The lyricist Stéphane Venne, a notable figure in Quebec song, author of the songs And it’s not over, Once upon a time there were happy people et The weather is good is no more.
The composer died at the age of 83, surrounded by his loved ones, we learned The Journal.
Born in Verdun in 1941, Stéphane Venne wrote his first songs at the end of the 1950s, while he was still a teenager. He began a musical career as a singer-songwriter in the mid-1960s (1964 to 1967), shortly after collaborating with Denys Arcand and Denis Héroux on the scriptwriting and production of the soundtrack for movies Alone or with others et Up to the neck.
Having released three albums at the start of his career, the songwriter, who hated being a performer, became best known for his collaborations with other artists, mostly female performers, including Isabelle Pierre, Renée Claude and Emmanuëlle , with whom he works extensively.
His words have crossed the ages and marked the French-speaking world. His song One day, one day was chosen, following a competition which he won, as the theme song for the Universal Exhibition in Montreal in 1967 (Expo 67), while the Parti Québécois used Tomorrow belongs to us as a theme for his 1976 election campaign.
Writing over 400 songs during his career, including The weather is good by Isabelle Pierre, It’s the beginning of a new time by Renée Claude or even The world upside down et And it’s not over by Emmanuelle, Stéphane Venne was inducted into the Canadian Authors and Composers Hall of Fame in 2017.
The institution describes him as “one of the most brilliant and inspiring authors and composers of his generation”.
Occasionally composing jingles for advertisements, the lyricist also actively participated in the promotion of the SuperFrancoFête de Québec, in addition to chairing, in 1975, the board of directors of the Chant’August, a gigantic festival of music bringing together more than 525 artists, including Monique Leyrac, Claude Léveillée and Plume Latraverse.
-He also composed the musical score for several films, including Where are you then? (1969), Males (1971), Bill your face (1971) et The Plouffes (1981), and founded, in 1972, with Frank Furtado, the record label Solset (also called Sol-7) to finance his own productions.
At the same time, he became an artists’ agent and took under his wing the singer Emmanuëlle, the first artist he signed with Solset.
At the turn of the 1990s, Stéphane Venne worked as a cultural delegate in Paris. Upon his return, he then became director of communications at the Montreal Urban Community.
The effect Star Academy
His musical career got a second wind when his song And it’s not over was taken over by the production team of the tele-hook Star Academy to make it the theme song of its very first edition, in 2003.
Stéphane Venne then collaborated with the finalist of Star Academy Marie-Élaine Thibert for the writing of her album as well as for the title song of Léa Pool’s film The blue butterfly (2004), The sky is mine.
He also published a book on the creation of his successes with Éditions Stanké in 2006 and he returned to creation in 2010.
