Patsy Gallant: A Great Diva

Her contributions to pop music over the past half-century, not to mention her dedication to service projects, have recently earned her a nomination for the Order of Canada. But that’s no reason for the disco queen to rest on her laurels! She still cherishes many projects and is full of contagious energy.

I have wanted to make this album for more than 20 years. I wrote these songs a long time ago, but I tweaked them and brought them up to date. The song Ain’t No Way to Treat a Woman is about the status of women. It talked about a personal matter at first, but I made it universal by adding a verse about Malala, this young Pakistani girl who was shot in the head at age 13 for wanting her female friends to go to school. Fortunately, she survived. In 2014, she received the Nobel Peace Prize, becoming the youngest Nobel laureate.

I wrote lyrics and music for 125 songs. I kept about 20 of them. No one knows that I write. I hid it for a long time because I write mostly in English and my songs are really not the same genre as Sugar Daddy. I was afraid that people wouldn’t like it. I have things to say. I wrote songs about September 11, about my son and my sister who died two years ago. This album is my pride and joy, with my very own songs!

I switch from one language to another without even noticing it. However, I write more easily in English. On my new album, I have three songs in French. If I release a single, it’s going to be the French tango Tu me tues.

This story is incredible! I was opening for Édith Piaf with Les Sœurs Gallant in 1960, at the cabaret À la Porte St-Jean in Quebec City. Back then, my mother used to follow us, my sisters and I, as we travelled to cabarets across the province. I was 9 or 10 years old. We always entered the cabarets through the kitchen. One day, we came in while Édith Piaf was rehearsing. Mom told me, before I hid in the dressing room because I was too young to be in a cabaret, that the person who was singing was the great Édith Piaf. I listened to her, before telling my mother: “She sings out of tune, the singer! Can I go in my dressing room now?” Unbelievable! She scared me, all dressed in black, cowering. It was two years before her death. She was very sick; her voice was shaking. Me, I just wanted to go get my May West and my Pepsi, which my mother would give me to keep me awake during the three shows I had to give!

So we opened for Édith Piaf. Much later, when I gave a show at the Place des Arts in which I played Édith Piaf, I understood what a great singer she was. There are certain parallels between her story and mine; she performed on the street when she was 10, I worked in cabarets when I was 8. We have seen things that children of that age shouldn’t see.

We never know when a song is going to become a hit. Songs sometimes sound so good that we don’t even think about the lyrics. Moreover, the definition of sugar daddy is not the same for everyone. For many people, it’s when a young woman dates an older, wealthy man. For others, it’s a cocaine dealer. In Mexico, when the song became a hit, children called it papá de azúcar.

To them, it was a cool dad. We didn’t expect Sugar Daddy to be a hit. There are so many factors to making a hit song: you have to be in the right place at the right time, surrounded by the right people. Imagine how great it would be if I had a hit at age 70! I still believe it’s possible.

Yes, I’m still here and I only think about going on stage! I still have so much to give. I started singing when I was 3; my mother would get me on the table to sing. I didn’t need to do much—everyone is in awe when a 3-year-old girl gives a little show!

I have minor conditions like everyone does, but I’m very active. I do housework, shopping, calls, I take care of my career. I guess that’s what keeps me young.

Thank you for your confidence and enthusiasm, Ms. Gallant!