Lucille Dumont

Canadian (Québec) singer, teacher and radio/television host born January 20, 1919 in Montréal and died July 29, 2016 in Montréal (aged 97). She received some early guidance from Leo Le Sieur, who arranged her radio debut in 1935 on CKAC with the Sweet Caporal orchestra. That same year she had her own series, 'Linger a While,' on CFCF. Initially Dumont relied largely on songs from the repertoire of the French singer Lucienne Boyer. She participated 1935-49 in many CBC radio series - eg, 'Rêverie,' 'Variétés francaises,' and 'Refrains d'hier et d'aujourd'hui'. In April 1945, for a CBC Victory Loan radio promotion, she premiered 'Insensiblement'. The song, by the French composer and conductor Ray Ventura (who conducted for Dumont's performance), would become an international hit. She performed 1949-52 on the CBC's 'Tambour battant,' 'Le Petit Bal des copains,' 'Les Chansons d'hier,' and 'Aux rythmes de Paris'. The first singer to be named Miss Radio by readers of the Montreal weekly Radiomonde (1947), Dumont was hailed on the 15th anniversary (1950) of her career by the CKVL radio host Jean Baulu as the 'Grande dame de la chanson,' a name that remained associated with her. Dumont also was popular on TV in the early days of the medium, starring in SRC 'Café des artistes' and 'Feux de joie' and serving 1956-60 as host for 'À la romance'. She was host for several other programs, including CFTM-TV's 'Entre vous et moi' 1961-2, 'Histoire d'une étoile' 1967-9, and 'Le Temps d'aimer' 1972-3 and CBC TV's 'Lucille Dumont' in 1965. Dumont is considered Jacques Blanchet's greatest interpreter: she won first prize in the 1957 Concours de la chanson canadienne with his 'Le Ciel se marie avec la mer,' and second prize in the 1962 Belgian competition Chansons sur mesure with his 'Tête heureuse'. Following a Dumont recital at the Comédie-Canadienne, Claude Gingras wrote: 'It's always the same warm voice, caressing, poignant, immediately recognizable... And what Lucille Dumont sings better than ever are those tender, sentimental songs, the repertoire sometimes referred to contemptuously - though wrongly so - as "love songs"' (Montreal La Presse, 22 Oct 1968). In her later years she has taught voice and interpretation in Montreal. Marie-Denise Pelletier is among her pupils.