Martin Stevens (musician)

Martin Stevens is the stage name of Roger Prud'homme[1] (born October 3, 1953), a Canadian pop singer prominent in the disco era.[2] He is most noted as a two-time Juno Award nominee for Best Selling Single, receiving nominations at the Juno Awards of 1979 for "Love Is in the Air"[3] and at the Juno Awards of 1980 for "Midnight Music".[4]

Career

A francophone from Verdun, Quebec, he recorded a number of French-language singles in the 1970s, including "J’aime la musique (Comme un fou)" and "Sans ton amour".[5] His self-titled debut album, released in 1978, consisted entirely of French material except for his cover of Vanda & Young's "Love Is in the Air". His version of the song debuted on the Canadian charts in July 1978,[6] and had already reached #21 by September 9,[7] the week the more internationally familiar version by John Paul Young debuted.[8] The two versions appear to have cut into each other's chart performance; Stevens' version immediately stalled, peaking only at #19 a few weeks later before beginning to decline,[9] while Young's peaked at #26 two weeks later.[10]

Stevens' second album, Midnight Music, was released in 1979 and consisted entirely of English-language songs.[11] The title track was a hit in Quebec, but did not perform strongly on the English Canadian charts. Stevens was a Prix Félix finalist for Male Artist of the Year in 1979, but did not win.

Stevens published an autobiography, Sexe, drogue et disco, in 2007.[12]

References
  1. "Sonne ma cloche! Encore, encore, encore!". Le Devoir, May 2, 2003.
  2. "Winds of change blow through Quebec". Billboard, January 27, 1979. p. C23.
  3. "Juno list has that familiar look". The Globe and Mail, March 21, 1979.
  4. "Complete list of nominees for tonight's Juno Awards". The Globe and Mail, April 2, 1980.
  5. "Quatre décennies de disco". Le Journal de Montréal, April 30, 2017.
  6. "RPM100". RPM, July 22, 1978.
  7. "RPM100 (1-50)". RPM, September 9, 1978.
  8. "RPM100 (50-100)". RPM, September 9, 1978.
  9. "RPM100". RPM, October 14, 1978.
  10. "RPM100". RPM, October 21, 1978.
  11. "Quebec talent back on disk, tour scene". Billboard, December 22, 1979. p. 72.
  12. "La comédie humaine". Métro, April 7, 2008.
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