Information/Write-up
From the heart of Granby, Québec, a town better known in the 1960s for its factories and farmland than for rock and roll, came a band that refused to play it safe. Les Makadams were formed in 1964 by brothers Jean-Pierre and Luc Taschereau with bassist Jacques Saint-Germain, later joined by guitarist Michael Robichaud. They cycled through names—Angel’s Rocks, the Beat Boys, even briefly Les Incontestables—before settling on the tougher-sounding Makadams, a nod to the asphalt streets they grew up on.
At a time when most francophone groups were content to recycle British Invasion hits in translation, Les Makadams built their identity around a raw garage-beat blend of jangly guitars, punchy organ, and high-energy vocals. By 1965 they had outgrown Granby’s dance halls and were playing youth clubs and cabarets across Québec, their sound growing sharper and more confident with each gig.
Their brief but memorable recording career produced four singles, each a snapshot of a band on the rise. The first two, issued in 1966 on the small STOP label, revealed their mix of urgency and pop craft: Girl backed with À la fin des beaux jours, followed by Tu dois connaître l’amour paired with Le petit clown. The following year they moved to Sonore Records for Il faut que ça cesse with Lundi, Mardi, a restless, riff-driven cut that captured their garage spirit at its peak. Their final release, Papillon backed with Boing Bong in 1968, showed a willingness to experiment with a more melodic, playful touch, even as the Québec scene was rapidly shifting around them.
On stage, the band earned a reputation as tight and versatile players, good enough to be invited in 1969 to back Claire Lepage on tour. It was a sign that they had the chops to compete with more established acts, but the momentum proved short-lived. By the end of that year, after the Lepage dates wrapped, Les Makadams quietly called it quits, their members drifting into other pursuits.
What remains today are four scuffed 45s and the memory of a group that pushed beyond the limitations of their small-town roots. Their songs still pulse with the energy of restless teenagers determined to carve their own sound, and though their time was brief, Les Makadams left behind a legacy that endures as part of Québec’s 1960s rock story—a reminder that even in the province’s smaller towns, kids with guitars could still dream big.
-Robert Williston
Jean-Pierre Taschereau: vocals, rhythm guitar
Luc Taschereau: drums
Jacques Saint-Germain: bass guitar
Michael Robichaud: lead guitar
Jean-Jacques Bazinet: vocals
Claude Charron: organ
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