René Angélil, CM OQ (French pronunciation: [ʁəˈne ɑ̃ʒeˈlij]; January 16, 1942 – January 14, 2016) was a Canadian singer and manager. He was the husband and former manager of singer Celine Dion until his death.
Angélil started out as a pop singer in the 1960s in Montréal, Angélil formed a pop rock group, “The Baronets”, with childhood friends Pierre Labelle and Jean Beaulne. They were known as “Québec’s Smithtones”[citation needed] by the name of Les Baronnets. This group had some hits in the 1960s as “C’est fou, mais c’est tout” Video on YouTube (a translation of the Beatles’ song “Hold Me Tight”) catering to the Quebec market for translations of English-language pop hits from the United Kingdom or the United States. After the dissolution of the group, Angélil and best friend Guy Cloutier began managing artists.
Together they managed the career of two successful Québec entertainers René Simard and Ginette Reno, among many other pop stars of the time. They parted ways in 1981 to each become solo managers. At the end of 1980 (not long after being replaced as Ginette’s manager) René heard Celine Dion’s demo tape. In 1987 and 1988, he won the Félix Award for Manager of the Year. In July 2008, Angélil was named the “principal” for the reality television show Star Académie’s fourth season in 2009;[3] he filled the principal role in the show’s two separate runs
