Tex Lecor

Lecor, Tex

Tex (b Paul) Lecor (b Lecorre). Singer, songwriter, painter, show host, b St-Michel-de-Wentworth, near Montreal, 10 Jun 1933. While studying 1957-63 at the Montreal School of Fine Arts, he made his debut at his own boîte à chansons in Montreal, La Poubelle, at the end of the 1950s. Between 1963 and 1966 he sang in various Quebec cabarets and boîtes à chansons and made his first LPs for London (MLP-10060 and MB-125-126), and in 1969 he recorded three LPs for Gamma (GS-114, GS-118 and GS-127).

Lecor achieved international success in 1970 with the Georges Langford song 'Le Frigidaire,' which he recorded in five languages. He was host 1970-4 of the CFTM-TV variety program 'Sous mon toit,' the name taken from a Lecor song and also the title of one of his LPs (Gamma GS-141). Between 1972 and 1978, he recorded four other LPs for Gamma (GS-147, GS-170, GS-183, GP-248) and one for London (SLP-20084); two reissues Les Grands Succès de Tex Lecor (G2-1005 and G2-1011) were released by Gamma in 1973 and 1975 respectively. Musical direction and arrangements were provided over the years by François Dompierre, Eric Nico, Paul Baillargeon, and Léon Aronson. Lecor gave his last performance at Pointe-Bleue, in Lac-St-Jean, Que, in 1982. He then devoted himself to painting and has had numerous exhibitions in Montreal, Quebec City, Toronto, and New York, and has also hosted humorous radio programs at CKAC ('Tex matinal,' 'Insolences d'un téléphone,' 'Festival de l'humour,' and 'Patrick et moi-même'). Lecor has also participated in CBC TV variety programs, including 'Mon Pays, mes chansons,' and a series of five programs on country music recorded in 1991.

Throughout his shows and many tours, Lecor has remained an unpretentious and hard-working person, maintaining his popularity in later songs such as 'Bienvenue chez nous,' 'Le draveur,' 'Quand ça ne tourne pas rond,' 'Rame, rame,' 'Tout le monde est d'bonne humeur,' and 'Lucille' (revived by Kenny Rogers, among others).