Renée Claude is a legend of French-Canadian chanson, earning a number of hit singles during the late 1960s and early 1970s before staging an award-winning comeback with her final album, On a marché sur l'amour: Renée Claude chante Léo Ferré, in 1996. She was born in Montreal, Quebec, on July 3, 1939, and released her self-titled debut album, Renée Claude Volume 1, in 1963. Three additional volumes followed during the next three years. Her breakthrough album, Shippagan, was released in 1967 and featured the popular title track, which became Claude's first hit single in Quebec.She then signed with Barclay in 1969 and released six albums with the French label through 1973, earning additional hits with songs like "Le Tour de la terre," "Tu trouveras la paix," "C'est toi, c'est moi, c'est lui, c'est nous autres," and "Sais-tu que je t'aime depuis longtemps." Her albums were hits, too, with 1975's Je Suis Une Femme going gold. During the 1980s, she shifted her style and began paying tribute to the chanson icons who came before her, including Léo Ferré and Georges Brassens. Although her string of pop hits dried up, she did earn the "Grand Prix du Disque for French Song" with her album On a marché sur l'amour: Renée Claude chante Léo Ferré in 1996. The album proved to be her final release. A decade after being awarded the Order of Canada in 2009, Renée Claude was diagnosed with Alzheimers Disease in 2019. She battled the disease until 2020, when she contracted Covid-19 and passed away on May 12, 2020, at 80 years old.
