Pretty Girl

I rediscovered a song earlier this year called "Pretty Girl" by John Rodrique.

It's a famous song in the James Bay area.

I heard it a lot as a child. My parents played it on the living room stereo or we heard it regularly on Wawatay Radio.

It brings back a lot of memories.

The video

After not having heard it for years, I rediscovered the song when I came across the Youtube video and was surprised to see that the recording is actually a live performance.



I was further surprised to see that the guitarist performing the solos was none other than Jules Spence, my colleague at the time and long-time broadcaster for Wawatay Radio Network.

So I approached him about it and he said they performed Pretty Girl at Jammin' On The Bay, a music festival held in '89 and '90 in Moosonee.

No rehearsal

I told him I listened closely and noticed that the bass was a bit off at times near the beginning. He just laughed and told me why.

"It was done right on the spot," he said. In between sets, Rodrique, of Fort Albany, asked his uncle Jules and bassist Greg Spence to back him up for a new song.
"He just told us 'it's in G' and we did the song," Jules said.
In the video, you can see Rodrique turning his body mid-verse so Greg can see what chords he's playing.

Meanwhile, Jules improvised the leads and melodies.
"I kinda knew the chords, because it's sort of a common progression," he said. Even for when he was supposed to solo, there was no plan. "I just figured we'd do two verses, than a solo, another two verses and another solo. It's a common thing."

Listening to the song though, it's hard to believe its improvised. It's just so well-played and complements the vocals and mood. Great job, Jules.

John Rodrique

The star of performance of course is Rodrique, who composed and sang the song. You can hear the pain in his voice as he bemoans the loss of a girl and attempts to reclaim her.

Rodrique tragically passed in the late-1990's. He was still young, my mom said. "He was about 35." She remembers "he was always a very nice guy."

A performance captured...

It's pretty amazing how the performance was a essentially a jam - one musician saying to others 'I'll sing, here's the key, back me up' - yet it sounds like each part was well-rehearsed.

More amazing that this moment was captured on video. I don't know if Rodrique ever publicly performed Pretty Girl again, but this is the only recording I've ever heard.

And a song remembered

A cousin sent me an mp3 of the performance last week. It's since received regular rotation on my winamp playlist and mp3 player.

Friends from up north still love this song. It also reminds them of their childhood. They say "Yes, this song," if it comes on the radio or stereo, and they'll turn it up. It's listed on their Facebook or Bebo profile as a favourite, where they'll add "RIP John Rodrique."

Pretty Girl is a beautiful song, and the people of James Bay will endear it for a long time.

Thanks John.