Richard Desjardins is a Quebecois folk singer born on March 16, 1948, in Rouyn-Noranda, Canada. He was the lead singer of the band Abbittibbi from 1975 to 1982, which released the album Boom Town Café in 1981. He composed several soundtracks for documentaries, fiction, and films from the late 1970s to the early 1990s, including L'Hiver Bleuand Le Doux Partage. Desjardins produced and released his first solo album, Les Derniers Humains, in 1988, which he re-recorded in 1992 at the Chapelle du Bon Pasteur. In 1990, he released the album Tu M'Aimes-tu, featuring the title track, which became a number one hit. He won the Felix award for songwriter of the year and popular album of the year at the ADISQ Gala in 1991. Desjardins released the live album Au Club Soda in 1993 and re-formed Abbittibbi from 1994 to 1997, releasing two albums with them. Boom Boom followed in 1998 prior to Desjardins’ two-year tour in Quebec. In the following years, he co-directed three documentaries with Robert Monderie, including L'Erreur Boréale in 1999, Le Peuple Invisible in 2007, and Trou Story in 2010. His show Desjardins Symphonique with the Trois-Rivières Symphony Orchestra in 2004 captivated audiences and was recorded and released as an album in 2009. A tribute album titled Chanter Richard Desjardins was released in 2017, featuring fourteen performers paying homage to his artistry.
