Réginald Charles Gagnon, known as Cayouche (born 7th January 1949^[1]), is an Acadian singer-songwriter of Acadian French country music. He was born in Moncton, New Brunswick on the eastern coast of Canada.

Early life

At the age of thirteen, Cayouche left eastern Canada with his mother to go live in the suburbs of Boston, Massachusetts, in the United States.^[2] He later joined the United States Marine Corps when he was 19. While serving, he took part in the Vietnam War. However, he never went into combat.^[3][4] When his military service was over, he returned to Leominster, Massachusetts where he married and had two sons, Joshua Paul Gagnon (1972) and Jason Charles Gagnon (1973) and spent the next ten years living there. In 1979, he returned to Canada and went as a nomad with his back pack and his guitar, taking the first small step into his country-folk music career.

Career

His nickname comes from the United States. He says that people would tell him: "t'es pas Acayen t'es Acayouche", meaning "you're not Acadian, you're Acayouche". "Acayouche" later became "Cayouche", which is now his nickname.

Even before the release of their first album in 1994, a Radio-Canada team had noticed that the Cayouche phenomenon was already alive and well in the Acadian Peninsula. About 25 years later, in the same place, again almost all people passing by know Cayouche and his character.^[5]

Thanks to his first album, Cayouche made a phenomenal entry into the music market in Acadia. Reaching a sales figure of more than 15,000 copies in a fairly small market, the album "Un vieux hippy" is surely part of the record collection of most Acadian families. Cayouche, a very simple musician, sings the everyday routine in his slightly coarse voice. Shortly after the release of the album "Un vieux hippie", fans who attended his shows could sing their hearts out to all of the lyrics of his songs such as "La chain de mon Tracteur", "Exporter“ A "or even "The kids kick". The album "An Old Hippy" surely contains many of the new classics of Acadian songs.^[6]

Especially known for his uniting and festive performances, the singer has maintained a constant popularity throughout Canada and Europe. The "Cayouche phenomenon" gets people from all generations singing and dancing, touching the hearts of the young and old in almost every song. He is among the few Acadian popular artists in history to have sold more 100,000 albums.^[7]

Among his biggest hits are Export A, La chaine de mon tracteur, L’alcool au Volant, Fume Fume, C’est ça mon Acadie and La reine du bingo. Cayouche, who now lives in Maisonnette, New Brunswick, was the subject of a documentary film entitled "Cayouche, Le Temps d'une bière" or in English: "Cayouche : Time for a beer” by Maurice André Aubin in 2009.^[8]

Concerts and festivals

• Outdoor Concert Extérieur - Memramcook, New Brunswick, Monument-Lefebvre Parking Lot (September 26 2020)
• CMA Show August 2019 – Moncton, New Brunswick – Riverfront Park
• The Lobster Trap – Moncton, New Brunswick – The 63
• Back to School 2015 – Moncton, New Brunswick – The 63
• Cayouche / Menoncle Jason – Moncton, New Brunswick – Le Coude
• 1755 / Bois-Joli / Cayouche -Shediac, New Brunswick – Festival Arena^[9]
• Grey Rock Casino 2019 – Edmundston, New Brunswick^[10]
• Festival Western 2017 – Bonaventure, Canada^[11]
• Festival Country of St-Georges 2019 – Quebec, Canada^[12]
• Concert 2019 – Madawaska County, New Brunswick – The Grey Rock Casino^[13]

Discography

• Un Vieux Hippy (released, 1994)
• Moitié-moitié (released, 1996)
• Roule, roule (released, 1999)
• Last Call (released, 2003)
• Le rappel (released, 2011)
• Les Meilleures Tounes (released, 13 December 2019)^[14]

Top Songs

• La chaîne de mon tracteur
• La 6 49
• Grand-Père Jos
• L'alcool au volant
• La Reine du Bingo
• Fume Fume
• Export "A"
• La crotte dans la pipe
• Le frigidaire
• Dans la city
• Le bon vieux temps
• Viens faire un tour
• Écoutez^[16]

Filmography

• Cayouche, Le Temps d'une bière (2009)^[17]
• Pour l'amour du country (2001–2012)^[18]

Record Labels

• Production Péninsule^[19]
• Production JGC57^[20]

References

Further reading

• Cayouche – Wikipedia (français)