position
 * 1988 – Dense
 * 1992 – Immensément
 * 1996 – Le Chanteur masqué
 * 2001 – Doux Sauvage
 * 2010 – Tout est bien