Edith Butler
Edith Butler, born on July 27, 1942, in Paquetville, New Brunswick, is a prominent Acadian singer-songwriter recognized for her contributions to folk music. Growing up in a culturally rich environment steeped in Acadian folklore, she developed a strong affinity for music early on, encouraged by her mother and father. Butler's career took off in the 1960s after a successful performance at her college, leading her to build a repertoire of Acadian folk songs. In 1969, she released her debut album, "Chansons d'Acadie," marking the beginning of an international career that included extensive touring in Canada, the United States, and Europe.
Beyond her music, Butler has been influential in the industry, co-founding a record label and a publishing company to support fellow artists. Her work has earned her numerous accolades, including induction into the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame and appointments as an Officer of the Order of Canada. Butler continues to be celebrated for her significant impact on the preservation and promotion of Acadian culture through her music and artistry.
Subject Terms
Edith Butler
Singer-songwriter
- Born: July 27, 1942
- Birthplace: Paquetville, New Brunswick
Contribution: Édith Butler is a singer-songwriter and folklorist who specializes in Acadian traditional legends and ballads. She was inducted into the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2007 for her song “Paquetville.” She also was also featured on a Canadian postage stamp issued in 2009 as part of its Canadian Recording Artists series and was a recipient of the Governor General’s Performing Arts Award for lifetime achievement in popular music. Butler is the subject of the National Film Board of Canada documentary Edith Butler: Daughter of the Wind and Acadie (2009).
Early Life and Education
Butler was born Marie Nicole Butler on July 27, 1942, in Paquetville, New Brunswick. She grew up in the Canadian portion of Acadia, the northeastern North American lands that once constituted part of the French colonial empire of New France. Her birthplace, Paquetville, a village of six hundred people, was steeped in the folklore of the Acadian tradition, highlighted by handed-down stories and songs about elves and fairies.
Butler’s mother, Lauretta Godin, instilled a love for music in her daughter at an early age, while her storytelling father, Johnny, taught her all about trees and forest animals. He also owned a wood mill and passed along his woodworking skills to his daughter. As a child, she dreamed of marrying a gentleman farmer and being a farm wife or teacher.
When Butler was three years old, she began playing her mother’s piano. She was also encouraged to learn the violin and accordion. An extremely shy child, it was not until 1962, while attending the Collège Notre-Dame d’Acadie in Moncton, that Butler was persuaded to perform three songs at a student amateur night. The enthusiastic reaction kick-started her career, and by 1964, she had started building up a repertoire of Acadian folk songs.
From 1964 to 1966, Butler was a teacher of math and science. She pursued a master’s degree from Laval University in Quebec, studying the ethnography of her people. She paid her way by singing in music clubs and on local radio and television shows. Eventually, Butler began appearing at major folk festivals in the United States and Canada.
Career
In 1969, Butler released her debut album, Chansons d’Acadie (Songs of Acadia). The following year, she spent six months giving performances at the World Exposition in Osaka, Japan, where she made numerous connections in the Canadian music industry and finally decided to pursue music as her profession.
In 1974, Butler and several other female singers started a record label, SPPS. The following year, she founded Arcadia Publishing. By then, her 1973 deal with Columbia Records in Canada had launched her career internationally. She toured extensively in Ireland, Britain, Canada, the United States, France, Switzerland, and Belgium, playing major music festivals, making television appearances, and gaining a large following, especially in France.
Butler has produced nearly thirty records. She has received many awards through the years, including appointment as an Officer of the Order of Canada in 1975, induction into the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame (2007), and lifetime achievement awards from the Helen Creighton Folklore Society (1997) and the Governor General’s Performing Arts Awards Foundation (2009). She has also appeared on a Canadian postage stamp and been featured in the NFB documentary Edith Butler: Daughter of the Wind and Acadie (2009).
Personal Life
Butler married Robert Grenier, a marine archaeologist. She has used the woodworking skills she learned from her father to make a chapel, a garage, a writer’s house, an aviary, and a barn on their lands.
Principal Works
Chansons d’Acadie (Songs of Acadia), 1969
Avant d’être dépaysée (Before being displaced), 1973
L’Acadie s’marie (Acadia marries), 1974
Je vous aime ma vie recommence (I love you my life resumes), 1976
L’Espoir (Hope), 1978
Asteur qu’on est là (We’re here now), 1979
À Paquetville (At Paquetville), 1981
Je m’appelle Edith (My name is Edith), 1981
De Paquetville à Paris (From Paquetville to Paris), 1983
Un million de fois je t’aime (A million times I love you), 1984
Le Party d’Edith (Edith’s party), 1985
Et le party continue! (And the party goes on!), 1986
Party pour danser (Dance party), 1987
Ça swingue (It swings), 1992
Madame Butlerfly, 2003
Bibliography
“Édith Butler.” Governor General’s Performing Arts Awards. Governor General’s Performing Arts Awards Foundation, 2013. Web. 30 July 2013.
Edith Butler: Daughter of the Wind and Acadie. Dir. Monique LeBlanc. Prod. Jacques Turgeon. NFB, 2009. National Film Board. Web. 31 July 2013.
“Edith Butler, Songstress of Acadia.” CBC Digital Archives. CBC, 2013. Web. 30 July 2013.
Montague, Tony. “Montreal’s Edith Butler Is an Icon among Acadians.” George Straight. Vancouver Free Press, 17 June 2004. Web. 30 July 2013.
Rioux, Christian, Suzanne Thomas, and Sarah Church. “Edith Butler.” Canadian Encyclopedia. Historica-Dominion, 2012. Web. 30 July 2013.