In golden olden thymes Quebec musicians would catch onto a trend beyond the provincial borders and adapt it into French.
All would be satisfied. All would be entertained.
Musicians launched their careers through such adaptations and fortune followed.
But then Martin Stevens came along and changed the game.
His song Love is in the Air was a big hit in Quebec when it came out and made him a local star, with loads of TV appearances and shows.But the weird thing was that his song was not adapted into French.
His song was not translated or changed in any way. In fact it may as well be a karoake version of the original, below. It was enough to bag him two awards at the Canadian Disco Awards Show in Montreal in 1979.That original had been done by John Paul Young, a Scot who grew up in Australia.
Such imitation isn't unheard of when the original performer is obscure who sells it to a larger star in a mutually-beneficial arrangement. But Stevens was an unknown.
Stevens still does shows and will perform at your wedding or other event for a reasonable fee.
He even wrote an autobiography which I have not read,
But it in it he claims to have turned down $30,000 to do an advertisement for Coca Cola because he preferred drinking Pepsi.
I kid you not.
bdone by The Dream)