Even more covers of Beau Dommage's '23 décembre'

This mural depicting Beau Dommage, one of Québec's most popular 1970s bands, is the cover of their eponymous first album, which features '23 décembre'. All past band members are in the picture and still alive today. The mural is located in Montréal behind 6760, rue de Saint-Vallier, where award-winning band member Robert Léger used to live in 1972. This address is also included in the lyrics of the song 'Tous les Palmiers' ('All the palm trees'). Alongside Rush, The Guess Who and The Tragically Hip, Beau Dommage are featured on Canadian stamps from 2013, to give you an idea of their popularity.

'23 décembre' from 1974 written by band member Pierre Huet is sung from a young boy's perspective during the 1950s when French Canadians in Québec where still treated as second-class citizens despite being a majority in the province. The use of 'joual' (Québécois slang) had been slowly introduced in music in the 1970s to accurately reflect how people talked instead of using awkward 'Radio Canada' French.

The song also came on the heels of the Quiet Revolution, a time when, after having been oppressed for centuries, a Québécois identity started to emerge and flourish. Beau Dommage made music in French that was on par with anything English-speaking Canada was releasing and helped pave the way for tons of artists to sing in French freely.

Here's a live version of the original by Beau Dommage. Notice how young and old know the song off by heart. A country version by Paul Daraîche with actual Beau Dommage band members Michèle Derosiers and Michel Rivard joining in. A faithful and playful version by Steven & Steeven (now 120e rue).