By Jeffrey Jolson

HOLLYWOOD, CA (Hollywood Today) 6/8/07 — Musician and filmmaker Tony Roman passed away from liver cancer complications today in Montreal.

Known from Hollywood to France as a vibrant creative force since he was a child star, Roman was busy until the moment of his sudden demise on a decades-long project about the history of the Sunset Strip in Los Angeles. Emails and phone calls were coming in to Hollywood Today at press time, and most appeared to focus on his memorable joie de vivre. As Hollywood manager and filmmaker Judy Palnick said “he was an experience with his distinctive voice and fun character.”

As a singer and later a music producer, Roman’s notoriety goes way back. According to a French Canadian writer, “Tony Roman melted one of the most dynamic companies of the very young (Canadian) music industry. Not only the Canusa label was going it to align successes with the prize list during all second half of the Sixties, but it was going at the same time to propel some careers which were going to mark the following decade: Nanette (Workman), Patrick Zabé, Stephan (Robert), Johnny Farago, without speaking about the future giants of management who were going to become Guy Cloutier and Rene Angelil. Still any young person, Antonio studies the piano and forms its first musical group at 17 years. Occurring under the name of Tony and Tip Signals, it is familiarized with the night life and becomes soon the appointed guide of the idols of youth which are Tony Massarelli and Donald Lautrec. Already appreciated for its scenic presence, it is also smelled attracted by the organisational aspect of the showbusiness and takes part in the realization of recordings of certain young people artists such Denise Brousseau, Pière Sénécal and Baronets. While learning the rudiments from the production and the setting in market, there is itself with the cabaret and serious a first album where he is made the follower of that which one calls Mister 100,000 volts, on Trans-Canada label: “Homage To Gilbert Bécaud”. As of the first hours of the beatlemanie, at the end of 1963, it contributes to make known the British quartet in incentive his/her friends Baronets to engrave their first versions of this repertory of most attractive. At the same time, it interprets itself its own version of the great success of the new idols “It loves you” (She Loves You) with the assistance of same Baronets which take part in it with an overflowing enthusiasm. An album is at once put on sale under the title “Mr Yé Teststemyé” where the new recording côtoie some of the songs of Bécaud in more of its two first 45 turns, engraved without too much success during previous months. The mitigated success of this recording, if one compares with those his comrades, does not leave any doubt with its spirit. Québécois youth, like that passed besides, already to a new stage: from now on, the music of the young people, that it is called rock’n'roll, pop or pop, became a business of groups! Tony trains soon new guides and will present his new disc under the term of Tony Roman and his Dolphins. As of the first passage of the group to the various emissions youth, “C wha diddy diddy” has the effect of a bomb near the record dealers and on the many prize lists. The song, a minor success of Exciters, becomes again soon a number one on a worldwide scale, thanks to its interpretation by Manfred Mann, another formation of the famous British invasion which is done increasingly more imposing. Become one of the heads of poster of the new wave and one of most French canon for Jupiter, the new label à.la.mode of the producer Yvan Dufresne, Tony and his Dolphins repeat and take again with a similar result the new success of Manfred Mann “Sha it”. Extremely of these two successes, Tony takes part in the new review Yé-Yé 65, with Jenny Rock, Michele Richard and Dany Aumont, and undertakes a round with the four corners of Quebec. A short-measuring of Claude Fournier One knows where to enter Tony, but these is the notes whose uncommon title comes from a counterpart of its chorus-singers the Gallant sisters, in connection with the execution of a partition, testifies to this typical round. The career of Romance Tony as singer is then at his top and practically raises of youthful hysteria. Between two series of spectacles and the sessions of recordings for other artists at Laval Records, vibrating it singer finds a few hours for endisquer a new microgroove where one finds, in addition to its two great successes, some winks with the pioneers of rock’n'roll ‘ N roll: the Everly Brothers “When I kiss you” (Till I Kissed You), Gene Vincent “Be Bop A Lula” and Ray Charles “you know it” (What’ D I Say), without forgetting the idols of pop French like Claude François “Of the bread and of butter” and Johnny Hallyday “the penitentiary”. Some original parts, written in collaboration with the lyric writers Gilles Brown and Hal Stanley also find place there, just as an astonishing composition of the pianist-singer “To shout, shout, shout” who would not have clashed at holding of the punk rock’n'roll a dozen years later! With the great surprise of his fans, at the summer 1965, the singer exiles himself during several months in the United States with the intention to touch the pulse of Large Apple and to impregnate à.fond more new sounds which develop to with it. He returns to Quebec the head full with ideas and melts the Canusa company which wants to be opened with the new talents of which obviously its personal discovery, met at the time of its stay in our neighbors of the south, Nanette Workman which is presented then under its simple first name. Tony himself engraves new successes on this label, among which “Hanky Panky”, a number one for Tommy James and the Shondells, at the summer 1966. Choosing especially the styles soul and R&B which then make fury in the large American cities, Tony engraves the Québécois versions of “Mustang Sally” of Wilson Pickett, “Hey Joe” an air very snuffed on the American West coast and popularized by the rising trio of Jimi Hendrix Experience, “Niki Hoeky” of P.J. Proby, “Mercy, Mercy Mercy” of the jazzman Cannonball Adderly and several others, only or in duet with Nanette. This attraction for the urban musics of the time does not prevent it from venturing in ground country with “You can t’en go”, version of a success of George Jones (The Race Is One) and “It is the love which led us to the hotel” (You Never Can Tell, of Chuck Berry). In the swirl of influences and technological lucky finds clean with the euphoria of the pop movement, George Martin and Beatles at the head, the young producer tries in her turn the most dared sound experiments, taking as a starting point the joinings in vogue and other geniuses of the studio like Phil Spector or George “Shadow” Morton. These experiments are used to certain artists of the Canusa house like Hou-Lops, the French revolution or the 25 Regiment, but make especially the object of special albums such “Experiment 9″ which is before all the work of Jean-Pierre Massiera and “the Real psychadéliques ones” which will not have that a success of regard but will open the door with many achievements. On its first personal album published on Canusa, the producer reserves in particular the adaptation of a project that Shadow Morton had initially offered to the Shangri-Mow: “Passed, Present and Future”. Surprisingly, whereas it is interested more and more in formal exploration, Tony returns to more standard melodies for his own recordings like “Mame” or “the bicycles of Belsize”. It is also the case of several titles sung with Nanette: “Small man” and “small things” inter alia, two songs borrowed from the duet Sonny and Expensive or the topic of their weekly emission of the summer 1968, “Flowers of love and friendship” popularized by Johnny Hallyday. In more of divisions Canusa and A1, Romance Tony and his team launch, since 1969, the new labels Révolution, R&B and Visa. The end of the decade is marked by a deceleration of its personal production, with the profit of the careers of the artists who occupy of the increasingly central positions on the market of the disc like Johnny Farago, Patrick Zabé and Stephan. Its last presences with the prize list are done more discrete and know extremely modest sales. In 1971, the resumption of a melody of Ennio Morricone drawn from a film on Sacco and Vanzetti and adapted to the Québécois climate “the ballade of Riel and Chénier” becomes its last radiophonic success. Its participation a few months later in film of Pierre Harel Bulldozer marks the beginning of a new era for this uncommon character. From now on the cinema will replace the music at the same time like disciplines artistic and like sector of businesses. This long silence will be broken only by one short interval in 1975, the time of a last series of spectacles and a success of juke-box for “the Mado gross”. After having passed about fifteen years to California, it joint at the house of production Malo Film on its return to Quebec. After almost thirty years of silence, the recent compilation of its old recordings, appeared at the summer 2000, makes it possible rising generation to keep memory of one of the most spectacular performeurs of this remote time. One of the last projects to which it worked is the coscenarisation of the Camping comedy wild, based on a synopsis of Tony and carried out by Guy A.Lepage, also one of the central actors of film. It undertakes then the production of a docufiction entitled Three Québécois in Vegas and in front of being held in the entourage of Celine Dion, whereas the singer completes her stay of more than four years to the Colosseum theatre, contiguous to Caesars Palace. The production is in hand and turnings began when the scenario writer learns that it is reached of a severe cancer to the faith. It dies out on June eight, 2007, at the moment when its success of youth, “C wha diddy diddy” has been just reactualized by Antoine Gratton on an album paying homage to about fifteen “Songs with Gogo”, time whose Tony will remain one of more blazing the representatives.”

More today as his family and friends end a day of personal remembrance.