France - Paris - Part II

 As a few days ago French Chanteuse Juliette Gréco died a few days ago aged 93, we make this post about the classics of Paris.  Although Juliette was born in Montpelier, she moved to Saint-Germain-de Prés area of Paris when she was 7.   Jean-Paul Sartre, Jacques Brel and Charles Aznavour wrote songs for her and she was in a relationship with Miles Davis.  Her mother had joined the resistance and the family were arrested during the German occupation.  Here's a 1967 rendition of her song Les Feuilles Mortes. RIP Juliette Gréco, 7 February 1927 - 23 September 2020:

And of course when talking about the classics, there is none more celebrated than the Sparrow of Paris, Édith Piaf (1915-1963).  She was a singer/songwriter, cabaret performer and actress.  Her songs were often autobiographical.  Despite numerous books and films about her life, much of it is unknown, but it is safe to say she lived life to the full.  She died early after a series of near-fatal car crashes and a life-long addiction to alcohol and medication.  Her last words were reportedly: "Every damn thing you do in this life, you have to pay for".  In that spirit here is Non, Je ne Regrette Riens:

Known to both the above women, Charles Aznavour is another towering figure in the Paris music scene.  Born in 1924 to Armenian parents, he performed right up to his death at the age of 94 in 2018 having written 1000's of songs for himself and others and sold almost 200 million records during his lifetime.  Here is one of his later performances of Hier Encore:

Serge Gainsbourg (1928-1991) was not only an influential singer/songwriter, but also a film composer, poet, painter, screen writer, actor and film director, who often liked to provoke the public with controversial songs, non more so than the 1967 song Je t'aime,... moin non plus, which he wrote for Brigitte Bardot and involves some heavy breathing.  It was banned on many radio stations at the time.  Here's a song from 1962 called La Chanson de Prévert:

Accordionist Marcel Azzola (1927-2019) accompanied the likes of Stan Getz and Jacques Brel.  Here is a piece called Rue de la Chine:

Francis Lemarque (1917-2002) was born Nathan Korb, the son of Eastern European Jewish immigrants and changed his name during the German occupation and joined the French resistance.  He wrote some 1000 chansons during his career including the ardent pacifist anthem Quand un soldat:

That's it for today, but we will linger a bit longer in Paris next time.