Mme. St. Onge

Judging by the subject material, this French-Canadian album by one Mme. St. Onge, may have been cut around 1967. On it are French renditions of popular hits from the time, such as The Beatles’ Help (re-titled “Il”) performed by a woman with no interest in tonality.

I say “woman”… the mysterious Mme. St. Onge appears an elusive character, with a strained falsetto, no other known works, and only one (rather masculine) photograph to her name. Some may posit that it is, in fact, a man doing this. If this is the case then the album has just been lifted from a mere wonder to something fucking amazing.

Evidence however seems to imply that Mme St Onge had a proper singing career in earlier times. Her real name was Francine Laplante, although she also recorded a couple of singles under the name of Maryse Marshall. It is possible that this album was done with the humour intentional to cash in the Mrs. Miller craze (St. Onge is a very common last name in Francophone Canada. Calling somebody Mme St. Onge in Canada would be similar to calling somebody Mrs. Miller in the United States).

Whatever the case regarding the provenance, the songs speak for themselves. Throughout the ten tracks Mme. St. Onge bleats her way through, supported by a competent backing band.

For fans of music to suffer by, this is a must.

Just listen to the first thirty seconds of Prends-moi (Try Me) if you need any convincing. Trust me on this.

01 Il (Help) (2:33)
02 Et maintenant (3:05)
03 C'est le Freddy (2:16)
04 Tant de choses a dire (3:10)
05 Prends-moi (Try Me) (2:53)
06 Demain (3:02)
07 C'est si triste que je voudrais pleurer (I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry) (2:05)
08 Les marionnettes (2:31)
09 La fille d'Ipanema (One Note Samba) (1:29)
10 Chez moi (Call Me) (2:50)

Download HERE(42mb)