The 50th anniversary of the opening show of the SuperFrancoFête is an opportunity to reflect on the unique nature of this event. The question we must ask ourselves is whether we should still make it one of the essential milestones of our cultural history, since Félix Leclerc (known as the “lion”), Gilles Vigneault (known as the “fox”) and Robert Charlebois (known as the “wolf”) are highly canonized figures.
While there is a real risk of falling into an escalation, on the other hand, the exceptional nature of the evening of August 13, 1974 can be measured in several chapters and did not escape anyone at the time of the events, The sun titrating the next day ” French speakers have reconquered the Plains of Abraham ». Deepening its importance and influence in our relationship with music remains relevant, which also leads us to note to what extent recreating a similar event is a challenge.
The musical chemistry of the moment
Certain facts have been widely recalled over time: the reluctance of Félix (who was wary of the young wolf Charlebois), the generational reunion (each one is 15 years apart), an immense crowd which surprised the organizers (the estimate exceeds the figure of 100,000), the three singers who intone When men will live on love by Raymond Lévesque at the end of the performance (thus paying tribute to a song of humanist significance), the sound recording which made it possible to launch a double album a year later (the fruit of the vision of producer Guy Latraverse), etc.
Already, the facts speak for themselves by elevating the show to the rank of the great events that Quebec has known in its relationship with music. With this difference that each fact hides an even more complex reality to be attributed to the magic that took place that evening.
First of all, there is the fact that Félix is not a man of large crowds, he whose stage presence took shape in the small Parisian venues, then continued in the era of the song boxes. Even if he was still present on the artistic scene in 1974, seeing him participate in this large-scale show strikes the imagination when he has just turned 60: alone with his guitar, he sings Me, my shoes at the opening, the audience gradually letting themselves be carried away by his voice. Then, as the concert progresses, we feel a Felix more in symbiosis with the energy of the crowd.
This is also because the production can count on a team with great experience, which has not been sufficiently highlighted since. Seasoned musicians accompany the three headliners, starting with Gaston Rochon (piano and direction), Marcel Beauchamp (piano and direction) and Michel Robidoux (guitar). The quality of the musical arrangements and the performance is attributable to them at a time when the technical mastery of outdoor shows is in its infancy.
The political significance of the event
An imponderable was looming on the horizon for the entire production: how would such a large crowd react? Before 1974, electrified outdoor concerts in the form of large gatherings were primarily of American origin (Monterey and Woodstock, for example), and the rare Quebec attempts, such as the Manseau Pop Festival in the summer of 1970, had failed. What was set up on August 13, 1974 was not only unique because the audience responded in large numbers, but also because they were aware that they were participating in history by listening to three great singers gathered together for a single evening.
As the double album shows, the crowd is literally in jubilation and the political message of some songs raises the temperature. This is the case of The President’s Walk by Charlebois which, sung by the three musicians, turns into a scathing critique of the current political situation while Pierre Elliott Trudeau and Robert Bourassa are among the guests of honor.
This fusion between stage performance and crowd reactions is also due to 1974, as if everything had exploded that year. As much as Quebec folk is spreading on all levels with Harmonium, Beau Dommage and many other groups, music is also giving in to political protest, which the SuperFrancoFête came to channel the energy of.
The protest dimension of songs like Ti-Cul Lachance of Vigneault and The Angry Lark by Leclerc, both composed in the wake of the political unrest at the beginning of the decade, finally found a way to be deployed in front of the political actors they denounced. And the improbable thing was also that Charlebois, one of the least committed musicians of the time, was associated with this criticism of the power in place.
All the stars were aligned on August 13, 1974 to make the musical hearts, but also the political ones, vibrate of the people gathered on the Plains of Abraham. The event would thus spawn offspring from one year to the next during outdoor shows, such as those of Saint-Jean or of similar magnitude, such as 1 time 5. This means that we celebrate it every time a gathering carried by music is supported by a political conscience. But for me, the best way to celebrate I saw the wolf, the fox, the lion remains the same: immerse yourself in listening to the double album, a true anthology piece!