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CSHF announces the induction of Jim Corcoran’s folk classic ‘J’ai la tête en gigue’

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Ingrid St-Pierre covers Jim Corcoran’s song as part of CSHF and CBC/Radio-Canada’s ‘Covered Classics’ series

TORONTO, May 2, 2016 – The Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame (CSHF) is pleased to announce the induction of J’ai la tête en gigue into the Hall of Fame. This ironically ‘feel-good’ song was written by one of Quebec’s best loved singer-songwriters, Jim Corcoran. To celebrate the song’s induction, acclaimed singer-songwriter Ingrid St-Pierre performs J’ai la tête en gigue as part of the Covered Classics series, a collaboration between the CSHF and CBC/Radio-Canada that invites notable Canadian artists to perform their own rendition of a newly inducted song. Ingrid St-Pierre’s performance can be viewed here.

“As a songwriter, Jim Corcoran plays a very important part in my life. The first concert I ever attended was his; and I was all of seven or eight years old. Even though I was incredibly shy, I insisted on meeting him while he signed autographs,” says ADISQ nominated and SOCAN member Ingrid St-Pierre, “I mumbled something about becoming an actress and he told me to always believe in my dream and follow my instinct. I still remember it vividly. My mother used to sing me to sleep with Jim’s songs, and it’s now my turn to sing his songs to my boy.”

J’ai la tête en gigue was written in September of 1976 while Corcoran was driving through the Eastern Townships in Quebec. It was the beginning of colourful fall and the end of a love story gone wrong. The lyrics articulated themselves around one sentence: “J’ai la tête en gigue et le cœur en septembre” (loosely translated, my head is in a whirl and my heart is in September). The melody came around the same time as the words; and then, as was often the case for Jim, he worked on the song for months.

Anglophone by birth, Jim Corcoran became an aficionado of the French language, spending most of his musical career singing and writing in French. In 1972, he partnered with Bertrand Gosselin to form the popular folk duo ‘Jim and Bertrand’. They quickly became poster boys for Quebec’s New Folk Movement, but gained popularity outside of Quebec with their third album “La tête en gigue” released in 1977. The record won Best Folk Album at the Festival international de musique Montreux (Switzerland) in 1978, and was certified gold in 1982 by the Canadian Recording Industry Association (now Music Canada). In 2010, the song itself earned Corcoran a coveted SOCAN Classics Award for 25,000 radio plays.

“It’s a great honour to have my song, J’ai la tête en gigue, inducted into the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame,” says Jim Corcoran, “What a wonderful way to celebrate its 40th anniversary, and what a thrill to have this song included as part of Canada’s songwriting legacy.”

In 1981, Corcoran embarked on a solo career. He’s recorded over a dozen albums, performed around the world, won numerous awards, written lyrics for many Francophone artists as well as for Cirque du Soleil, and is the host of CBC radio show ‘A Propos,’ a national showcase for music from Quebec.

To view 2015 and 2016 Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame song inductions and the Covered Classics performances, click here.

About the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame
The Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame (www.uatcshf.ca) honours and celebrates Canadian songwriters and those who have dedicated their lives to the legacy of music, and works to educate the public about these achievements. National and non-profit, the Hall of Fame is guided by its own board of directors who comprise both Anglophone and Francophone music creators and publishers, as well as representation from the record industry. In December 2011, SOCAN (the Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada) acquired the Hall of Fame. The Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame’s mandate aligns with SOCAN’s objectives as a songwriter and publisher membership-based organization.

About CBCMusic . ca
CBCMusic. ca (www.cbcmusic.ca) is Canada’s free digital music service connecting Canadians with the very best in Canadian and international music, concerts and features. Simple and easy to navigate, CBCMusic.ca gives music fans access to 50 Web radio stations, 12 distinct genre-based music communities, CBC Radio 2 and CBC Radio 3, plus content from the most knowledgeable music personalities and programmers from across the country, hundreds of concerts, playlists and more.

About ICIMusique . ca
ICIMusique. ca (www.icimusique.ca) is Radio-Canada’s online music platform. It allows Canadians to stream live radio, and listen to over 150 channels of web radio, albums streaming, special features and music news.

Media contact, to arrange an interview:
Christine Liber, Liberty Ink Communications (for CSHF)
Christine@LibertyInk.ca, 416-651-4722 x 1

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