Mary Bolduc
Mary Bolduc (born Mary Rose Anne Travers , called La Bolduc ; born June 4, 1894 in Newport / Québec , † February 20, 1941 in Montreal ) was a Canadian singer-songwriter .
Life
Mary Travers grew up with eleven siblings in poor circumstances. She only had elementary schooling and no formal musical training. She began to work as a housekeeper and married the plumber Édouard Bolduc at the age of twenty . In the following years up to 1929 she became pregnant twelve or thirteen times, but only four of her children reached adulthood. Her husband earned little if he was not unemployed at all, so material hardship accompanied the family's life.
With friends, Mary played traditional dances and songs for entertainment, and some of these friends were amateur musicians performing at the Monument National in Conrad Gauthier's Veillées du bon vieux temps . In order to earn money, she accompanied the singers of the troupe on the violin or jew's harp. She later took part in radio recordings with the orchestra of the Monument national and occasionally appeared as a singer. The folk singer Ovila Légaré became aware of them and recommended them to the music producer Roméo Beaudry .
In 1929 he produced her first record with her with the song Y'a longtemps que je couche par terre and an instrumental piece. Her second record with the titles La Cuisinière and Johnny Monfarleau was a success and made her known as a folk singer. In the following years she wrote and composed two pieces for Beaudry's label every month.
In 1930 she was the star of a masked ball in Lachute, and success brought her an offer at the Théâtre Arlequin de Québec in 1931 . With Juliette d'Argère , she went on a three-month tour of Québec in 1931. In 1932 she founded her own troupe, which she called La Troupe du bon vieux temps . She became famous in Canada as La Bolduc and was so successful financially that she was able to hire a nanny for her children.
Her concert activity was ended in 1937 due to a traffic accident. When her injuries were treated, she was diagnosed with cancer. It did not appear again until the summer of 1938, but only in and around Montreal. She made a radio appearance in early 1939, and her last recordings were made in February.
La Bolduc is at the beginning of the development of the Canadian chanson. Musicians like Roland Lebrun , Félix Leclerc , Oscar Thiffault , André Gagnon , Clémence DesRochers , Pauline Julien and Robert Charlebois are part of their tradition.
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| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Bolduc, Mary |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Travers, Mary Rose Anne; La Bolduc |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Canadian singer-songwriter |
| DATE OF BIRTH | June 4, 1894 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Newport (Quebec) |
| DATE OF DEATH | February 20, 1941 |
| Place of death | Montreal |