Song:From New York To L.A.
Album:Greatest Hits
Patsy Gallant had success mostly in her native Canada. But From New York To L.A. was a worldwide hit mostly in dance clubs. Patsy's music was never released in the US and that's why the song never charted there. She was born Aug. 15, 1948 in Campbellton, NB. As a child, she sang with her sisters as The Gallant Sisters. She moved to Montreal and in her early days, she mostly sang jingles. But she also starred in the Radio-Canada TV variety series Smash. This led to a record deal with Columbia Records Canada. She recorded the 1972 album Upon My Own with producer Yves Lapierre and musicians like Doug Riley and Steve Kennedy of Dr. Music. The single Get That Ball charted in Canada. She recorded a couple of French albums and then recorded the 1974 album Power in Nashville with producer Bob Gallo. Columbia dropped her and Patsy signed with the Canadian label Attic Records. The 1976 album Are You Ready For Love was distributed worldwide by EMI but the US branch chose not to release it. The album was produced by percussionist Ian Robertson and pianist Dwayne Ford, drummer Marty Simon and guitarist Robert Cohen played on the album. Patsy arranged the vocals. From New York To L.A. was a top ten hit in Canada, England, Ireland, South Africa, Norway and Australia. And it was a big dance hit. But there was also controversy. The song is based on the Quebec separatist anthem Mon Pays written and recorded in 1964 by Gilles Vigneault. The vapid English lyrics were credited to Gene Williams. When the record was released, folks in Quebec were outraged that someone would do this to an iconic song like Mon Pays. And Vigneault disowned it. Patsy writes a lot of her own songs. They had to know that this would be controversial in Quebec. So it wouldn't surprise me if Gene Williams is a phony name. Sugar Daddy was Patsy's other top ten hit in Canada. This comp from Unidisc has all her hits. Patsy married Dwayne Ford and the two produced more music. But disco was dead by the mid-80s and Patsy moved to Paris to appear in musical theater. She had a successful run in the 90s appearing in the Luc Plamondon show Starmania. She moved back to Canada in 2005 and it looks like she also has a residence in France. She has appeared as a mentor on the French TV talent contest show Star Academy. Here's the video for From New York To L.A. by Patsy Gallant.
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