As a shy kid in elementary school, André-Phillipe Gagnon discovered a way to make his friends laugh.
He could talk like the yellow, bobble-headed canary in Bugs Bunny cartoons.
Gagnon started with Tweety Bird, and grew into voices like Barrie White, Fred Flinstone, the saxophone in the Pink Panther theme, and every one of the 18 famous voices who recorded We are the World for a famine-relief effort in Africa.
Gagnon, known as the Man of 1,000 voices, has built a career from that first Tweety Bird impression as a Canadian comedian and singing impressionist entertainer.
“I started by entertaining my friends, and I discovered it was a way to make friends,” said Gagnon. “When you make them laugh, you don’t have bullies.”
His big break was an appearance on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, where he performed We Are the World as all 18 of the famous singers who recorded it for Africa.
One of his favourite voices is Barry White.
“There’s always a little surprise about Barry White,” he said. “It’s special to hear a guy with a Quebec accent do Barry White.”
His latest show is his own take on the history of rock and pop music. The History of Rock and Roll has Gagnon singing like Mick Jagger, John Lennon, Pharrell Williams, and Bruno Mars.
Aside from the few short lines required for his version of We are the World, he stays away from impressions of the female voice. His own voice is quite low, so the higher registers are challenging.
“You just modify your larynx,” said Gagnon of his talent.
And though he’s has a lot of practice with certain voices, he also challenges himself with on-the-spot impressions.
During his show he gets a volunteer from the audience to sing a song, then Gagnon does an impression of the audience member. Then they sing a duet so the audience can judge the quality of the impression.
“I pay attention to tonality,” said Gagnon. “I also look for something in his face, like teeth, that would modify the sounds of his voice. If he sounds like someone I know, and then goes off tone a bit, I memorize that … to me, it’s almost, I hear the guy sing and my throat places itself on its own.”
Gagnon shares his talent with some teaching at his shows as well. He takes some time at the beginning to teach his audience how to sing like Mick Jagger or Sam Smith.
“It’s an association of sounds I have memorized since I was a kid,” he said. “I blend them together and it produces another voice.”
Gagnon is bringing his History of Rock and Roll show to Collingwood, which will mark his first visit to town.
“I’m really glad to present my show there,” said Gagnon. He said it will be mostly singing impressions with some audience engagement and humour added.
Gagnon will perform in Collingwood on Sunday, June 9 at the Historic Gayety Theatre. Tickets are on sale now here.
