Legendary singer Ginette Reno was the guest of honor at the season finale of En direct de l’univers last night and revealed an interesting tidbit. Back in 1968, when the new Forum was inaugurated, Reno sang the national anthem with Paul Anka, and the Montreal Canadiens wanted to thank her with a pair of lifetime tickets, which she turned down. Recalling the event on the show last night, she said:
“I said no, why should I have that? My kids want to kill me for that today; my two boys want to kill me. Today, I’d say yes.”
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It’s funny to think that the singer could have had tickets to the Canadiens’ most glorious decade, but she passed on them. The fact that she says she’d say yes today goes to show how exciting this new iteration of the Habs is.
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The 80-year-old singer was in good enough shape to be the weekly show’s guest, but she said she’s not in as good health today. In a recent interview with 7 Jours magazine, she explained:
I’m healthy, but I don’t have much strength. I’m breaking like porcelain. My back really hurts, I walk with a cane, and I can’t sing standing up anymore. […] There are days when I wake up, and I feel like I have no resources. I’m running on empty with no energy and no strength at all. I’m in bed all day, and it can last two or three days.
– Reno on her health
It’s quite understandable that her days singing the national anthem for the Canadiens’ games are long gone, but she did give the fans some good performances over the years. Especially when she sang the anthems during the 2014 Stanley Cup playoffs in the second round against the Boston Bruins on April 22, 2014, as she got off the ice, she shook Daniel Briere’s hand, and minutes later, the diminutive center was scoring a goal. She returned in 2017 in the series against the New York Rangers, but the Habs ended up losing in the first round.
Ginette Reno – National Anthem – May 6, 2014
Ginette Reno – National Anthem – May 6, 2014 Ginette Reno – National Anthem – May 6, 2014 at the Bell Centre.
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