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Photo of Marcel Martel with a guitar
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Marcel Martel’s “Un coin du ciel” to be inducted into Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame at Festival Western de St-Tite

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Saint-Tite, August 27, 2018—Marcel Martel’s song “Un coin du ciel” will be inducted and sung by his daughter Renée Martel at the launch of the 51st edition of the Festival Western de St-Tite. In doing so, the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame (CSHF) wants to honour one of the greatest and most beautiful songs of the Canadian country music pioneer.

“We are happy to be able to partner with our friends at Festival Western de St-Tite to honour  “Un coin du ciel and bring this iconic song into the Canadian Songwriter’s Hall of Fame,” says Vanessa Thomas, Executive Director of CSHF.  “We are thankful that Renee Martel is here to celebrate her Father’s talent with us and help us honour his legacy.”

It is during her show titled Je voulais marier Renée Martel, presented on September 7 at 8 p.m.,at the Desjardins Country Club, that “la grande dame du country” will turn a new page in history in memory of her father. In an homage to her parents, she’ll sing “Un coin du ciel,” the song that launched her career: “It’s the first song I sang onstage when I was five years old, and I sang it with my father. It’s my favourite song. If Dad was here today, it would be one of the most amazing moments of his life. I accept this with pride, but the honours are his alone, and I’m proud to be Marcel Martel’s daughter,” she declared.

Written and recorded in 1952, the country ballad “Un coin du ciel” kicked off a long family tradition. Several versions of the song became hits, notably the 1981 version on Renée Martel’s album Un coin du ciel and, more recently, the 2013 version sung by Renée and her mother  Noëlla Therrien.

The CSHF carefully selected this song among Marcel Martel’s repertoire of more than 500 songs and 40 plus albums. Martel wrote “Un coin du ciel” shortly after leaving the sanatorium where he was being treated for tuberculosis. The original recording of this universal love song was very simple, and true to the purest country-and-western tradition.

One of the reasons the song was chosen to be inducted is the impact it has had on other artists. Marcel Martel’s timeless classic has influenced many generations of Québec artists, such as Patrick Norman, Paul Daraîche, and Isabelle Boulay – who, as a child, loved to hear the song played on the radio. Contemporary country singer-songwriter René Turgeon says he’s one of the song’s biggest fans: “This music comes from the heart, it’s real and it’s about actual feelings we carry inside us. It’s deeply touching, profound music.”

Benoît Montreuil, who presides over the organizing committee of the 51st edition of the Festival Western de St-Tite, is proud to present such a historical moment to his audience:  “I was thrilled when I heard the Hall of Fame and Renée had chosen our festival to host this unique moment. Marcel Martel and Renée are two artists that are integral to our history, and they’re always welcome at our event. Everyone in the organization is thrilled that this induction will take place in a setting that is so symbolic to their careers.”

This show will kick off the 51st edition of the Festival Western de St-Tite, runs from September 7–16, 2018.

Media contact and interviews: SIX media marketing Inc. (for the CSHF)

simon@sixmedia.ca
larissa@sixmedia.ca

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