Obituary: Life lessons from the ‘cool’ mother of musician Dan Lanois
If Gilberte (Jill) Lanois had not indulged her sons Bob and Dan in building a recording studio in her home, who knows what might have happened.
Lanois allowed her sons to build a studio in the basement of her home on Robina Road in Ancaster in 1968. The brothers charged local bands $60 for making recordings.
Trouble was, the drum booth was beneath her bedroom. The boys knew they were trying their mom's patience, but they also knew she was in their corner.
My mother believed in her children and if her children were interested in something she would automatically be there for us, no matter what," said Bob Lanois.
Jill Lanois, also the mother of musician Jocelyne Lanois and the late chef-restaurateur Ron Lanois, died at Wentworth Lodge in Dundas on Oct. 7 at 90.
The brothers went on to establish the now-famous Grant Avenue Studio in Hamilton in 1976 with friend Bob Doidge, a facility that has recorded stars such as Gordon Lightfoot and Johnny Cash.
Bob Lanois, who lives in the Waterdown area, became a sound engineer, music producer and harmonica player. His album Snake Road' was released in 2006.
Dan Lanois, who has homes in Toronto, Los Angeles and other places, gained international attention in the 1980s. He became what Spec music writer Graham Rockingham in 2013 called one of the most important record producers in the history of popular music" who was behind the sound of massive stars such as U2 and Bob Dylan. The Juno winner has won 11 Grammys.
Jocelyne Lanois, who lives in Los Angeles, played with such bands as Crash Vegas and Martha and the Muffins, and has scored music for documentaries and movies.
Ron Lanois, who used to cook for musicians playing at his mother's home, trained to be a chef and owned Ron's Big Easy, a popular Cajun eatery on Locke Street South. Ron died in 2003. His mother managed the restaurant.
Bob Lanois said his mother was an inspiration to everyone who crossed her path ... I was a lucky guy. My greatest achievement was to see my mother nearly every single day of my life."
Doidge, who now owns Grant Avenue Studio, and has known the Lanois family since he was a kid, called Jill Lanois the greatest person." He noted teens don't normally hang around the parents of friends, but said Jill Lanois was different.
Jill was incredibly supportive of everything that happened in that house and she worked very hard," Doidge said. When she was around, you wanted to talk to her. She was cool."
Jill Lanois was one of 13 children born to factory worker Moise and homemaker Aurore Charrette in Gatineau, Que. She arrived Feb. 28, 1930. She met Guay (Guy) Lanois, a carpenter, on a double date in 1945. They married and their first child was Bob in 1948, followed by Dan in 1951, Ron in 1954 and Jocelyne in 1959
Music was an important part of growing up a Lanois. Jill played piano and sang, and family members would get together and perform. That spread to the children.
You had to be ready to be called upon to stand up and sing full voice, even a cappella," Bob Lanois told The Spec in 2007.
Jill Lanois brought her brood to Hamilton in 1961 when her marriage broke up. Her brother Paul lived here. The family knew only a little English and Bob said it was like moving to another country.
One thing about my mother, she was the bravest person I know," he said.
They first settled in the North End and then in the downtown, before moving to Ancaster in 1965. For a time, the family lived in a one-bedroom apartment. The three boys slept in the bedroom and Jill and Jocelyne slept on the couch. Jill ran a hair salon out of the apartment.
She worked at a hair salon at Centre Mall and, when she moved to Ancaster, she opened Jill's Boutique on Wilson Street, beside the town hall. She operated it for about 20 years. She moved to Dundas in the early 2000s and lived on Elgin Street in a house built in 1849.
Dan Lanois held many jobs, including being a Spectator carrier, before he settled into music. A 2007 Spec article attributed his work ethic and fearlessness to his mother.
These instincts kick in early," he said. It's like, OK, mom is Superwoman' but where's the money coming from, who's looking after it? We didn't have a father around the house, we had to play those roles."
Dan Lanois took his mother to Ottawa in 2013 when he received a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Governor-General's Performing Arts Awards.
Jill Lanois is survived by her children Robert, Daniel, Jocelyne, and grandson Simon. She was predeceased by son Ron in 2003 and partner Nick in 2012. Her former husband Guay died in 2010 at 87.
Reach The Spectator newsroom at 905-526-3420 or news@thespec.com