Lucille Starr, born Lucille Marie Raymonde
Savoie on Langevin Avenue in St. Boniface,
a suburb of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.
"The French Song" was produced by Herb
Alpert and became A&M's first gold
record. It topped the charts in the
Netherlands for 19 weeks straight.
At one time, Lucille held the top 5 spots
on the South African charts and their
Parliament held a special luncheon to
commemorate her achievement on a tour
there. She was also the
singing/yodeling voice of Cousin Pearl on
The Beverly Hillbillies.
“Quand Le Soleil Dit Bonjours
Aux Montagnes”. Whether you speak
French or not, the opening line to Lucille
Starr’s million-selling 1964 hit “The
French Song” is instantly
recognizable. Produced in Los
Angeles by Herb Alpert (of Tijuana Brass
fame), the single became the first gold
record by a Canadian female recording
artist and topped record charts worldwide
earning A&M Records its first gold
single. At one time Lucille held the
top five spots on the South African charts
and in the Netherlands “The French Song”
was #1 for nineteen weeks straight.
Lucille’s name remains forever associated
with that sentimental bilingual ballad.
“Back To You: The Life & Career of
Lucille Starr”, a play based on her rise
to fame and bitter relationship with her
first husband, opens November 11 (to
November 28) at the Prairie Theatre
Exchange in Portage Place.
Born Lucille Marie Raymonde Savoie in St.
Boniface in 1938, Lucille lived on
Langevin Street for her first seven years.
“Some of the sweetest memories come from
my childhood in Winnipeg,” she recently
reminisced from her home in Las
Vegas. “I was born right near the
Red River. I loved ice
skating. My dad had a shoe repair
shop and every year he’d give me a pair of
those Sonja Henie white skates. I’d
skate right down the street to
school. Talk about a thrill.
Mom was supposed to have twins but I’m the
only one who showed up. She always
said that two of me would be too much.”
Lucille’s performing aspirations were also
nurtured here in St. Boniface.
“At age six I knew I wanted to sing and
dance. I don’t remember half of what
I was taught in school. There was a
play that had singing and dancing in
it. It meant a lot to me because
that was my thing.”
Unbeknownst to her parents, Lucille
borrowed clothes and makeup from
neighbours and performed in the play.
“The play went on that night and somebody
said to my mom, ‘Isn’t that Lucille up
there?’ Mom was very
surprised. She didn’t realize how
much I wanted to sing and dance. I
even wanted to tap dance my way down the
aisle for my first communion. My dad
had to take the clickers off my tap
shoes.”
Other childhood memories remain vivid for
Lucille.
“At Christmas time we’d go to midnight
mass. It was a long walk from
Langevin because we didn’t have a
car. Mom would bundle me up like a
mummy. After midnight mass we had
the réveillon including a great big turkey
dinner. My daddy would play the
fiddle and my mother sang. Sometimes
they’d let me dance.”
At the age of seven Lucille moved with her
family first to Windsor and then to
Maillardsville near Port Coquitlam, BC
where her singing career began in her
teens with the Keray Regan Band.
Marrying bandleader Bob Regan
(Frederickson), the two recorded as The
Canadian Sweethearts releasing a number of
singles in the late 1950s including “The
Hootenanny Express”, “I’m Leaving It All
Up To You” and “Blue Canadian Rockies” and
toured Canada with Hank Snow and Wilf
Carter. Her marriage to Regan was
turbulent, marked by physical abuse.
“My personal life was disastrous.” she
sighs. “We were fighting like cat
and dog but on stage I was great.”
Relocating to Los Angeles in the early
’60s, Lucille met Dorsey Burnette of
rockabilly duo Johnny & Dorsey
Burnette who recommended her to trumpeter
Herb Alpert. Looking for a hit to
launch fledgling A&M Records, Herb
matched Lucille with “The French Song”.
“Actually it was re-named that,” Lucille
explains, “because Herb couldn’t pronounce
the original title. He would say, ‘I
don’t care if I can’t understand the word,
I know this is a hit’. For six weeks
it didn’t hit and then it took off.
It went gold and platinum.” Released
in the spring of 1964 at the height of the
British Invasion, “The French Song”
captured hearts all over the world.
The following year Lucille was fêted with
an invitation to be Grande Vedette (top
star) of Amsterdam’s Grand Gala du
Disques, an international music
cavalcade. She was in illustrious
company following on the heels of previous
honourees Frank Sinatra, Barbra Streisand
and Charles Aznavour.
“I was the first Canadian or American to
do a television special in the
Netherlands,” she states with pride.
Lucille’s popularity extended to Belgium,
Switzerland, Mexico, Guam, the
Philippines, Japan, and Korea. She
performed in many of these countries, and
in South Africa the Prime Minister held a
special luncheon in Lucille’s honour at
their parliament. She headlined a
five-week tour in South Africa in 1967
where she received several gold records.
Further hits followed including “Colinda”,
“Jolie Jacqueline”, and “Bonjour
Tristesse”.
Lucille’s yodeling abilities were put to
good use on the popular television show
The Beverly Hillbillies where she provided
the singing voice for Cousin Pearl.
Meanwhile her marriage to Regan was on the
rocks. “When I started getting hits,
he became very jealous. I couldn’t
leave because he threatened to take my son
Robert away from me. He spent all my
money on his family and his
girlfriends. Bob wanted me to
fail. After my song took off that’s
when the beatings really started.”
Lucille later recorded in Nashville
enjoying several country music hits.
She continued to tour the world through to
the 1990s. Her marriage to Regan
over by the mid ‘70s, Lucille married
Bryan Cunningham from Sarnia, Ontario.
“Revenge is sweet sometimes,” she
muses. “After all the beatings and
crap that went on, I was the first woman
who was inducted into the Canadian Country
Music Hall of Fame.” Notes
famed Canadian
singer/songwriter Sylvia Tyson, “Lucille
is the best female country singer Canada
ever turned out. She has so much
bounce and humour and what a wonderful
voice. She’s like a dark haired
Dolly Parton.”
Reflecting on her long career, Lucille
says, “When I was just a kid all I ever
thought about was getting up on a stage
and singing. I never thought about
stardom or gold records. It’s like
the happy ending you read about in story
books.”
As for the play, Lucille, who still has
family in Winnipeg, is thrilled with
it. “Tracy Powers really wrote the
play beautifully. One reviewer
called it a jewel. I felt like I was
looking from outside in. When I came
home I cried for two weeks. It’s
like an accident, you’re fine for the
moment then you realize, ‘I survived
this’.”