Claude François (February 1, 1939 in Ismaïlia, Egypt - March 11, 1978 in Paris) was a French pop singer and songwriter, best known outside France for writing "Comme d'habitude," the original version of "My Way. Events 1327 - Teenaged Edward III is crowned King of England, but the country is ruled by his mother Queen Year 1939 ( MCMXXXIX) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Ismaïlia (الإسماعيلية is the Capital of Al Isma'iliyah Governorate. This article is about the country of Egypt For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Egypt topics. Events 1425 BC - Thutmose III, Pharaoh of Egypt, dies (according to the Low Chronology of the 18th Dynasty Year 1978 ( MCMLXXVIII) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link displays the 1978 Gregorian calendar) Paris (ˈpærɨs in English; in French) is the Capital of France and the country's largest city This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. Pop music as a genre features a noticeable rhythmic element catchy melodies and hooks, a mainstream style and conventional structure Comme d’habitude (French for As usual) is a French song written in 1967 by Claude François and Jacques Revaux with lyrics by Claude " My Way " is a song with lyrics written by Paul Anka and popularized by Frank Sinatra. "
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Biography
Early life
The son of an Italian mother and a French father, Claude François was born in Egypt, in the city of Ismailia, where his father, Aimé François, was working as a shipping traffic controller on the Suez Canal. Italy (Italia officially the Italian Republic, (Repubblica Italiana is located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe, and on the two largest This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. This article is about the country of Egypt For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Egypt topics. Ismaïlia (الإسماعيلية is the Capital of Al Isma'iliyah Governorate. Shipping is physical process of Transporting goods and Cargo. The Suez Canal is a Canal in Egypt. Opened in 1869 it allows Water transportation between Europe and Asia without circumnavigation In 1951 the job took the family to the city of Port Tawfik on the Red Sea. Year 1951 ( MCMLI) was a Common year starting on Monday. Events of 1951 January The Red Sea is a Salt water Inlet of the Indian Ocean between Africa and Asia.
Claude François's mother was very musical and had her son take piano and violin lessons. Music is an Art form in which the medium is Sound organized in Time. The piano is a Musical instrument played by means of a keyboard that produces sound by striking steel strings with Felt covered hammers The violin is a bowed String instrument with four strings usually tuned in Perfect fifths It is the smallest and highest-pitched member On his own, the boy learned to play the drums. The drum is a member of the percussion group technically classified as a Membranophone. As a result of the 1956 Suez Crisis, the family returned to live in Monaco, where they struggled financially after Claude's father fell ill and could not work. Year 1956 ( MCMLVI) was a Leap year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The Suez Crisis, also referred to as the Tripartite Aggression, (أزمة السويس - العدوان الثلاثي Crise du canal de Suez מבצע קדש Kadesh For other uses see Monaco (disambiguation Monaco, officially the Principality of Monaco ( French: Principauté de Monaco; Monégasque A young Claude found a job as a bank clerk and at night earned extra money playing drums with an orchestra at the luxury hotels along the French Riviera. An orchestra is an instrumental ensemble, usually fairly large with string brass woodwind sections and possibly a percussion section as well The French Riviera (Côte d'Azur Occitan: Còsta Azzura) is one of the most famous resort areas in the world extending along the Mediterranean Sea west With a good but untested singing voice, he was offered a chance to sing at a hotel in the fashionable Mediterranean resort town of Juan-les-Pins. Juan-les-Pins is a town in the commune of Antibes, in the Alpes-Maritimes, in southeastern France, on the Côte d'Azur, which is part His show was well received and eventually he began to perform at the glamorous night-clubs along the Côte d'Azur. A nightclub (or "night club" or "club" is a drinking, dancing, and entertainment venue which does its primary business after dark The French Riviera (Côte d'Azur Occitan: Còsta Azzura) is one of the most famous resort areas in the world extending along the Mediterranean Sea west While working the clubs, he met Janet Woolcoot, an English dancer whom he married in 1960. Dance (from French danser, perhaps from Frankish) is an Art form that generally refers to movement of the body usually rhythmic
Professional career
Ambitious, Claude François moved to Paris, where there were many more opportunities to pursue his career. At the time, American Rock and Roll was taking hold in France and he took a job as part of a singing group in order to make a living. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Rock and roll (also known as rock 'n' roll) is a form of Music that evolved in the United States in the late 1940s and early 1950s with roots in mostly African With the goal of eventually making it as a solo act, he paid the cost to record a 45rpm. A gramophone Trying to capitalize on the American dance craze "The Twist", Claude François recorded a song titled "Nabout Twist" that proved a resounding failure. Undaunted, in 1962 he recorded a cover version in French of an Everly Brothers song, "Made to Love" (aka Girls Girls Girls). Year 1962 ( MCMLXII) was a Common year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1962 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. In Popular music, a cover version, or simply cover, is a new rendition ( Performance or Recording) of a previously recorded commercially released The Everly Brothers ( Don Everly, born Isaac Donald Everly February 1 1937 Brownie Muhlenberg County, Kentucky Written by Phil Everly, it had been only a minor hit in America, but Claude François' rendition titled "Belles Belles Belles" rocked to the top of the French charts, selling close to two million copies and making him an overnight star.
Under a new manager, Claude François' career continued to blossom. In 1963 he followed the first success with another French adaptation of an American song. This time, recording "If I Had a Hammer" in French as "Si j'avais un marteau". " If I Had a Hammer ( The Hammer Song)" is a song written by Pete Seeger and Lee Hays. Claude François met Michel Bourdais who was working for the well-known French magazine "Salut les Copains" in English as "Hi Buddies". He liked the rigor and the precision of Michel’s drawings and asked him to draw his portrait. This drawing has remained very famous until now. Capitalizing on his blond good looks, he mimicked Elvis Presley's stage style as well as the slicked-back hair. Performing in sequined suits, François gave high-energy stage performances that had hordes of adoring teenage fans racing to the music shops to purchase his latest record or lining up to buy a ticket for his shows.
In 1964 he headlined at the Paris Olympia, a sign that he had arrived. Paris Olympia is a Music hall at 28 Blvd des Capucines in the 9th arrondissement Paris, France. At the end of that year Claude François created original new dance steps and Michel Bourdais drew them. For the first time, they brought up the idea of setting-up a show with female dancers. In January 1965, while returning from a trip to Las Vegas, Claude Francois fascinated by the American shows decided to take them as a model and eventually the project of performing on the stage with a female dancer band became clear in his mind.
A dedicated professional, Claude François worked hard to achieve success producing a string of massively popular hit songs and touring constantly. With the onslaught of Beatlemania, he covered their hits in French, adjusted the hair style a little and kept his success moving ahead. The Beatles were a pop and rock band from Liverpool, England formed in 1960 But his talent for kitsch extended beyond copying the works others had made famous, and he wrote songs for himself and displayed a melodic voice doing romantic ballads.
In 1966, François created a complete new stage act using four female dancers as backup. Year 1966 ( MCMLXVI) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar of the 1966 Gregorian calendar. Named "Les Clodettes," the sexy girls danced in the background while François did his own energetic work center stage. In a return to the Paris Olympia he added eight musicians and a full orchestra to his backup dancers, putting on a spectacular show that filled every seat in the large theater and left fans standing in the street for lack of tickets.
Divorced from his wife, in 1967 he began a relationship with Eurovision-winning singer France Gall. Year 1967 ( MCMLXVII) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar of the 1967 Gregorian calendar. France Gall (born Isabelle Genevieve Marie Anne Gall on 9 October 1947 in Paris) is a popular French Yé-yé singer Their affair was short lived and he soon met Isabelle Forêt, with whom he had two sons in two years. Flushed with enormous success and confidence, he established his own record company. In 1968, he and Jacques Revaux wrote a song in French called Comme d'habitude ("As Usual"), which became a hit in Francophone countries. Jacques Revaux (born Jacques Abel Jules Revaud July 11 1940 in Azay-sur-Cher, Indre-et-Loire, France) is a songwriter most famous Canadian singing star Paul Anka reworked it for the English-speaking public into the now legendary hit most famously sung by Frank Sinatra as "My Way". Country to "Dominion of Canada" or "Canadian Federation" or anything else please read the Talk Page Paul Mustapha Abdi Anka, ( Arabic: بول مصطفى عبدي أنكا OC (born 30 July 1941, in Ottawa, Ontario) is a Francis Albert "Frank" Sinatra (December 12 1915 &ndash May 14 1998 was an American singer and actor " My Way " is a song with lyrics written by Paul Anka and popularized by Frank Sinatra.
He is to note that he is also the original interpreter of "Parce que je t'aime, mon enfant" (Because I Love You My Child) in 1971, who, remained confidential in France, was taken back by Elvis Presley under the title "My Boy".
Although Claude François continued his successful formula of adapting English and American rock and roll hits for the French market, by the 1970s the market had changed and the disco craze that swept North America took root in France. This article is about the Decade 1970-1979 For the Year 1970 see 1970. For the versatile François, this was not a problem. He simply re-invented himself as the king of French disco, recording "La plus belle chose du monde," a French version of the Bee Gees hit record, Massachusetts. The Bee Gees were a singing trio of brothers — Barry, Robin, and Maurice Gibb.
Looking for new talent, he came across a sing-ing family of two sisters and their cousins. These ladies became known as "Les Fleschettes" (named after "Fleche", the production label he owned. ) He produced a couple of albums for them before his death. The ladies went on to sing for some of the pre-eminent stars in European music.
He worked non-stop, touring across Europe, Africa and at major venues in Quebec in Canada. Quebec (kwɨˈbɛk However, his workload caught up with him in 1971 when he collapsed on stage from exhaustion. After a brief period off, he returned to the recording studios, releasing several best-selling hits throughout the early 1970s. He expanded from owning his own record company to acquiring a celebrity magazine and a modeling agency. A modeling agency is a company that represent fashion models, to work for the fashion industry Although driven to achieve financial success, in 1974 he organized a concert to raise funds for a charity for handicapped children and the following year he participated in a Paris concert to raise funds for medical research. By the mid-1970s he was single again, dating several well-known European stars. This article is about the Decade 1970-1979 For the Year 1970 see 1970. He continued to perform while overseeing his numerous business interests. In 1975, while in London, he narrowly escaped death when an IRA bomb exploded and two years later a fan tried to shoot him. Year 1975 ( MCMLXXV) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. London ( ˈlʌndən is the capital and largest urban area in the United Kingdom. The Irish Republican Army ( IRA) (Óglaigh na hÉireann was a military organisation descended from the Irish Volunteers, established 25 November 1913 and who In 1977 and 1978, more than 15 years after his first hit record, he was still topping the musical charts with multi-million sales from hits such as "Alexandrie Alexandra" (this one was issued on the exact day of his burial) and performing to large audiences. Also 1977 (album by Ash. Year 1977 ( MCMLXXVII) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays Year 1978 ( MCMLXXVIII) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link displays the 1978 Gregorian calendar)
Death
After working in Switzerland, on Saturday, March 11, 1978 he returned to his Paris apartment in order to appear the next day on "Rendez-vous du Dimanche" with TV host Michel Drucker. Switzerland (English pronunciation; Schweiz Swiss German: Schwyz or Schwiiz Suisse Svizzera Svizra officially the Swiss Confederation Events 1425 BC - Thutmose III, Pharaoh of Egypt, dies (according to the Low Chronology of the 18th Dynasty Year 1978 ( MCMLXXVIII) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link displays the 1978 Gregorian calendar) Michel Drucker (born 12 September 1942) is a popular French Journalist and TV host While standing in a filled bathtub, he noticed a broken light bulb. His well-documented obsession with cleanliness and order got the better of him, prompting him to try and fix it. He was accidentally electrocuted. At only 39 years of age, his early death brought a wave of public sympathy for a national French star.
Claude François owned a home near the village of Dannemois in the Essonne departement about 35 miles south of Paris. Dannemois is a village and a commune in the Essonne département, in the French region of Île-de-France Essonne is a French department in the region of Île-de-France. It was a place where he liked to escape to relax in the quiet countryside and it was there that he was interred, in the local cemetery.
On March 11, 2000, on the 22nd anniversary of his death, Place Claude-François in Paris was named in his memory, right in front of the building where he died. Events 1425 BC - Thutmose III, Pharaoh of Egypt, dies (according to the Low Chronology of the 18th Dynasty 2000 ( MM) was a Leap year that started on Saturday of the Common Era, in accordance with the Gregorian calendar.
See also
Notes
References
External links
- My Way : original lyrics
Adapted from the article Claude François from Wikinfo, licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. The GNU Free Documentation License ( GNU FDL or simply GFDL) is a Copyleft License for free documentation designed by the Free Software
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