French sangster From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
France Gall (born Isabelle Geneviève Marie Anne Gall on 9 October 1947; died 7 Januar 2018) wis a popular French yé-yé sangster.
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| France Gall | |
|---|---|
France Gall Eurovision Song Contest 1965 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Isabelle Geneviève Marie Anne Gall |
| Forby kent as | France Gall |
| Born | 9 October 1947 Paris, Fraunce |
| Oreigin | Paris, France |
| Deid | 7 Januar 2018 (aged 70) |
| Genres | Yé-yé, pop, synthpop |
| Thrift | Sangster |
| Years active | 1963–1997 |
| Labels | WEA France Philips France |
| Associate acts | Michel Berger, Serge Gainsbourg |
Gall wis marriet tae, an haed a successfu singin career in pairtnership wi, French sangster-sangwriter Michel Hamburger, whose stage name is Michel Berger.
Gall wis born in Paris. Her faither wis leericist Robert Gall, an her mither, Cécile Berthier, wis the dochter o Paul Berthier, co-foonder o Petits Chanteurs à la Croix de Bois. (This made her cousin tae guitarist Denys Lable an componer Vincent Berthier de Lioncourt, as well as niece tae Jacques Berthier.) The sole dochter o her faimily, she haed twa brithers, Patrice an Claude.
In spring 1963, Robert Gall encouragit his dochter tae record sangs an send the demos tae muisic publisher Denis Bourgeois. That July, she auditioned for Bourgeois at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées in Paris, efter which Bourgeois wantit tae sign her immediately. France wis subsequently signed tae Philips.
At the time, Bourgeois wis wirkin for the label as Artistic Director for Serge Gainsbourg an assumit this role for Gall as well. He encouragit her tae record fower tracks wi French jazz muisicker, arranger an componer Alain Goraguer.
The first airplay o France's first single "Ne sois pas si bête" ("Don't Be So Stupid"), occurred on her 16t birthday. It wis released in November an became a hit, selling 200,000 copies.[1] Serge Gainsbourg, who haed released several albums an written sangs for singers includin Michèle Arnaud an Juliette Gréco, wis asked bi Bourgeois tae write sangs for Gall. Gainsbourg's "N'écoute pas les idoles" ("Don't listen to the Idols") became Gall's seicont single; it reached the tap of the French charts in Mairch 1964 an stayed on tap for three weeks.
At the same time, Gall made her live debut, openin for Sacha Distel in Belgium. She teamed up wi Distel's business manager, Maurice Tézé, who wis a leericist an aw. This alloued her tae creaut a oreeginal repertoire, unlik the majority o her contemporars ("yéyés") who sang adaptations o Anglophone hits. Housomeivver, unner the influence frae this team o muisic veterans, Gall struggled tae defend her personal choice o material.
In addeetion tae sangs written bi her faither, Gall's success in the 1960s wis biggit on sangs written bi some o the biggest names amang French componers an leericists: Gérard Bourgeois, Jean-Pierre Bourtayre, Vline Buggy Pierre Cour, Joe Dassin, Jacques Datin, Pierre Delanoë, Jean Dréjac, Alain Goraguer, Hubert Giraud, Georges Liferman, Guy Magenta, Eddy Marnay, Jean-Michel Rivat, Jean-Max Rivière, Frank Thomas, Maurice Vidalin, André Popp, Gilles Thibaut, an Jean Wiener.
Gall's sangs eften featurt lyrics based on a stereotypical view o the teenage mind. Elaborate orchestrations bi Alain Goraguer blendit styles, permitting her tae navigate atween jazz, childer's sangs, an onything in atween. Examples of this mixed-genre style includit "Jazz à gogo" (leerics b Robert Gall an muisic bi Goraguer) an "Mes premières vraies vacances" (bi Datin-Vidalin).
Gall an Gainsbourg's association produced mony popular singles, continuin throu the simmer o 1964 wi the hit sang "Laisse tomber les filles" ("Niver Mind the Girls") follaeed bi "Christiansen" bi Datin-Vidalin. Gainsbourg secretly recordit Gall's lauchter tae uise on Pauvre Lola an aw, a track on his 1964 album Gainsbourg Percussions.
Regardin her association wi Gainsbourg at this time, Gall said, "This is someane A haed the pleasur tae see acause A admired him an likit wha he wrote. An A likit his shyness, his elegance an his eddication. It wis a vera pleasant relationship. . . . A wis vera impressed that this man wirkit for me an cared aboot me . . . "[2]
Haein previously resistit, Gall gae in tae her managers at the end o 1964 an recordit a single intendit for childer. The sang "Sacré Charlemagne," written bi her faither, an set tae the muisic o George Liferman, wis a hit in 1965, sellin 2 million copies an peakin at nummer ane.[3]
Gall wis then selectit tae represent Luxembourg in the Eurovision Song Contest 1965. Oot o the 10 sangs proponit tae her, she chose Gainsbourg's "Poupée de cire, poupée de son."[4] On 20 Mairch 1965, Gainsbourg, Gall, an Goraguer attendit the feenals o the sang contest in Naples, whaur the sang wis "allegitly booed in rehearsals for strayin so far frae the sort o sang uisually heard in the Contest at this point."[5]
Awtho the delivery durin the live shaw mey no hae been Gall's strangest performance—ane creetic writes that Gall's performance wis "far frae perfect",[6] anither notes that her vyce wis oot of tune an her complexion pale,[7] an when Gall cried her lover at the time Claude François immediately efter the performance, he shoutit at her, "You sang aff key. You wur terrible!"[8]—the sang impressed the jury an it teuk the Grand Prix.[9] Success at Eurovision ensured that Gall became even mair kent ootside Europe an she recordit "Poupée de cire, poupée de son" in French, German, Italian, an Japanese. Thare appears tae be nae Inglis version released bi France Gall hersel, awtho thare wis a Inglis civer bi the Inglis 1960s starn Twinkle.[10]
Sylvie Simmons, in her biografie o Gainsbourg, wrote that on the surface, the sang appears tae be naething but catchy Eurovision fodder, but "closer examination revealed perspicacious leerics aboot the airnies an incongruities inherent in baby pop. That the sangs young fowk turn tae for help in their first attempts at discoverin wha life an luve are aboot are sung bi fowk too young an inexperiencit thairsels tae be o hintle assistance, an condemned bi their celebrity tae be unlikely tae suin fynd oot."[11] At a young age, France Gall wis too naïve tae unnerstaund the seicont meanin o the leerics. But later on she felt she wis manipulatit an uised bi Gainsbourg throuoot this period, maist notably efter the sang "Les Sucettes".
In the simmer o 1965, France Gall toured Fraunce for several months wi "Le Grand Cirque de France" ("The Great Circus o Fraunce"), a combination o radio shaw an live circus. Her singles continued tae chairt successfully, includin the Gainsbourg-penned "Attends ou va-t'en" ("Wait for me, or go awa") an "Nous ne sommes pas des anges" ("We are no angels"). She haed a hit wi the sang "Amérique" ("America") bi Eddy Marnay an Guy Magenta an aw.
Stewart Mason sums up this early period o Gall's career, culminatin in the Eurovision win:
[A]lthough many dismissed Gall as a Francophone Lesley Gore, making fluffy and ultra-commercial pop hits with little substance, Gall's hits from this era stand up far better than most. Only Francoise Hardy was consistently making records up to these standards during this era. Though Gall's high, breathy voice was admittedly somewhat limited, she made the most of it. Even dopey hits like "Sacre Charlemagne," a duet with a pair of puppets who were the stars of a children's show on French TV, have an infectious, zesty charm; meatier tunes, like the sultry jazz-tinged ballad "Pense a Moi" and the brilliant rocker "Laisse Tomber les Filles," were as good as any single produced in the U.S. or Great Britain at the time.[12]
Efter a TV film directit bi Jean-Christophe Averty an dedicatit tae the sangs o Gall wis distributit in the Unitit States in 1965, Gall wis socht bi Walt Disney tae appear as Alice in a muisical film version o Alice in Wonderland, efter haein awready made Alice intae a cartoon in 1951. Awtho Gall haed insistit she did no want tae acome involvit in film wirk, this wis the anerly project which appealed tae her. The project wis cancelled efter Disney's daith in 1966.
In 1966 Gall appeared in the telly film Viva Morandi, made in the same psychoanalytical mould as the (1965) Federico Fellini film Giulietta degli Spiriti ("Juliet o the Spirits"). Gall played "La Grâce" alangside Christine Lebail who plays "La Pureté", baith singin Les Sucettes in a segment which wis prominently labelled "Fantasy", in a clear reference tae the sang's sexual unnertones.
She wis approached bi director Bernardo Bertolucci for the leadin female role in Last Tango in Paris (1972). Housomeivver, she firmly rejectit this affer.
Gall ance again considered appearin on screen in 1993 for a cinematographic collaboration wi her best friend, the screenplay writer Telsche Boorman. Lik the Disney film, this planned project wis niver completit due tae the daith o Boorman in 1996.
In a featur film titled Gainsbourg (Vie héroïque) released in Fraunce in Januar 2010, which is based on the graphic novel bi the writer-director of the film, Joann Sfar, Gall is portrayed bi Sara Forestier.
At the beginnin o 1965 Gall released Baby pop, anither sang written bi Gainsbourg, but whose dark unnertones are no easily perceivit when ane hears the sang as sung bi the then 18 year-auld girl. Housomeivver, the unnertones in her next hit song wur no sae easily missed, an caused a scandal when it wis released. Gainsbourg deliberately filled the sang Les Sucettes ("Lollipops") wi double-meanins an strang sexual innuendo. On the surface, the leerics tell the innocent tale o a girl namit Annie who enjoys lollipops. Housomeivver, it is clear that Gainsbourg intentionally creatit the theme as a metaphor for oral sex. Awtho a big hit, the sang sat in stark contrast tae genuinely innocent sangs on the same album sic as Je me marie en blanc ("White Weddin") an Ça me fait rire ("It maks me lauch").
Even some o her childer’s sangs recordit in 1966, for example, Les Leçons particulières ("private lessons"), hae no been spared pernicious assumptions. It wis no helpful when Jean-Christophe Averty choreographed a troupe o men on aw fowers tae illustrate her childer's sang J'ai retrouvé mon chien ("A'e foond ma dug") on his telly program Les Raisins verts ("Green grapes").[13]
At the beginnin o the year 1967, Gall sang a duet wi Maurice Biraud, La Petite, which describes a young girl covetit bi a friend o her faither. The controversy ower this performance owershadaeed her release that year o Gainsbourg’s poetic Néfertiti.
Her next single wis recordit wi the orchestration o Inglis componer David Whitaker. New authors Frank Thomas an Jean-Michel Rivat wur brocht on buird. Thay wrote Bébé requin (Baby Shark), a sang which met wi some success for Gall.
This wis follaeed bi Teenie Weenie Boppie, an anti-LSD sang bi Gainsbourg, which haes been describit as "a bizarre tune aboot a deidly LSD trip that somehou involves Mick Jagger."[12] Gainsbourg then sang a anti-caipital punishment sang wi Gall, Qui se souvient de Caryl Chessman? ("Onyane remember Caryl Chessman?"), aboot the daith row preesoner.[14]
Stewart Mason wrote aboot this period: "The psychedelic era found Gall, under Gainsbourg's guidance, singing increasingly strange songs . . . set to some of Gainsbourg's most out-there arrangements."[12]
Her next record C'est toi que je veux, again wi Whitaker, failed tae mak a impact an aw.
Wi this string o recordins in the late 1960s, nane o thaim a unmitigatit success, an makkin the transition frae teen-age tae adult performer, Gall facit some challenges in this period throu the early 1970s. Mason wrote:
No longer a teenager, but without a new persona to redefine herself with, (and without the help of Gainsbourg, whose time was taken by his own albums and those of his wife Jane Birkin), Gall floundered both commercially and artistically. A label change from Philips to BASF in 1972 didn't help matters . . . "[12]
Awtho strugglin in her hame kintra, Gall regularly recordit in Germany frae 1966 tae 1972, in pairticular wi the componer an orchestrator Werner Müller. She haed a successfu German career wi sangs bi Horst Buchholz an Giorgio Moroder: Love, l'amour und liebe (1967), Hippie, hippie (1968), Ich liebe dich, so wie du bist (A luve you the wey you are) (1969) an Mein Herz kann man nicht kaufen (MA hert is no for sale) (1970). Some o her ither German hits includit: Haifischbaby (Bébé requin), Die schönste Musik, die es gibt (The maist bonnie muisic thare is/Muisic Tae Watch Girls Bi), Was will ein Boy (Wha daes a boy want?) (1967), Ja, ich sing (Yes, A sing), A Banda (Zwei Apfelsinen im Haar) (Twa oranges in ma hair), Der Computer Nr. 3 (1968), Ein bisschen Goethe, ein bisschen Bonaparte (A little Goethe, a little Bonaparte), I like Mozart (1969), Dann schon eher der Piano player (Then rather the piano player) (1970), Komm mit mir nach Bahia, Miguel (Come wi me tae Bahia, Miguel) (1972).
Gall haed several ither releases in Fraunce in 1968, nane o which aroused ony great interest. At the end o 1968, on reachin the age o 21, Gall separatit frae Denis Bourgeois an stretched her wings upon the expiration o her contract wi Philips.
She muivit tae a new record label, "La Compagnie", born frae the association o airtists Hugues Aufray, Nicole Croisille an Michel Colombier. At "La Compagnie", Gall made a nummer o recordins, but she niver succeedit in fyndin a coherent style wi Norbert Saada as airtistic director. She went her awn wey in 1969 wi twa adaptations: ane Italian an the ither Breetish: L'Orage / La Pioggia) ("The Storm") which she sang wi Gigliola Cinquetti at the 1969 San Remo Muisic Festival, an Les Années folles ("Gentlemen Please"), creatit bi Barbara Ruskin. Her sangs Des gens bien élevés, La Manille et la révolution, Zozoï an Éléphants wur lairgely ignored. Mairower, "La Compagnie" went bankrupt.
The early seventies continued tae be a barren period for Gall. Awtho she wis the first airtist tae be recordit in Fraunce for Atlantic Records in 1971, her singles C'est cela l'amour (1971) an Chasse neige (1971), faltered in the chairts. In 1972, Gall, for the last time, recordit sangs bi Gainsbourg, Frankenstein an Les Petits ballons, but thir failed tae chairt an aw. The results o her collaboration wi Jean-Michel Rivat as airtistic director, La Quatrieme chose (1972, suspiciously seemilar tae Bread's "Everything I Own") an Par plaisir or Plus haut que moi (1973) did no meet wi commercial success. While offeecially done wi Gainsbourg, a auld flame an producer frae her Gainsbourg days, invitit France Gall on telly tae sing a medley o auld sangs frae thair time thegither, which in includit "Poupee de cire, Poupee de son". Frae the 1970s onwairds, Gall stairtit regularly visitin Senegal, which she luvit. She bocht her hideawa thare on the island o N'Gor, close tae Dakar in 1990.
France Gall wis seducit bi Michel Berger’s muisic when she heard his sang Attends-moi ("Wait for Me") ane day in 1973. Durin a later radio broadcast, she asked him for his opinion on sangs which her then producer wanted her tae record. Awtho he wis disconcertit bi the quality o the sangs, thare wad be nae quaisten o collaboration.
Anly sax month later, in 1974, efter she sang vocals on the sang Mon fils rira du rock'n'roll on Berger's new album, Gall's publisher askit him, at her behest, tae write for her. Gall haed awready made her mind up that "It will be him or else it will be naebody" (documentar France 3 France Gall by France Gall). Sicweys, in 1974, La Déclaration d'amour wis tae be the first in a lang line o hits which markit a turnin pynt in Gall’s career.
Meanwhile, the twa airtists, whose affinities became mair nor muisical, marriet on 22 Juin 1976. France Gall shared years o wirk an faimily life wi Michel Berger. The couple haed twa childer.
In 1978, pushed bi Berger, she ance again trod the buirds o the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées whaur she haed auditioned 15 years earlier, starrin in a shaw entitled "Made in France". The maist novel aspect o this shaw wis that, except for the Brazilian drag act Les Étoiles, the members o the orchestra, choir an the dance troupe wur exclusively female.[15] In this shaw, France sang Maria vai com as outras the oreeginal, Brazilian (Portuguese) version o Plus haut que moi.
In 1979, Gall teuk pairt in a new shaw which remains memorable for mony. Componit bi Michel Berger an written bi the Québécois author Luc Plamondon, the rock opera Starmania enjoyed a success no uisual for muisicals in Fraunce. The shaw played for ane month at Palais des congrès de Paris.
In 1982, Gall rehearsed in the Palais des Sports o Paris tae present Tout pour la musique, a innovative spectacle markit bi its uise o electronic muisic. The sangs Résiste an Il jouait du piano debout ("He played the piano standing") quickly became French pop staundarts.
In 1985, France Gall jyned Chanteurs Sans Frontières, on the initiative o Valerie Lagrange. She wirkit for S.O.S Ethiopie for the benefit o Ethiopia unner the aegis o Renaud an aw.
At the same time, she gae a successful series o concerts lastin three weeks at the new venue Zénith in Paris, whaur she performit new sangs like Débranche ("Loosen-up"), Hong-Kong Star, an gave solid acoustic performances o Plus haut, Diego libre dans sa tête an Cézanne peint.
In 1985 an 1986, Gall wirkit wi Berger, Richard Berry, Daniel Balavoine an Lionel Rotcage for the benefit o Action Écoles, a organisation o schuilboy volunteers which collects essential fuid products in France for African kintras whaur faimin an drocht prevail. On 14 Januar 1986, durin a trip tae Africae, Balavoine tragically perished in a helicopter crash. In 1987, the sang Évidemment, written bi Berger an sung bi Gall, wis a muivin homage tae their lost friend. The sang appeared on the album Babacar.
Gall toppit the pop charts in many countries in 1987 and 1988 with another song from the Babacar album, Ella, elle l'a ("Ella, she's got it"), a Berger tribute to Ella Fitzgerald.
Follaein the release o Babacar, Gall launched a new show producit bi Berger. Openin at Le Zénith, the successful production toured throuoot Europe, an gae rise tae the live album Le Tour de France '88.
Gall teuk a break frae singin in the early 1990s an did no record ony mair for several years tae come. She did, housomeivver, mak a album cried Double Jeu wi Berger.
Follaein the release o Double Jeu, Gall an Berger annooncit a series o concerts in various Parisian venues, such as La Cigale an Bercy. This project wis nearly cancelled bi Berger's daith frae a hert attack on 2 August 1992.
Awtho Gall wis strangly affectit bi Berger's daith, she wantit tae complete the project they haed planned. Housomeivver, she decidit tae commit tae the performances at the Bercy an promotit the sangs that she an Berger creatit thegither. Housomeivver, Gall wis diagnosed wi breast cancer in Apryle 1993, which wis successfully treatit. She feenally performit at the Bercy in September. Aw the sangs she performit wur written bi Michel Berger frae Double Jeu, an frae their discographies.
A year later, she went back on stage an performit in a new show in the Pleyel in Paris featurin new muisickers. The repertoire featurt sangs written exclusively bi Berger tho Gall includit her awn versions o sangs oreeginally performit bi ithers.
In 1996, Gall askit Jean-Luc Godard tae produce the video clip o her sang "Plus haut", taken frae her album "France". Godard initially refused Gall's affer but later agreed, an directit a dreamy, picturesque video entitled "Plus Oh!" near his residence in Rolle, Swisserland. It wis gie its first an anerly airin on 20 Apryle 1996 on the French telly channel M6.
Efter a year in Los Angeles, she released her aicht studio album, France in 1996. The album featurt Gall's ain interpretations o some o Michel Berger's sangs. In 1996, Gall finally decidit tae appear as a heidline airtist at the legendar venue for French airtists, the Paris Olympia. In 1997, she annooncit her retirement an recordit a unpluggit show for French telly showcasin sangs frae her feenal album.
In Dizember 1997, Pauline, Gall's elder dochter wi Michel Berger, dee'd o complications o cystic fibrosis. Her illness wis niver made public. Her son Raphael is a muisic supervisor.
Syne the daith o her dochter Gall haes made anerly occasional public appearances. As a farewell tae her career, a documentar movie wis shot in 2001, France Gall par France Gall, directit bi Eric Guéret. Nine million fowk tuned in tae watch the documentar when it aired on French telly that year. She stagit an appeared in the 2007 France 2 documentar "Tous pour la musique" an aw markin the fifteent anniversar o Michel Berger's daith.
She wis a patron for French charity Coeurs de Femmes – a group helpin hameless weemen.
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