José Sébéloué, singer, musician and one of the founding members of the Compagnie Créole group, died on Sunday morning at the age of 74.
The production team announced the news in a press release the same day. “José died peacefully this morning [dimanche] in France with his loved ones,” it reads there.
The group’s founding member, best known for his songs “It Makes the Birds Laugh,” “It’s Good for Morale” and “The Masked Ball,” began his musical career in his native Guyana in the 1970s. At the time he was part of a group called Pop Corn.
In 1975 he traveled to France, where he was involved in founding the Compagnie Créole. He can be heard on the band’s albums as a singer as well as a guitarist and drummer.
Mr. Sébéloué made his final career tour in Quebec last March. The group was also scheduled to perform in the province in recent days.
“The shows that Compagnie Créole was scheduled to perform in Quebec had to be canceled at the beginning of the week as the other members of the group flew to Paris to be at their sickbed,” Martin Leclerc of Productions also announced in the press release.
José Sébéloué was born on September 17, 1948 in Guyana.