Patsy Gallant -

Patsy Gallant (born August 15, 1948) is a Canadian singer from New Brunswick who moved from child-performer work with the Gallant Sisters into a bilingual solo career during the late 1960s.

She first built her profile on Quebec television and French-language releases, then broke wider in the mid-1970s with the Canadian and UK hit “From New York to L.A.” and the Canadian chart singles “Sugar Daddy” and “Are You Ready for Love” / “World of Fantasy.”

Between 1972 and 1984, she issued a dozen albums on Columbia, Attic, Barclay, CBS, and related labels. Her peak run paired polished studio craft with dance-floor momentum and made her one of the more visible Canadian female recording artists of the period.

Background

Patsy Gallant was born Adrienne Gallant on August 15, 1948, in Campbellton, New Brunswick, into an Acadian family with ten children. Her mother placed four daughters into performance work early, and Patsy joined sisters Angeline, Florine, and Ghislaine in The Gallant Sisters while still a child. The family moved to Moncton and made local radio and television appearances, then shifted to Montreal, where the sisters worked fairs, cabarets, and nightclub dates across Quebec.

Gallant left the sister act in 1967 and opened her solo run with the single “La Musique et la Danse.” That release brought television spots on Music Hop, Discothèque, Jeunesse Oblige, and later Smash. She also appeared at Montreal’s Place des Arts with Charles Aznavour and Donald Lautrec, while building a songwriting circle that included Yves Lapierre, Judi Richards, Denis Forcier, Jean-Guy Chapados, and Ken Owen. In 1968, Gallant cut the Barclay single “Mister Lewis” (b/w “Tout à la Fois (Best of Both Worlds)”), produced and arranged by Paul Baillargeon.

Patsy resurfaced with the 1970/71 singles “Maman ne m’a pas dit” and “Nous irons ensemble,” the last tied to the Y’a plus de trou à Percé soundtrack. In 1971, she took a regular role on Radio-Canada’s weekly variety show Smash, where she began the Christine Charbonneau partnership that fed her next phase.

Are You Ready for Love

Patsy Gallant released Are You Ready for Love in July 1976 on Attic.

The album blends medium-tempo love songs, airy ballads, and brighter uptempo turns. The title track and “Sugar Daddy” ride clipped rhythmic motion and sleek thematic figures. “I Love You in the Morning” engages in slow, suspended harmony and soft-focus sentiment. “From New York to L.A.” electrifies with star-studded ambition and dance-floor fervor.

“World of Fantasy” opens on slightly dissonant violins, then settles into a misted orchestral pulse shaped by harp, glockenspiel, and glistening Fender Rhodes e-piano. Gallant hovers over the verses with breath-light lines of yearning and limerence. “Angie” reveals serious concerns about a distant loved one. Throughout, she sings with a light, high register that moves from intimate phrasing to a fuller crest.

Her backing band features guitarist Denis Forcier, keyboardist Dwayne Ford, bassist Jack August, and ex-Sharks drummer Marty Simon. She harmonizes with Harmonium member Monique Fauteux and Renée Claude sidewomen Mary Lou Gauthier (of Toulouse) and Sharon Lee Williams.

A1. “Are You Ready for Love” (3:46) — Bellotte, Rix; medium uptempo soft pop (in B♭) with slick chords, subtle string sweep and light disco rhythmic undercurrent.
A2. “I Love You in the Morning” (3:28) — Gallant; piano ballad (in B) with baroque strings and dinging triangle.
A3. “From New York to L.A.” (4:53) — Williams, Vigneault; opens with humble piano/vocal arrangement that heralds an upbeat disco showtune (in G) with jovial verses and a flamboyant marquee chorus.
A4. “Sugar Daddy” (4:11) — Miller; soft, breezy disco-pop number (in A) with sensual vocals about the subject: “keep me nice and warm in your big strong arms… I got a craving for you.” Intense, percussive middle-eight (in D minor) with abrupt vocal counterpoint.
A5. “Precious Love” (3:35) — Gallant; brass-triggered poignant mid-tempo number (in F) about romantic longing with alert bass/piano rhythm; climaxes with exuberant use of octave range.

B1. “World of Fantasy” (4:13) — Gallant; misty ethereal ballad of romantic longing with forlorn vocal heartbreak; fades into raindrops with ghostly call-and-response. Tingling undercurrents on the verse (Fmaj7→F6) and rested semi-tones on the chorus (E♭maj7→B♭→Cmaj7) give the sentiment a soft suspended glow. One line, “I imagine you in bed with me,” adds a frank erotic note inside the song’s dreamy romantic design.
B2. “It’s Raining This Morning” (4:06) — Gallant; a breezier number (in Cmaj7) where she sings of romantic optimism with soft disco backing through hopeful verses and soaring refrains.
B3. “I’ll Never Let You Down” (3:07) — Zwart; humble number (in C) with Latin percussion across standard e-piano keys and a reggaefied chorus.
B4. “Angie” (3:33) — Gallant; impassioned call-out to a troubled long-lost friend who returns at the end; tight West Coast pop arrangement (in F) with tangy guitar and moderate drive.
B5. “Together Again” (2:58) — Gallant; buoyant song about romantic hope with shimmering string intro and soaring harmonized vocals.

Gallant recorded most of Are You Ready for Love at Studio Tempo in Montreal with co-producer Ian Robertson and engineer Paul Pagé, who worked in sequence on albums by Et Cetera (self-titled) and Mahogany Rush (IV). “From New York to L.A.” and “Angie” drew on sessions at Studio Six, Listen Audio, and Studio Tempo before a remix at Studio Tempo.

Attic illustrator David Wyman designed the red-black scheme cover, which shows Patsy posed in a wind-blown red gown for Gérard Gentil, whose photography also graces 1974–76 sleeves for Brutus, Crack of Dawn, Dr. Music, Mo Koffman, and the breakthrough Rush release 2112.

“From New York to L.A.” appeared as the lead single (b/w “Angie”) and reached No. 6 in Canada. The following year, it matched that position on the UK Singles Chart.

Attic lifted “Are You Ready for Love” as a second single with “World of Fantasy,” which reached No. 16 on the Canadian RPM. “Sugar Daddy” became the third single (b/w “It’s Raining This Morning”) and reached No. 9 in Canada.

Discography: