Les Jérolas was a Québécois musical duo active from 1955 to 1974.
History Les Jérolas formed in 1955. The duo's name comes from the contraction of its two members' names : JÉRÔme Lemay and Jean LApointe. They initially sang in cabarets as fantaisistes and made impressions of politicians and singers. They hired Charlemagne Landry as manager, and in 1956, they obtained a recording deal with RCA Victor. In the same year, they starred in the television show Music-Hall.
They had their first great success on disc with their recordings of two songs by The Coasters in 1959, "Yakety Yak" and "Charlie Brown". Jérôme Lemay also wrote some songs for Les Jérolas, including "Un tiens vaut mieux que deux tu l’auras" and "Signe ton chèque et Méo Penché". Marcel Amont in France covered these songs, and they were translated in English.
In the early 1960s, the Jérolas were the most popular fantaisistes in Quebec and drew great crowds in Quebec's great cabarets. In 1962 they starred in the show En scène les Jérolas hosted by Monique Leyrac. In the same year, they hired the pianist and orchestra conductor Roland Bourque, who worked with them for the rest of their career. In 1963, they were invited to perform on The Ed Sullivan Show.
In 1964, Lapointe had a car accident that immobilized him for months. They were the subject of a documentary by Gilles Carle, Place aux Jérolas. They were in the 1966 movie YUL 871. They won a prize at the Festival du disque in 1966 for Les Jérolas à la Comédie-Canadienne and went at the Olympia on the same year. Les Jérolas continued performing in Quebec's great venues, like the Place des Arts. They returned to the Olympia in 1971. The duo hosted the television quiz Tout l'monde joue... avec les Jérolas in summer 1972 and then performed at the Place des Arts for the last time in 1973.
Jean Lapointe ended Les Jérolas on 1974. Both performers had solo careers afterward.
In 1999, their song "Méo Penché" was named a classic of SOCAN.
In 2011 the group reformed for the show Le grand retour des Jérolas. However, the show ended when Jérôme Lemay had a heart attack at the Place des Arts on the day of the show's premiere.
Discography +Singles Year Title1956Le mambo du Canada/Lola1956Rythme et fantaisie/L’amour et moi1956La clé du rock/Y’a pas que1957Le chemin du paradis/Toujours plus vite1957Chantons la bière et l’amour/Lisette1958Souvenirs d’amour/Le rythme de l’amour1959Yakety Yak/De toi je veux1959Charlie Brown/La danse du printemps1959Jones s’est montré/Les trois cloches1959Un sourire pour Noël/La veillée chez l’père Jos1960Le village de Sainte-Bernadette/Dis-moi qui tu fréquentes1960Un tiens vaut mieux que deux tu l’auras/La chanson du hockey1961Matilda/Ferme tes jolis yeux1961Le carnaval de Montréal/Rigolo1961Méo Penché/N’as-tu jamais1962Tout l’monde twist/Écoute bien1962Cola Café/Une fille de Montréal1962Maria Christina/Jack Monoloy1963Je t’aime/Au pays des Incas1963Ce soir tu reviens/Grand-père1963Carnaval d’hiver international/International Winter Carnaval1964Ne dors pas/Un peu de sucre1964J’prends plus un coup/Pour faire un duo1965Yayaje n’suis pas tout à moi/Conchelita1966Les mouches au plafond/Sylvie, oh Sylvie1966Montréal/Trouvez-moi quelque chose de plus joli que ça1967Le malchanceux/Popeye1967Alors messieurs/Le mouton noir196?Bombardier Ski-Doo1970Non mais c’est pas beau ça/Les éléphants1970Chérie, chérie, chérie/C’que ça m’énerve1971Viens voir le baseball/Rusty1971Beautiful Downtown Sorel/Borriquito1972Lefty Ding-Ding Lapointe/Demain mon fils1973J’aime pas l’ail, j’aime pas l’eau, j’aime l’impôt/Reste avec moi1974Méo Penché/Yakety Yak
+Albums Year Title1959Les Jérolas1961Les Jérolas sont là1962Les Jérolas au Théâtre national1962Toujours plus vite1964Les Jérolas à La Porte Saint-Jean1966Les Jérolas à la Comédie-Canadienne1966Succès souvenirs: Les Jérolas1966Montréal: un portrait musical1966Les Jérolas à l’Olympia1967Es-tu content1968Le tribunal des vedettes1971Quinze ans déjà1972Les grands succès des Jérolas1973Ça va barder1978Les Jérolas
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