Born in Montreal on October 16, 1932, and deceased in Mirabel on June 9, 2011, the Quebec songwriter, composer, pianist and performer wrote over 400 songs and left his mark on his era. Introduced to the piano by his mother and to singing by his tenor father, he completed his musical training with the accordion and harmonica. Noticed by a television producer at a university musical, he made an appearance on the show Music-Hall, then was offered a role in the soap opera La Rivière perdue (1957). In 1959, he joined Les Bozos, a troupe of five cabaret singers from Quebec, before meeting Édith Piaf and writing songs for her, such as "Le Vieux piano", which became a hit in its own right. As artistic director of the Le Chat noir cabaret in Montreal, Claude Léveillée discovered Gilles Vigneault, who wrote for him, alongside the successes he racked up with the songs "Frédéric", "La Légende du cheval blanc" and " Le Rendez-vous". Awarded a Grand Prix du disque in 1966, he collaborated with pianist André Gagnon, with whom he recorded the jazz-influenced album 1 Voix 2 Pianos (1967), as well as the musical Elle tournera la Terre. Building on his success, Léveillée sang on theEd Sullivan Show and toured the USSR twice, in 1968 and 1972. He continued to record politically committed songs on albums such as Si Jamais (1971), Les Amoureux de l'An 2000 (1973) and Cheval de Bois (1973), and took part, with Vigneault, Robert Charlebois, Jean-Pierre Ferland and Yvon Deschamps, in the group 1 Fois 5, which released a live recording in 1976. He continued to perform and record vocal and instrumental albums such as Black Sun (1978), put on the 1985 show Tu t'rappelles Frédéric with his lifelong friend, and wrote hits for Nicole Martin. Actor and composer on the TV series Scoop (1992-1995), the singer covers some of his greatest hits on the album series Mes Années 60 (1994), Mes Années 70 (1995) and Mes Années 80 (1996), as well as children's stories in the three volumes of Rêves Inachevés (1998-2000). After suffering two strokes on stage in 2004, he remained hospitalized at home until his death at the age of 78.
