Top Quebec music producer dies at 70

MONTREAL — Quebec music producer Andre Di Cesare, a longtime player in the province’s music industry who helped singer Roch Voisine rise to global success, has died at 70.

His sister, Johanne Di Cesare, confirmed he died in hospital on Sunday.

An important figure in Quebec’s music industry in the 1980s and 1990s, Di Cesare collaborated with the likes of Martine St-Clair, Renée Martel, Nicole Martin, Patrick Norman and Fernand Gignac.

His record label Les Disques Star, or Star Records, distributed many of the artists.

Di Cesare’s work on Voisine’s breakthrough single Hélène helped send the New Brunswickborn bilingual performer skyrocketing up the charts. The song held onto the No. 1 spot on the singles chart in France for nine weeks in late 1989 and early 1990.

Di Cesare also contributed to Voisine’s English-language album I’ll Always Be There as an executive producer.

The producer collected a number of gold records over the decades and continued working at Star Records until his death. He also managed the career of singer-songwriter William Deslauriers in recent years.

“Andre, he lived for music,” his sister said in an interview with the Canadian Press.

“In the last year, he was sick, but he was still working. He followed his artists.”

Di Cesare is survived by his wife and two daughters ages 17 and 22.