Network: Société Radio-Canada (SRC) TV Network
Broadcast Run: 1968
Broadcast Medium: Television
The first edition of Bye Bye, the New Year’s Eve program that marked the end of the calendar year and the start of the New Year, dates back to 1968. The year-end parody of the highlights of 1968 was done by the singers Donald Lautrec and Marthe Fleurant, as well as the impersonator Claude Landré and Françoise Lemieux.
The show was then broadcast every year from 1968 until 1996. However, due to the resignation of the Bye-Bye 1997 team members, the special was not broadcast that year, and in its place, a retrospective of previous Bye-Bye shows was aired. In 1998, Daniel Lemire took charge of the entire Bye-Bye organization. This was the last special aired, until 2006 when Radio-Canada hired the group Rock et Belles Oreilles to conceptualize a new Bye-Bye format, to celebrate the show’s 25th birthday, followed by that of 2007.
Before being called Bye-Bye, the concept was called Salut ’57! which was broadcast on December 31, 1956. Over the next three years, from 1959 to 1961, the program Au p’tit café presented the year-end review. Other shows, such as Zéro de conduite, Ça va éclater! and Les Couche-tard were also used as vehicles for doing the year-end review specials.
The actress and comedian Dominique Michel participated in no less than 17 Bye-Bye shows throughout her career, including the 1997 special, 30 fois Bye-Bye.
Written by Yvon Chouinard – February, 2006