Les Hou-Lops
Band members Related acts
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line up 1 (1959-60) - Rene Larose -- guitar (1959-63) - Maurice Leblanc -- keyboards (1959-60) - Marc Lussier -- drums (1959-61)
line up 2 (1960-62) - George Dubuc -- saxophone (1960-62) - Rene Larose -- guitar (1959-63) - Maurice Leblanc -- keyboards (1959-60) - Marc Lussier -- drums (1959-61)
line up 3 (1962-63) - Jean Claude Bernard -- bass (1962-) - Yvan Côté -- lead guitar (1962-) - Rene Larose -- guitar (1959-63) - Claude Laviolette (RIP 1981) -- drums (replaced Marc Lussier) (1961-69)
line up 4 (1963-68) - Jean Claude Bernard -- bass - Yvan Côté -- lead guitar (1962-) - Claude Domingue -- guitar (replaced Rene Larose) (1963-68) - Claude Laviolette (RIP 1981) -- drums (replaced Marc Lussier) (1961-69) - Gilles Rousseau (RIP 1972) -- vocals (1963-69)
line up 5 (1968-69) - Jean Claude Bernard -- bass - Yvan Côté -- lead guitar - Claude Domingue -- guitar - Sylvain Laviolette (RIP 1981) -- drums, percussion - Gilles Rousseau (RIP 1972) -- vocals
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- Gilles Rousseau (solo efforts) - Les Tetes Blanches (The White Heads)
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Genre: rock Rating: 3 stars *** Title: Off Company: APEX Catalog: ALF-1591 Year: 1966 Country/State: Saint-Hyacinthe, Canada Grade (cover/record): VG+/VG+ Comments: cutout hole top left corner; mono pressing Available: 1 Catalog ID: 5115 Price: $80.00
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The web has a great deal of information about Les Hou-Lops. The only problem is that virtually all of it is in French and existing translation products turn the narratives into little more than verbal garbage. Too bad since outside of their native Quebec these guys are criminally overlooked.
Formed in Saint-Hyacinthe, Quebec, Les Hou-Lops started out in 1959 as an instrumental outfit built around Yvan Côté's Duane Eddy-inspired lead guitar. Over the next four years the band underwent a string of personnel changes. By 1963 the line-up had stabilized with Côté, bassist Jean Claude Bernard, former Blue Angels guitarist Jean Claude Domingue, drummer Claude Laviolette and singer Jean Rousseau.
1966's "Off" was interesting for a couple of reasons. In a break with the established norm, unlike most Quebec-based groups who were notoriously reluctant to record in English, the entire album featured English performances. Showcasing a mixture of popular pop and soul hits, the set certainly wasn't a major creative breakthrough. On the other hand, propelled by Rousseau's growling voice and some killer guitar from Domingue (check out his performance on 'Blue Blue Feeling'), material like the tear-out-my-vocal chords performance on 'Good Good Lovin'' and a fuzz-powered 'Bony Moronie' proved these guys could rock out with the best of their American competitors. While their energetic performances breathed new life into thread worn rock staples like 'Rip It Up' and Chuck Berry's 'Nadine', the true highlights came in the form of the isolated band originals. Tracks like 'Oh No', 'Doin' the Jerk' and 'Big Black Jacket' were nothing short of great. Too bad they weren't given the latitude to record more original material since this would have been a classic release !
"Off" track listing: 1.) Oh No (Gilles Roussean) - 2:28 2.) Bony Moronie (F. Williams) - 2:40 3.) Good Good Lovin' (Brown Shubert) - 2:52 4.) Rip It Up (R.A. Blackwell - J.S. Maroscales) - 1:56 5.) Doin' the Jerk (Gilles Roussean - Yvan Cote) - 2:11 6.) How Could See Do That To Me (Doug Morris - Joey Day) - 2:17
(side
2) 2.) Nadine (Chuck Berri (sic)) - 3:03 3.) Lonely Riverman (Dick Heard - Bob Boulanger) - 2:25 4.) Blue Blue Feeling (JIm Henshaw) - 2:58 5.) Summer In the City (Jay (sic) Sebastian - Steve Boone) - 2:25 6.) Big Black Jacket (The Hou Lops) - 2:42
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Genre: rock Rating: 3 stars *** Title: C'est Chip Company: APEX Catalog: ALF- Year: 1966 Country/State: Saint-Hyacinthe, Canada Grade (cover/record): VG+/VG+ Comments: cutout hole top left corner; mono pressing Available: 1 Catalog ID: 5115 Price: $80.00
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"C'est
Chip" track listing: 1.) Tout Ira Tres Bien (G. Harsden - R. Bernet) - 2:14 2.) Ces Mots Qu'on Oublie Un Jour (Things We Said Today) (M. Simille - D. Rivers - John Lennon) - 2:35 3.) Main Oui Baby (J.M. Cretois - N. Petty - C. Hardin) - 2:40 4.) Pachilla (Yvan Cote) - 2:06 5.) Fauche (Busted) (H. Howard - E. Mitchell) - 2:02 6.) Quand On est Amoureux (She'a About a Mover) (Doug Sahm) - 2:17
(side
2) 2.) Quand Les roses (Adamo) - 2:58 3.) RPM 6000 (Yvan Cote - Calude Domingue) - 2:20 4.) Main Pourquoi (Yvan Cote - Christian Bernard) - 2:47 5.) Blue Jeans Sur La Plage (Claude Domingue - L. Rousseau) - 3:06 6.) Quand Ce Jour Viendra (Buddy Holly - Norman Petty - M. Emer) - 1:58
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Genre: rock Rating: 3 stars *** Title: Les Hou-Lops 69 Company: CANUSA Catalog: CJ-33-110 Year: 1969 Country/State: Saint-Hyacinthe, Canada Grade (cover/record): VG+/VG+ Comments: -- Available: 1 Catalog ID: 5110 Price: $100.00
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Released by the Quebec-based CANUSA label, 1969's cleverly titled "Les Hou-Lops 69" captured the band opting for a more eclectic (note the opening cover of a Bach piece) and a shift toward a tougher rock oriented sound. Mind you, there were still a number of top-40ish pieces, including the pretty ballad 'Demain', 'L'Amite' and 'Tu Aimes'. While all of those performances were enjoyable, the real highlights were found in hearing the band try to go heavy via Francophile covers of Deep Purple's 'Hush' (translated as 'Mal' and mis-credited to Joe South), a Vanilla Fudge-styled cover of The Four Tops 'You Keep Me Hanging On' (translated as 'Tu Me Gardes En Suspens'), and their Jymmy (sic) Hendrix cover 'Love'. Best of all was a fuzzed up cover of Creams 'Sunshine of Your Life' (translated as 'J'espere Qu'il n'est Pas Trop Tard'). While there was something goofy about hearing these classics in French, lead singer Rousseau was quite good. His English was also flawless making you wonder how big these guys might have been had they chosen to pursue an Anglo audience. CANUSA also tapped the album for three singles:
- 1969's 'Je Pleure Comme Un Enfant' b/w 'Tu Aimes' (CANUSA catalog number C-361) - 1969's 'Boo Boo the Cat' b/w 'U.S. President' (CANUSA catalog number C-377) - 1969's 'Tu Aimes' b/w 'C'est Ma Faute' (CANUSA catalog number C-291)
"Les Hou-Lops" track listing: 1.) Bourre de Bach (instrumental) (Bach) 2.) Demain (Tommorrow) (Rene Hameli - Yvan Côté) - 3.) L'Amite (Rene Hameli - Yvan Côté) - 4.) Mal (Hush) (Johnny Hallady - Joe South - G. Aber) - 5.) Tu Me Gardes En Suspens (You Keep Me Hanging On) (Brian Holland - Lamont Doxzier - Eddie Holland) - 6.) J'espere Qu'il n'est Pas Trop Tard (Sunshine of Your Life) (Cream - Yvan Côté)
(side
2) 2.) U.S. President (Gilles Rousseau - Yvan Côté) - 3.) Lilly Marlyn 4.) Boo Boo the Cat (Rene Hameli - Yvan Côté) - 5.) Je Pleure Comme Un Enfant (Cry Like a Baby) (Dan Penn - Holdam - S. Kalfon) - 6.) Tu Aimes (Yvan Côté) -
As an aside, it's out of print, but if you read French there's a Les Hou-Lops biography out there: Serge Gingras' "Les Hou-Lops: Pour Toute La Vie".
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