Gilbert Bécaud

François Gilbert Léopold Silly (24 October 1927 – 18 December 2001), His favourite venue was the Paris Olympia under the management of Bruno Coquatrix. He debuted there in 1954 and headlined in 1955, attracting 6,000 on his first night, three times the capacity. On 13 November 1997, Bécaud was present for the re-opening of the venue after its reconstruction.

Biography

Born in Toulon, France, Bécaud learned to play the piano at a young age, and then went to the Conservatoire de Nice. In 1942, he left school to join the French Resistance during World War II. He began songwriting in 1948, after meeting Maurice Vidalin, who inspired him to write his early compositions. He began writing for Marie Bizet; Bizet, Bécaud and Vidalin became a successful trio, and their partnership lasted until 1950.

In 1952, he married Monique Nicholas. They had three children.

While touring with Jacques Pills as a pianist, Bécaud met Édith Piaf, Pills' wife at the time. He began singing at her suggestion in 1953, with "Mes Mains" and "Les Croix". His first performance came the year after. His hits in the later part of the decade included "La Corrida" (1956), "Le Jour où la Pluie Viendra" (1957), and "C'est Merveilleux L'amour" (1958).

His first hit in the English-speaking world was Jane Morgan's cover version of "Le jour où la pluie viendra" (as "The Day the Rains Came", with English lyrics by Carl Sigman) in 1958. Willie Nelson, Jerry Butler, Sam & Dave and James Brown.

In 1973 he married Kitty Saint-John, with whom he had two children. He died of cancer at the age of 74. The plot of the opera takes place on the Aran Islands, off the west coast of Ireland, although Bécaud had never been to Ireland before.

After the opera's performances, he toured Europe and continued recording a string of pop music hits, including "Crois-moi ça durera" and "Tu le regretteras". He also co-wrote "Love on the Rocks" with Neil Diamond, The Czech writer Bohumil Doležal commented that the song described the guide as a KGB officer. A Russian blogger claimed that guides reported to KGB officers. The song was used to soften the image of the Soviet Union, despite Pierre Delanoë's anti-Soviet views.

His song "Seul sur son étoile" became "It Must Be Him" (with English lyrics by Mack David), a hit in 1967 for the American singer Vikki Carr,

Bécaud turned his focus more toward touring than recording in the 1970s. An example was his live performance at the festival The Golden Orpheus in June 1971 in Communist Bulgaria. He followed this with some acting work and at last finally took time off in 1973, citing exhaustion. In 1974, he was named Chevalier in the Légion d'honneur. The following year, he scored his one and only entry on the UK Singles Chart with "A Little Love and Understanding", Later in the century, he began writing with Pierre Grosz and then Neil Diamond, also penning the Broadway musical Roza with Julian More. on his houseboat on the Seine, and was interred in Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris. Bécaud's song catalogue, running to around 450 songs, is published by BMG Music Publishing.

Bécaud's song "L'Orange" was the featured track in one of the trailers of the movie Léon (aka The Professional) by Luc Besson.

Discography

Albums

Studio albums 1953 : Gilbert Bécaud et ses chansons 1954 : Young Man of Paris in Moods of Love (recorded in New York) 1955 : Récital N° 1 – Mes grands succès 1956 : Alors raconte 1958 : Salut les copains 1959 : Pilou... Pilou... hé 1961 : Tête de bois 1962 : Le Bateau blanc 1964 : Le Pianiste de Varsovie 1969 : L'Un d'entre eux inventa la mort 1972 : Gilbert raconte et Bécaud chante 1974 : Hier et aujourd'hui 1975 : Je t'aime mon frère 1976 : L'Amour c'est l'affaire des gens 1978 : C'est en septembre 1980 : Moi, je veux chanter 1981 : Bonjour la vie 1984 : On attend, on attend 1987 : Le Retour 1989 : Fais-moi signe 1993 : Une vie comme un roman 1996 : Ensemble 1999 : Faut faire avec

Live albums 1955–2002: 15 different albums all live at Olympia

Plus rarities: 1957 : À l'Olympia – no 2 1971 : Récital du festival de l'Orphée d'or 71 (Bulgarian release, with 4 more tracks by Jennifer) 1978 : Au Québec – Récital en direct du Grand Théâtre de Québec 2013 : Concerts inédits 1956–1958

Operas, musical comedies, compositions 1960 : L'Enfant à l’Étoile (cantate de Noël) (with Orchestre Philharmonique, and choir of ORTF) 1962 : L'Opéra d'Aran – (2-act opera, music by Bécaud. But he didn't sing on the tracks) 1965 : Concerto pour piano 1972 : La Répétition 1976 : Heureux comme un poisson dans l'eau (publicité) 1986 : Roza (musical) 1992 : Aran Opéra (double CD on RCA/BMG, recorded live in 1966, sung by Bécaud)

Soundtracks 1971 : La Maison sous les arbres (instrumental) 2007 : Roman de gare

Compilations 1959 : Croquemitoufle (compilation 1953–1958) 1988 : Bécaulogie (9 CD collection) 1997 : Bécolympia (2 CDs, 38 tracks live, 1955–1983) 2003: Bécolympia (re-released with different order of track list and 1 more bonus) 2002 : 50 Ans en Chansons (Long box 3 CDs, many unreleased materials) 2004 : 100 Chansons d'or (4 CDs, with 6 unreleased tracks) 2009 : Best of (3 CDs, 49 tracks) 2011 : Best of Eternel (2 CDs, 46 tracks remastered) 2011 : Anthologie Gilbert Becaud 1953–1959 (edited by Frémeaux & Associés – 2 CDs, 36 tracks chosen by André Bernard) 2011 : Essentiel (12 CD box, 9 studio albums remastered, plus best singles + 2 CDs live (Best of Olympia 1955–1983) + 1 CD of bonus tracks + 64-page booklet of text and rare photos) 2012 : Best of 3 CD (live at l'Olympia + the album Une vie comme un roman + parts from album Ensemble and Fais-moi signe + 3 bonus tracks in German, Sony Music release) 2012 : 100 Chansons (4 CDs, with 8 unreleased tracks from a concert at L’Olympia in 1960)

Singles Emblematic songs and compositions:

1950s "Mes mains" "Les Croix" "Mé qué mé qué" "Les enfants oubliés" "Je t'appartiens" "Les Marchés de Provence" "Le jour où la pluie viendra" "La Ballade des baladins" "Salut les copains"

1960s "Et maintenant" "(Âge tendre et) Tête de bois" "Dimanche à Orly" "Quand Jules est au violon" "Nathalie" "L'Orange" "Quand il est mort le poète" "L'important c'est la rose" "Je reviens te chercher"

1970s "C'est en septembre" "La Solitude ça n'existe pas" "L'Indifférence" "Un peu d'amour et d'amitié"

1980s "Désirée" "L'Amour est mort" "Faut faire avec"

International / local versions 1955: "Je t'appartiens" / "Let It Be Me" (Pierre Delanoë – Gilbert Bécaud) 1957: "Le Jour où la pluie viendra" / "The Day the Rains Came" (Pierre Delanoë – Gilbert Bécaud) 1961: "Et maintenant" / "What Now My Love" (Pierre Delanoë – Gilbert Bécaud – Elvis Presley) 1966: "Seul sur son étoile" / "It Must Be Him" (Maurice Vidalin – Gilbert Bécaud) 1966: "Plein soleil" / "Sand and Sea" (Maurice Vidalin – Gibert Bécaud) 1967: "L'important c'est la rose" / "The Importance of Your Love" (Louis Amade - Gilbert Bécaud) 1972: "Un peu d'amour et d'amitié" / "A Little Love and Understanding" (Louis Amade – Gilbert Bécaud) 1979: "C'est en septembre" / "September Morn" (Neil Diamond – Gilbert Bécaud)

Filmography 1953: Boum sur Paris as Himself 1956: The Country I Come From as Eric Perceval / Julien Barrère 1957: Casino de Paris as Jacques Merval 1959: Croquemitoufle as Bernard Villiers 1960: In 80 Takten um die Welt (TV film) 1962: Girl on the Road as an Air France pilot 1973: Un homme libre as Henri Lefèvre 1974: Toute une vie as Himself 1995: Navarro as Sarkis (French TV series)