A self-taught musician active since 1971, Christian Péloquin is also a producer, arranger, conductor, musical director, composer and performer. He masters several musical instruments: guitar, dobro, mandolin, banjo, piano, Hammond organ, Wurlitzer, Fender Rhodes, drums and bass.
In 1977, Christian Péloquin founded the group Hollywood & Vine with his brother and Francine Raymond in Montréal. Mostly active in bars, their Top 40 cover band ended its activities in 1984. Before continuing his collaboration on the Raymond’s first album, the blues and rock enthusiast was very active on the blues scene of St-Denis Street in Montréal and participated in the Blues Sessions until the turn of the ’90s.
Péloquin is the creative partner of Francine Raymond’s greatest hits, the collaboration between the two accomplices is remarkable. Péloquin, a sought-after melodist in the industry, has put his indelible stamp of excellence on four of the singer’s five albums. The first, simply called Francine Raymond (1987), gave us the song Vivre avec celui qu’on aime (lyrics by Luc Plamondon) which is consecrated SOCAN Classic. The second, Souvenirs retrouvés (1989) and its radio hits Pour l’amour qu’il nous reste, Droit devant and Souvenirs retrouvés, places the tandem among the great songwriters of the Francophonie. Les Années Lumières (1993) unveils five treasures, Y’a les mots, Pense à moi, À tous ceux qui s’aiment, Pour te revoir and Les années Lumières, which were all consecutive No 1 radio hits. Dualité (1996) offered us, among others, Tous les bateaux font des vagues, Magie noire et blanche and Apprivoise.
The tracks on these albums are acclaimed by the press and are for the most part nominated or awarded at the ADISQ Gala. The Conseil de la chanson francophone, Radio-France International (RFI) and Radio-Canada all recognized the longevity of these hits on the radio charts.
“We’ve always composed instinctively, Francine and I,” Peloquin tells the CSHF. “I’ve always used my rock and pop musical influences in our songs. One melody inspires the next. In the studio, we could go thirty minutes without talking to each other, immersed in our own universes, looking for tunes and choruses,” says Péloquin, who owns over 40 guitars. “We work a lot on the melodies, often taken from sound sketches that I had previously recorded on tape.”
The highly versatile musician is in demand for tours in Québec, Canada and abroad alongside Roch Voisine (from 1991 to 1995 and still today), Lara Fabian (1998), Isabelle Boulay (Péloquin will be her musical director for eight years), Kevin Parent during 5 years, Pierre Bertrand (with Hollywood & Vine), Paul Piché and Laurence Jalbert, with whom he has been working closely for the last five years as a musical director, on tour and in the studio.
As a studio musician, Christian Péloquin played on records by Welshman Geoff Hughes, Pierre Bertrand (Péloquin composed Vivre et laisser vivre, On est ensemble, Elle l’aime encore, Moi j’appelle ça de l’amour), Patrick Fiori, Chimene Badi, Nanette Workman, Roch Voisine, Francine Raymond, Joe Bocan, Edith Butler, Claude Dubois, Pierre Bertrand, Kevin Parent and Lara Fabian.
Among his many collaborations, he composed La 20 for Edith Butler, Viens Danser for Patrick Norman, La fée, Dieux verts and Montréal-Québec for Roch Voisine, Je serai près de toi for Paul Daraîche in 2018 and for the daughter of the king of country, Émilie Daraîche in 2020.
Even at 65, Christian Péloquin is very active as a musician. He has his own studio on the south shore of Montréal and multiplies collaborations.
