Karl Tremblay, lead singer of the Cowboys Fringants, died Wednesday at age 47, his group announced Wednesday. In 2020, he was diagnosed with prostate cancer.
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“It is with indescribable sadness that we announce Karl’s departure. He was an exemplary fighter in the face of illness and a role model for all of us,” the group announced on its Facebook page in a message signed by the other members of the quartet, Marie-Annick, Jean-François and Jérôme.
“We would like to thank everyone who has shown us their love over the last few years. Your support has encouraged us,” they added.
The announcement of his cancer in the summer of 2022 surprised the Quebec music scene and the group’s admirers and sparked a huge outpouring of love and support.
Less than a year later, Marie-Annick Lépine, also a participant in the training, announced that the chemotherapy was no longer working and that her partner had to undergo new treatments.
The group finally returned to touring again in the summer of 2023. However, the group’s leader’s fragile health forced sporadic concert cancellations.
Development within the Cowboys Fringants
Karl Tremblay founded Les Cowboys Fringants with Jean-François Pauzé (guitarist and lyricist), whom he met in September 1994 during the training camp of the Repentigny Jets ice hockey team. In 1995 the duo composed their first album, “12 Grandes Chanses”.
The singer then dropped out of college to pursue his passion and his group, which had a taste of success in 1999. But especially with “Break syndical” in 2002 and “La grande Messe” in 2004, the group would reach the top of the charts and additionally register as a large and important group in Quebec.
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Their sophisticated, nostalgic songs and with a pinch of humor captivate and conquer the hearts of the audience, but also of commercial radio stations. For his part, Karl Tremblay has inherited the reputation of a true leader and entertainer in the concert arena.
In the following years, the group continued its rise throughout the French-speaking world, selling more than two million albums nationwide and performing to always very large audiences, often breaking attendance records at external events such as festivals.
Les Cowboys Fringants, winners of around twenty Félix Prizes, also shared the stage with the Montreal Symphony Orchestra in 2017 for four legendary concerts conducted by Maestro Simon Leclerc at the Maison Symphonique. They were also treated to a Cirque du Soleil tribute show in 2019, which ran for a month at the Cogeco Amphitheater in Trois-Rivières.
In May 2023, the group received the National Assembly Medal of Honor and numerous honors from serving elected officials.
The musical group is committed on stage as in life and founded the Cowboys Fringants Foundation in 2005, which focuses on conservation projects and the protection of threatened ecosystems in Quebec.
A passion for video games
During his career, Karl Tremblay was a contributor to the M.Net show, hosted by Denis Talbot and broadcast on MusiquePlus, where he reviewed video games.
Since 2016, he has also been co-owner of the independent studio Triple Boris, which specializes in the development of video games, mobile applications and animated videos.
He had two daughters with the multi-instrumentalist Marie-Annick Lépine.
15 remarkable songs
- “At half mast” – “Union break”, 2002
- “The Demonstration” – “Union Break”, 2002
- “Nothing more” – “La Grande Messe”, 2004
- “8 Seconds” – “La Grande Messe”, 2004
- “Autumn Melody” – “Union Break”, 2002
- “Shooting Stars” – “La Grande Messe”, 2004
- “The Queen” – “The Great Mass”, 2004
- “My friend Rémi” – “Union Break”, 2002
- “Straight Ahead” – “The Expedition”, 2008
- “Oak and Reeds” – “The Expedition”, 2008
- “America cries” – “The Antipodes”, 2019
- “Merchant Navy” – “October”, 2015
- “On My Shoulder” – “The Antipodes”, 2019
- “Paris – Montreal” – “Que du vent”, 2011
- “Between Two Taxis” – “The Expedition”, 2008