Jean-Pierre Ferland dies at 89 [Video]

Quebec singing star and cultural icon Jean-Pierre Ferland died on Saturday at the age of 89.

The man who left his mark on Quebec with the song “Une chance qu’on s’a” died of natural causes, according to his agency. He had been hospitalized on Feb. 14 at CHSLD Desy, in Saint-Gabriel-de-Brandon, in the Lanaudière region.

Born in Montreal on June 24, 1934 — a date that predisposed him to become an emblematic figure of Quebec culture — Ferland had given a “final concert” at the Bell Centre on Jan. 13, 2007, officially ending his 42-year career. But he didn’t disappear from the stage, not by a long shot.

He then took part — with Céline Dion and Ginette Reno, among others — in a concert on the Plains of Abraham in 2008 to mark the 400th anniversary of Quebec City, and in a tribute to him at the Théâtre Saint-Denis …