Ginette Reno singing "O Canada"
A letter from listener Bill Templeman in Peterborough, Ontario, recommended that we play Ginette Reno's performance of "O Canada" on April 20, 2014, at the Bell Centre before Game 3 of the Stanley Cup 1st round playoffs between the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Montreal Canadiens.
Ginette Reno's heartfelt performance of "O Canada"
In response to Robert Harris's "musical biography of "O Canada" on a previous program, Bill Templeman in Peterborough, Ontario sent this:
"Robert Harris did not play the quintessential version, the one that can still, despite my non-existent nationalism, cause me to blink back tears.
That would be the version of "O Canada" sung on April 20, 2014, by the incomparable Ginette Reno at the Bell Centre before Game 3 of the Stanley Cup 1st round playoffs between the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Montreal Canadiens.
Reno had almost died in January of that year due to a heart attack, and she was not expected at the arena that night. But in response to a request from Michel Terrien, then the Habs coach, and with the endorsement of her cardiologist, she sang live for her team and 21,000 fans.
Could you please play a few bars for your listeners?
By the way, the Canadiens went on to sweep the Lightning in 4 games that year, and then, with Ginette Reno singing "Oh Canada" for all home games, they went on to beat the hated Boston Bruins in 7 games to reach the conference finals. Oh Canada indeed."
That would be the version of "O Canada" sung on April 20, 2014, by the incomparable Ginette Reno at the Bell Centre before Game 3 of the Stanley Cup 1st round playoffs between the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Montreal Canadiens.
Reno had almost died in January of that year due to a heart attack, and she was not expected at the arena that night. But in response to a request from Michel Terrien, then the Habs coach, and with the endorsement of her cardiologist, she sang live for her team and 21,000 fans.
Could you please play a few bars for your listeners?
By the way, the Canadiens went on to sweep the Lightning in 4 games that year, and then, with Ginette Reno singing "Oh Canada" for all home games, they went on to beat the hated Boston Bruins in 7 games to reach the conference finals. Oh Canada indeed."
That was from Bill Templeman in Peterborough, Ontario. Here's Ginette Reno talking to Heather Hiscox of CBC News, about that moment.
