Jen Roger

Real Name: Jean-Roger Marcotte

Jean-Roger Marcotte took part in an amateur evening in 1949 that earned him a long engagement at the Café St-James in Montreal, where he sang under the pseudonym Johnny Rogers. After placing second in CBC's Canada-wide Opportunity Knocks radio contest, he landed a seven-week engagement at the Chez Émile cabaret in Quebec City.
In 1951, he became the master of ceremonies (MC) at El Mocambo and then joined Rose Ouellette's burlesque troupe (La Poune).
In 1953, the song Toi ma riche (Rags To Riches), for which he wrote the French adaptation, became a great success, selling more than 75,000 copies. The head of RCA Victor in Quebec, Hugh Joseph, in anticipation of possible access to the English-speaking market, changed the name of the singer to Jen Roger. His popularity became so great in just a few months that he often had to be escorted.
Other successes would soon follow, such as Le miracle de Sainte-Anne, Marina, La madonna, and many others.
He became the official master of ceremonies of the Cabaret Casa Loma in Montreal in 1954, making sure to present "local talent." In the 1950s, Jen Roger also promoted Quebec artists through her show Le palmarès des chansons on CKAC.
He opened his own club called Ami-Amie Lounge in 1957. Still like M.C., he was also found in many other cabarets and then on television where his greatest successes were Monsieur Banco and Cabaret.
On stage, he performed at Place des Arts and the Palais Montcalm (Quebec) in 1967 before winning the title of Monsieur Radio Télévision the same year. During one of his "Découvertes de Jen Roger" shows, a young 9-year-old toddler made his mark and would later become a star, René Simard.
In the late 1970s, he turned to Florida and took up residence there for several years.