death_date death_place years_active birth_place name birth_date instrument background genre article_title birth_name occupation
december 29 , 2008 -lrb- age 74 -rrb- gatineau , quebec , canada 1950s -- 2000s hawkesbury , ontario , canada gerry joly 1934 vocals , guitar solo_singer country gerry joly
 gérald joly musician singer songwriter
gerry joly

gérald `` gerry '' joly -lrb- b. hawkesbury , ontario -- d. 2008-12-29 at age 74 , gatineau , quebec -rrb- was a franco-ontarian country music singer-songwriter .
joly 's career began in the late 1950s , giving small concerts in both english and french throughout ontario .
in 1969 he wrote and composed `` mile after mile '' , a song which featured on his first lp `` gerry joly duo - live at the belle claire '' -lrb- 1970 -rrb- .
the song is best known through orval prophet 's 1971 cover which topped the canadian rpm country charts .
joly also wrote a french version of the song and sang one chorus in french on the aforementioned lp but the french version was made famous by willie lamothe .
it has become a standard for french-speaking canadian country musicians and has been recorded by well-known figures of this genre including patrick norman , renée martel and paul brunelle .
the song has also been performed by celine dion .
joly wrote and sang for more than 50 years and is also remembered for his comedy songs .
joly died on december 29 , 2008 of pulmonary fibrosis at the age of 74 .
