Jacques Brel

Jacques Brel (8 April 1929 – 9 October 1978) was a Belgian singer-songwriter. He was widely said to be a master of the modern chanson.^[1] Although he recorded most of his songs in French, he became a major influence on English-speaking songwriters and performers. Some of these were David Bowie, Leonard Cohen, and Rod McKuen. English translations of his songs were recorded by many top performers in the United States. These include Ray Charles, Judy Collins, John Denver, the Kingston Trio, Nina Simone, Frank Sinatra, Scott Walker, and Andy Williams.^[2] In French-speaking countries, Brel was also a successful actor, appearing in ten movies. He also directed two movies. Le Far West was nominated for the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival in 1973.^[3] Brel died of lung cancer. He has sold over 25 million records worldwide. He is the third best-selling Belgian recording artist of all time.

Jacques Brel
Jacques Brel, 1963
Born	Jacques Romain Georges Brel (1929-04-08)8 April 1929 Schaerbeek, Brussels, Belgium
Died	9 October 1978(1978-10-09) (aged 49) Bobigny, France
Other names	Le Grand Jacques (French for "The Great Jacques")
Occupations	Singer songwriter actor director
Years active	1953 (1953-df-yes)–1978 (1978)
Spouse	Thérèse "Miche" Michielsen
Children	3
Musical career
Genres	Chanson French pop music
Instruments	Vocals guitar
Labels	Philips Barclay Universal
Website	www.jacquesbrel.be/en
Signature

Discography

Studio albums

• Grand Jacques (1954)
• Quand On n'a Que l'Amour (1957)
• Au Printemps (1958)
• La Valse à Mille Temps (1959)
• Marieke (1961)
• Les Bourgeois (1962)
• Les Bonbons (1966)
• Ces Gens-Là (1966)
• Jacques Brel 67 (1967)
• J'arrive (1968)
• L'Homme de la Mancha (1968)
• Ne Me Quitte Pas (1972)
• Les Marquises (1977)

Live albums

• Enregistrement Public à l'Olympia 1961 (1962)
• Enregistrement Public à l'Olympia 1964 (1964)

Boxed sets, compilations, and rarities

• Boîte à Bonbons (2003)
• Infiniment (2003)
• Chansons ou Versions Inédites de Jeunesse (2003)

Filmography

As actor

• La grande peur de Monsieur Clément (short) (dir Paul Deliens) (1956)
• Les risques du métier (dir André Cayatte) (1967)
• La Bande à Bonnot (dir Philippe Fourastié) (1968)
• Mon oncle Benjamin (dir Édouard Molinaro) (1969)
• Mont-Dragon (dir Jean Valère) (1970)
• Franz (dir Jacques Brel) (1971)
• Les assassins de l'ordre (dir Marcel Carné) (1971)
• L'aventure, c'est l'aventure (dir Claude Lelouch) (1972)
• Le bar de la fourche (dir Alain Levent) (1972)
• Le Far West (dir Jacques Brel) (1973)
• L'emmerdeur (dir Édouard Molinaro) (1973)^[3]

As director

• Franz (1971)
• Le Far West (1973)^[3]

As writer

• La grande peur de Monsieur Clément (short) (1956)
• Jacques Brel is Alive and Well and Living in Paris (play) (1968)
• Franz (1971)
• Le Far West (1973)^[3]

As self

• Petit jour (short) (1960)
• Zeg hé, spaar je mee? (TV series) (1961)
• Tienerklanken (TV series) (1963)
• La grande farandole (TV series) (1964)
• Age tendre et tête de bois (TV series) (1964)
• Entrez dans la ronde (TV movie) (1965)
• Discorama (TV series) (1962-1966)
• Tid til at leve (TV series documentary) (1974)
• Jacques Brel Is Alive and Well and Living in Paris (dir Denis Heroux) (1974)
• Stellet Licht/Silent Light (dir Carlos Reygadas) (2007)^[3]

References

1. "Jacques Brel". Retrieved 6 September 2011.
2. Ruhlmann, William. "Jacques Brel". Allmusic. Retrieved 30 August 2011.
3. "Jacques Brel". Retrieved 30 August 2011.