Roger Doucet

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Roger Doucet, CM (21 April 1919 – 19 July 1981) was a Canadian tenor best known for singing the Canadian national anthem, "O Canada", on televised games of the Montreal Canadiens, Montreal Alouettes, and Montreal Expos during the 1970s. He was particularly known for his bilingual version of the anthem, which began in French and ended in English, in recognition of the two languages of Canada.

Career

Doucet's first performance of the national anthem at a Canadiens game was on 13 October 1970. Author Andrew Podnieks noted that Doucet "belted the anthem with an enthusiasm that energized the crowd as much as any Lafleur slapper or Robinson hip check."

During the inaugural Canada Cup tournament, Doucet was scheduled to sing the national anthems at a game between Czechoslovakia and the Soviet Union on 3 September 1976. However, the lyrics for "Hymn of the Soviet Union" were omitted since the mid-1950s due to their Stalinist content. Doucet consulted with the Université de Montréal's Russian department staff who provided a modified anthem to sing at the game. These lyrics were approved by the Soviet Union the following year for use in its national anthem.