Information/Write-up
If you mention the name Jean-Marc Lafontaine to collectors of Quebec garage rock, only the most erudite will make the link between him and the nebulous Trois-Rivières group Les Items, known mainly for their smashing adaptation of Foxy Lady from the Jimi Hendrix Experience. Now name Alex Fontaine and watch their eyes light up! EVERYONE will then agree to qualify the 45 rpm of the mysterious singer - 'Tu n’es pas sincère' - as one of the simple definitives of the genre, one of the most coveted, influential and logically... one of the rarest in the province. Nearly 50 years after the recording of this Holy Grail of Quebec rock, we can finally say that Jean-Marc was indeed Alex Fontaine! This information had been timidly put forward in Léo Roy's essential work, The wonderful era of groups of the 60s in Quebec (Rétro Laser; 2003), but the singer was still missing... until today. The friend and knowledgeable music lover Michel Gagnon investigated tirelessly and traced Fontaine to a few villages from his home. Without his hard work, none of this would have been possible and I cannot thank him enough for this opportunity. Together, we interviewed the musician in June 2016 and can finally lift the veil on his 45 rpm which has certainly made more noise in recent decades than at the time of its release.…
read more in link from MondoPQ
"It was a General Motors mechanic from St-Jerome who financed the $2,500 for the recording of my 45, through Catatchio or Gallimi. It was Gallimi who renamed me Alex Fontaine.
We visited all the radio stations in Quebec and Trois-Rivieres, starting with CHLT in Sherbrooke for the show Bonsoir Copains with Jean Malo. I performed my two songs, but during my first ('Goodbye'), the sound completely cut out...and we were live!" Lafontaine had better success on Quebec City's Tele-4, and as a result the record received plenty of airplay, reaching according to Lafontaine "first or second position on certain stations.
I think I sold 2000 copies in total. And I earned 3 cents from each record sold because I was the songwriter...I did it for fun, to earn a little pocket money, but I didn't see myself making a career out of it."
-Jean-Marc Lafontaine
'Tu n'es pas sincere' appeared on People of Tyme and Quebec Garage Beat '66-'67 compilations.
Alex Fontaine (Jean-Marc Lafontaine, Les Items)
Andre Parenteau
Gilles Briere
Pierre Martin
Written by Alex Fontaine
Arranged and orchestrated by Joey Galimi
Produced by Tony Caticchio
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