Ti-Blanc Richard

Richard, Ti-Blanc

Ti-Blanc (b Adalbert) Richard. Violoneux, radio and TV host, b Martinville, near Sherbrooke, Que, 13 Aug 1920, d Sherbrooke 22 Feb 1981. Initially an accordionist, he began playing the violin at 15 and in the following year joined the Log Cabin Boys in Sherbrooke. In 1940 he formed his own group, Les Copains de l'Est. He began performing on CHLT radio, Sherbrooke, in 1937, and had broadcast more than 3000 times for that station by 1956. He was host 1956-65 for 'Ti-Blanc Richard et ses gais lurons' on CHLT-TV, Sherbrooke, and performed regularly on CFCM-TV, Quebec City ('Signé Ti-Blanc Richard'), CFTM-TV Montreal ('À la Canadienne'), and other stations across the province. Richard performed widely in concert, clubs, and festivals in Quebec and the rest of Canada, and the northeastern USA. He also contributed to the soundtracks of several Quebec films including L'Apparition and Quelques Arpents de neige.

Richard's repertoire, which combined traditional Quebec folk music with country music, included many of his own compositions and arrangements. One of Canada's leading novelty fiddlers, at times he employed a baseball bat, a hockey stick, a broom, or an axe handle for a bow. He also played with a violin bow attached to a pedal-operated sewing machine.

Richard made 28 78s for RCA Victor, several 45s for Meteor, and, beginning in the late 1960s, a dozen LPs for London, including two volumes of Le Disque d'or de Ti-Blanc Richard (1970, Lon SDS-5086; 1973, SDS-5133). In addition, he made several LPs for RCA, excerpts of which were reissued in 1974 on the LP 20 Succès souvenirs de Ti-Blanc Richard et ses joyeux copains (RCA Gala KTL-2-71915-1-4). His papers have been deposited at the Séminaire de Sherbrooke.

See also Michèle Richard (his daughter).