The guy who sings all the songs on the radio
What: André-Philippe Gagnon Where: McPherson Playhouse When: Tuesday, 7:30 p.m. Tickets: $59.50 at rmts.bc.ca, 250-386-6121 or the Royal McPherson box office Note: Gagnon also performs at Nanaimo’s Port Theatre on Oct. 4 and Campbell River’s Tidemark Theatre on Oct. 6 At one point in his career, impressionist André-Philippe Gagnon was known as the man of 1,000 voices. He turned the corner on 2,000 a decade ago, by constantly adding new impressions of singers into his act.
The number continues to grow. If he factors into the equation his arsenal of celebrities, politicians and actors — not to mention the paying customers he has parodied during performances throughout his three-decade career — the French-Canadian funnyman would put his tally of voices in the 4,000 to 5,000 range.
That’s a huge number for any impressionist, but many put Gagnon in a class by himself. He differs from his contemporaries in that he mimics the singing voices of famous performers, rather than their speaking voices.
Plenty of comics can tackle Michael Jackson’s famously high-pitched way of speaking, he said, but only a few can adeptly mirror his singing voice.
When he got his start in the mid-’80s, impressions of the King of Pop were all the rage. But Gagnon found that once he had his Jackson impression down, comedy bits featuring others who fell into the same range — such as James Brown — came pouring out. The payoffs are still coming: Yet another Jackson soundalike, Uptown Funk superstar Bruno Mars, has been added to Gagnon’s set.
Though he makes an effort to include material from the stars of today (Ed Sheerhan, Charlie Puth, Sam Smith), his audience is primarily those who want to relive the hits of yesteryear. Bill Haley, Elvis Presley, The Beatles, Gordon Lightfoot, Ray Charles and Bob Dylan are staples of his set.
“Musical memories are very strong. When I reproduce a song, it triggers something.”
The key is to cover a song the audience instantly recognizes. “It’s a lame joke if only 30 per cent of the people know the song,” Gagnon said. “If I do Frank Zappa, people might think, ‘Who is he doing?’ I have to make sure they are popular and the people know what the artists sounds like. That’s my main preoccupation.”
One of the country’s most enduring performers — it has been 32 years since he made his American television debut on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson — he was brought in to entertain Canadian troops stationed in Afghanistan for a Canada Day performance in 2011. Joining the high-ranking Canadian politicians in attendance was a general in the Afghanistan army. He was quite a serious fellow who was not easily moved to laughter, Gagnon recalled.
Gagnon thought briefly that the booking was a mistake. “He wasn’t a bass player in a rock band who decided at 21 to become a soldier in Afghanistan. He was probably groomed to be a general from his early days. For him, music is not like it is for you and I.”
A funny thing happened after what turned out to be a well-received performance, however. Canadian Army general Walter Natynczyk relayed a message to Gagnon, saying that his Afghan counterpart really enjoyed the act, but wondered how officials had managed to get the guy who sings all the songs on the radio to come and perform. “For him, on the radio there was a guy who did the news and a guy who sang all the songs,” Gagnon said with a laugh.
He doesn’t simply do voices; Gagnon can mimic a saxophone and machine gun with startling accuracy. But his calling card is undoubtedly vocal illusions. Those with raspy voices, such as Rod Stewart or Joe Cocker, are difficult to reproduce these days without causing damage to his vocal cords, however. On tour, he does them in small doses.
“I have to be careful. High-pitched voices and women’s voices will always be tough for me to produce, because you have to stress your muscles. You can’t do those voices for hours, just a little excerpt.”