Renowned songwriter Stéphane Venne strongly encouraged classically-trained pianist Diane Juster to start writing her own songs in the early ’70s. In 1979, with seven albums to her credit, singer-songwriter Juster won everyone’s heart in Québec with “Je ne suis qu’une chanson,” a powerful and touching ballad sung by the great Ginette Reno – who made the song hers like no one else could. Winner of the Song of the Year Félix Award that year, it was a gigantic hit – as was the album of the same name, which sold more than 350,000 copies in a little over a year. As a founding member of the Société professionnelle des auteurs-compositeurs du Québec (SPACQ) and the Société du droit de reproduction des auteurs, compositeurs et éditeurs au Canada (SODRAC), which was acquired by SOCAN in 2018, Juster has often demonstrated her aplomb and her courage. “Je ne suis qu’une chanson” received the Cultural Impact Award at the 30th SOCAN Awards Gala, on Sept. 22, 2019, at La Tohu in Montréal. SOCAN met with Diane Juster to hear about the impact of this song on her career.