by Sophie Laurent and Li Robbins
CBC Radio's A Propos celebrates the diversity and beauty of francophone music, and has been doing so for 25 years.
It all began when songwriter Jim Corcoran was asked to interview Joni Mitchell, back in 1988. The success of that interview led to Corcoran becoming the host of A Propos, a show designed to introduce a primarily anglophone audience to the great wealth of francophone music. (Scroll down for a video of Corcoran on his 25 years.)
To mark the show’s silver anniversary, CBC Music has a special A Propos stream, featuring Corcoran’s essential francophone songs from the last quarter-century. He took on the monumental task of choosing 250 essential francophone songs from Quebec and Canada, especially for the stream.
Gems include songs by Jean Leloup, Daniel Bélanger, Lhasa and Karkwa, just to name a few. You’ll find the A Propos 25th Anniversary stream in the special stream box under web radio stations, to the right. Or just click play, below.
PLAYClick the play button to listen to the A Propos stream.
As host of A Propos, Corcoran has always been searching for the best songs created and performed in French.
“For the past 25 years, I’ve had the privilege of discovering and sharing the best of francophone music with the entire country on CBC Radio's A Propos,” says Corcoran. “Through great songs, superb live performances, indelible portraits, provocative interviews and revealing translations, I’ve been able to give listeners a very personal and in depth appreciation of both the song and songwriter.”
Watch Corcoran in conversation with CBC Montreal's Pierre Landry as he speaks about his 25 years as host of A Propos, his selection of essential francophone songs and the exclusive recordings of 10 essential songs by amazing singers from Quebec in CBC Montreal’s Studio 12.
Tune in to A Propos to hear Corcoran’s short list of 10 essential songs that surfaced during the 25 years of his program on CBC Radio. And all through the month of April, he'll be featuring exclusive recordings of these songs by 10 influential voices in the francophone community. You can watch them on CBC Music as of April 5.
Related:
Jim Corcoran's 10 essential francophone songs
A Propos: Guitar-driven songs from Quebec and the French world