Background
Paul Joseph Lorieau was born the youngest of 7 children on June 29, 1942 in Legal, Alberta to Henri and Alexandrine Lorieau. Both of his parents had musical backgrounds, his mother playing the violin, and his father a "natural tenor".
Paul Joseph Lorieau was born the youngest of 7 children on June 29, 1942 in Legal, Alberta to Henri and Alexandrine Lorieau. Both of his parents had musical backgrounds, his mother playing the violin, and his father a "natural tenor".
He was of French-Canadian descent. Around 1981 Lorieau had sent in an audition tape in a search for a new anthem singer in Edmonton at the request of Oilers media relations director Bill Tuele. Although the anthem singer at the time had already been selected, the tape from Lorieau, which had been sent in late as he had been in New York City at the time, had been considered and he ultimately ended up being given the job.
In response to the Canadian National Anthem being booed at the beginning of Game 5 of the 2006 National Hockey League Western Conference Semifinals in San Jose, when playing the next game in Edmonton, the Canadian crowd responded in their own fashion.
At the beginning of Game 3 between the San Jose Sharks and the Oilers, he sang only a few lines of "O Canada" before letting the audience sing the rest of the song without him. On March 23, 2011, Lorieau announced that he would retire at the end of the season.
On April 8, 2011 when the Oilers played their final home game of the regular season, he performed in front of a sold-out Rexall Place one final time. A special pre-game ceremony was held to honour the Oilers longest-standing anthem singer and to give Oil Country a chance to salute Paul for 30 great years.
On July 2, 2013, Lorieau died in hospice of metastatic esophageal cancer, surrounded by his family.
