Information/Write-up
After more than four decades in the music business, New Brunswick-born bassist and vocalist Hélène Duguay released By Request, a heartfelt collection of fan-favourite songs spanning roots, blues, and folk-rock. The album celebrates Duguay’s 45 years as a working musician, drawing from her deep well of stage experience and a life spent on the road.
Originally from St. Isidore, New Brunswick, Duguay came to prominence in the 1960s as a founding member of Les Beatlettes, one of Canada’s very first all-female rock bands. She later joined Les Planètes, a Francophone quartet that morphed into the English-language girl group Sweet Somethings, managed by Montreal impresario Ben Kaye (Les Classels, Les Baronets). With those groups, Duguay toured extensively across Canada, the U.S., and abroad.
By Request finds her in a more reflective and roots-oriented mode, backed by a seasoned lineup of musicians and recorded at her own Cosmic Pig Recording Studios in Vancouver, British Columbia, where she has been based for many years. From the bluesy swing of “Dark Hollow” to the haunting interpretation of “House of the Rising Sun,” the album showcases her rich, lived-in voice and bass-playing in a deeply personal setting.
The title reflects the album’s purpose: a gift to her longtime fans, made up of the songs most frequently requested during her decades of performing.
-Robert Williston
Helene Duguay: vocals, bass
Rick Boulter: guitars
Farren Harry: guitar medley war combatant in 'House of the Rising Sun', left speaker
Clyde Roulette: guitars in 'French Song' and ';Dark Hollow'
Rich Oler: drums, percussion
Barry Powel: hammond keyboard
Dale Wallace: keyboards on 'Big Sky'
Travis Boulter: chimes on 'Out of the Rain'
Produced and engineered by Rick Boulter
Recorded at Cosmic Pig Studios
Helen Duguay presents her new CD to celebrate forty five years as an entertainer. The songs are favourites requested by her fans time and time again.
Born in St. Isidore, New Brunswick, she has played in may well known groups, notably "Les Beatlettes" and "Les Planettes" managed by Ben Kaye, who also managed such groups as "Classels" and "The Baronets" in Montreal at the height of the sixties. After travelling across Canada, the U.S., and abroad, she settled in Vancouver, British Columbia where she now owns and operated Cosmic Pig Recording Studios and is still performing live across the globe.
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