Prince Edward Island’s Acadian duo Sirène et Matelot, made up of Lennie Gallant and Patricia Richard, are offering radio stations the song “Johnny Hallyday”, an excerpt from their latest album “Un monde de dissonance”.
A song born of friendship
This song was born of a special commission from legendary American songwriter Jimmy Buffett to Lennie Gallant. Buffett and French rock star Johnny Hallyday were great friends, both residing part of the year on the island of Saint-Barthélemy in the French West Indies.
As Lennie Gallant explains, “Jimmy Buffett had ancestors from Eastern Canada and was always trying to improve his French. His friendship with Johnny Hallyday certainly contributed to this interest. Hallyday’s death in 2017 deeply upset him, and that’s what prompted him to ask me to help him write a song in his honor,” says Lennie Gallant.
Jimmy Buffett knew that Lennie had spent time in Saint-Barthélemy himself, and that he was familiar with the island’s iconic locations and special atmosphere. So he sent him videos of Johnny’s grave – now a place of pilgrimage – and other landmarks, as well as sharing precious memories of their friendship.
From this collaboration first emerged an English-language song, “Johnny’s Rhum”, which appears on Jimmy Buffett’s posthumous album, Equal Strain On All Parts. Before his death, Buffett encouraged Lennie to create a French version of the song for Sirène et Matelot’s most recent album, Un monde de dissonances. Lennie Gallant and Patricia Richard, deeply touched by Jimmy Buffett’s passing, coincidentally on the very day of their album launch on September 1st, 2023.
The team
The song “Johnny Hallyday” was written by Jimmy Buffett, Lennie Gallant, Mac McAnally and Patricia Richard, and the music was composed by Jimmy Buffett, Lennie Gallant and Mac McAnally. The musicians are Lennie Gallant (vocals, guitar), Patricia Richard (vocals, mandolin), Davy Gallant (guitar, banjo, backing vocals), Gilles Tessier (electric guitar), Simon Blouin (percussion), Rémy Malo (bass guitar) and Gabriel Ethier (keyboard). The song, like the entire album, was produced by Davy Gallant with the help of Sirène and Matelot, and released on the Acadian label Le Grenier musique.
