In Remembrance: Eric Leblanc of Let the Good Times Roll
Written by stationmanager on 09/07/2015
Eric Leblanc, photo from Monday Magazine, 1987
Recently Eric Leblanc, our well-loved and respected on-air volunteer of the Let the Good Times Roll and Rollin’ and Tumbin’ radio programs, passed away.
Eric was a legend within the station and blues community, his program ran for over 30 years on CFUV and his incredibly deep knowledge and love of blues, R’n’B and gospel music was brought to every broadcast.
His show was of the highest quality and easily one of the best, if not the best, blues radio programs in North America.
Beyond his tremendous contribution as a programmer Eric was an active and invaluable part of the CFUV community, with many close friends with other volunteers and often acting as a mentor to CFUV staff and volunteers. He was well known for his rowdy sense of humour and warm willingness to talk about the blues, jazz or country music. He was truly a blues scholar, having sat on the Juno Awards Committee for Best Canadian Blues Recording and an authority on blues biographical information, most recently he co-wrote an important book with Bob Eagle, Blues: A Regional Experience.
We send our condolences to Eric’s family and friends and in remembrance of his contribution to the station and the community we will be re-broadcasting a special four-part program produced by Jim Martens and Eric that featured his thoughts and views on the blues in the regular Thursday 10am-11am timeslot of Let the Good Times Roll.
A number of hosts have or will be presenting special programs in remembrance of Eric, including Straight No Chaser and Rhythm-a-Ning. A special broadcast in remembrance of Eric is also in the works for future broadcast.
Sincerely
The CFUV Staff, Volunteers and Board of Directors
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Bill Johnson On 05/08/2016 at 11:24
I’m just crushed this man has passed away. I’m so sorry. As a Victoria based blues artist for 23 years now, Eric always supported my music. We should have been best friends, damn it. This is a tremendous loss for our city, it’s blues fans, and artists. There is no date here to tell me when this happened. I was just going to send him my latest disc when I found this page. Should I be able to help in some way, please let me know, if I’m not too late.
Condolenses to his friends and family.
Bill Johnson
kenneth leblanc On 05/02/2016 at 10:33
HI ERIC WAS MY OLDER BROTHER WE STARTED ON THIS MUSICAL JOURNEY TOGETHER OVER 55 YEARS AGO.I HAVE TRIED TO CONTACT CUIV RADIO BUT WITH NO LUCK.I WOULD VERY MUCH LIKE TO PARTICIPATE IN ANY TRIBUTE TO ERIC.MY TELEPHONE IS 416 760 9370
THANK YOU EVERYONE FOR REMEMBERING A VERY FUNNY SMART AND COOL PERSON.
ONE LOVE KENNY LEBLANC
Tanis On 01/08/2016 at 21:24
Please archive all the shows as far as possible i’ve been a listener for 30 year and this music and knowledge will be missed
Jane Brett On 11/13/2015 at 09:41
Oh Eric! You’ve unexpectedly rolled on! I’m so lucky to have lived during the era when I could enjoy over two decades of your “regional experienceâ€. Our little chats on the phone and the links you sent me to interesting musical sites were always so rich; you had such a wealth of information. You introduced me (a long-time zydeco fan) to Clifton Chenier, “The King of Zydeco,†and (I think) I taught you to say “Nacogdoches†(Texas). I was the lucky winner of your tickets to hear Cesaria Evora, an extraordinary evening ten years ago. Whenever I ran into another fan of yours we always had LOTS to talk about –and we still will. Eric, you were the best! Goodbye, for now and thanks for all the “good timesâ€.
kenneth leblanc On 05/02/2016 at 10:43
ZYDECAJUN MUSIC YEAH MON .BEST WHEN SEEN LIVE.WE LEBLANC ARE ACADIANS FROM NEW BRUNSWICK’IN THE SOUTH WE ARE CALLED CAJUNS
OUR FAMILY HAS A HISTORY WITH MUSIC DATING BACK TO THE TWENTIES 1920’S CHECK DEWEY LEBLANC GOUVENOR OF THE FIND STATE OF LA LOUISIANAN
Connal Whyte On 09/14/2015 at 08:26
Sorry to hear about the passing Eric Leblanc today. Please pass on my
deepest condolences to everone at CFUV. Thursday mornings won’t be the same
without “Let the Good Times Roll”. Eric had the ability to give us those
little pearls of information concerning the subjects he was covering each
show. He really knew how to keep my attention and I was always glued to the
radio when listening every week.
He was the “Host with the Most”.
Thanks
Connal Whyte
Victoria BC
PS: Can you play his B.B. King special again.
KENNETH LEBLANC On 09/10/2015 at 23:07
I am one of ERIC’S brothers and I would like to participate in any tribute.We started this musical journey almost 60 years ago.Please let me know if I can be of service and thank you for acknowledging his contributions.
stationmanager On 09/11/2015 at 12:26
Hello Kenneth,
We’d be delighted to have you participate in the tribute. Please email our Station Manager at rgelling@uvic.ca and we will get in touch, Jim Martens will be helping produce the on-air tribute.
Sincerely
CFUV Staff
Toby Walker On 01/20/2016 at 06:24
Hi Kenneth,
I am not sure if anyone is picking up Eric’s e-mail, but I only recently was told of his passing.
Eric was a huge help to me over the last 15 years or so, so I have posted a page on him at my website.
http://www.soulwalking.co.uk/Eric%20LeBlanc.html
Please accept my condolences. He was a very nice man.
Kind regards,
Toby Walker (Soulwalking)
Joseph Blake On 12/04/2017 at 12:40
Hi Kenneth, I am a friend and fan of Eric. I am also a volunteer fundraiser and hope to create a memorial scholarship in Eric’s name at UVic for music students of popular form like blues, jazz and gospel. Mary and other friends are going to work with me on this project in the new year. It would be great if you could join us. Sno’uyutth! Joseph