Singer Marie King is mentioned in the Canadian Encyclopedia's "Country Music" entry as one of the musicians who followed in the footsteps of artists like Bobby Hachey, Marcel Martel, Paul Menard, Roger Miron, Ti-Blanc Richard, and Oscar Thiffault in popularizing country music in Quebec. Marie was married to Bob King of The Happy Wanderers, and toured with him both as a husband-and-wife duo and as two members of a larger ensemble named The Family Brown, while he also acted as her manager and producer.

This album also has one side by Julie King, who I'm guessing is Marie's sister, but Marie's a much better singer. She had a gold record with "Allo Mon P'tit Bobby," but I wasn't crazy about that tune. "Les Cloches de ma Valee" is my favourite song on the album, a yodelling number where Marie really lets 'er rip, especially towards the end. Unfortunately, this record isn't in the best of shape, and there's a small skip in the middle of this song I couldn't get rid of. "Ma Petit Carole" is a pretty traditional country number, but I like the fade-out, a two-note guitar refrain in the best olde-tyme country music tradition.

La Cloches de ma Valee
Ma Petit Carole

(found by Kevin McGowan)

This is another collection of Marie King songs (called Disque D'or, which was a series of Greatest Hits albums on Trans-Canada records). It features a few more great songs. Ensemble Pour Toujour is a slower ballad number, but Marie Anne is a full-on country barnstormer, with great fiddle work and a super plucky bassline (seems a shame it's only 1:40 long).

Marianne
Ensemble Pour Toujours