Claude Francois

Claude François, also nicknamed Cloclo (Ismailia, February 1, 1939-Paris, March 11, 1978), was a very popular French singer-songwriter in the decades of the 60s and 70s of the 20th century.

He is remembered for example for songs like "Comme d'habitude" (of which Paul Anka would use the melody to write "My Way"), "Le Téléphone Pleure" ("Cry the phone" in Spanish) and for many hits in French such as "Le lundi au soleil", "Magnolias for Ever", "Alexandrie Alexandra& #34;, among others.

François sold 70 million records and was about to embark for the United States to further his musical career when he accidentally electrocuted himself using an electrical appliance in his bathtub in March 1978 at age 39 while trying to replace a lamp.

Biography

The son of an Italian mother, Claude François was born in Egypt when his French father Aimé François (1908-1961) was working as an export traffic controller in the Suez Canal. In 1951 his work took them to the Red Sea city of Port Tawfik.

Claude's mother, Luzia Mazzei (1910-1992) loved music and had her son take piano and violin lessons, while he taught himself to play the drum. As a result of the Suez Crisis of 1956 the family returned to Monte Carlo when Claude's father fell ill preventing him from working. Young Claude found work as a bank teller and earned extra money at night playing drums with an orchestra in the luxurious hotels of the French Riviera. He had a good voice, though unproven, but he was offered the chance to sing in a hotel in the trendy Mediterranean neighborhood of Juan-les-Pins. His show was well received by the audience and he eventually began performing in the glamorous nightclubs of the French Riviera. While working in the clubs he met Janet Woolcoot, an English dancer whom he married in 1960.

Ambitious, Claude François moved to Paris where he would find many more opportunities to further his career. At the same time American rock and roll was gaining ground in France and he joined a band to earn a living. With the goal of eventually becoming a solo artist, he paid to record a 45rpm record. Trying to capitalize on the success of the North American twist, Claude François recorded a song called "Nabout Twist" which turned out to be a failure. Without losing hope, in 1962 he recorded a version (cover ) in French of an Everly Brothers song, & # 34; Made to Love & # 34;. Written by Phil Everly, it had been only a minor hit in the United States, but Claude François's version titled "Belles Belles Belles" it climbed to the top of the French charts, selling more than two million copies and making him an overnight star.

Under a new manager, Claude François' career continued to grow. He followed his first success with another French adaptation of an American song. This time doing "If I Had a Hammer" by Trini López in French as "Si j'avais un marteau". Taking advantage of his good looks, he imitated Elvis Presley's stage style as well as his hairstyle. In 1967 he wrote together with Jacques Revaux the song & # 34; Comme d & # 39; habitude & # 34;, with lyrics by Gilles Thibaut and Claude François himself. Preserving the melody, the lyrics were translated into English by Paul Anka, who titled the song as "My way". The first English-language performance of him was performed by Frank Sinatra on the album & # 34;My Way & # 34; in 1969, becoming one of Sinatra's most representative songs as well as one of the most covered songs in history.

Death

After performing in Switzerland on March 9 and 10 and recording a TV special for the BBC, he returned to his Paris apartment (at 46 Boulevard Exelmans) in order to appear, the next day, at in the program "Les Rendez-vous du Dimanche" by Michel Drucker. On Saturday, March 11, 1978 at 3:00 p.m., while taking a shower, due to his perfectionism, he was electrocuted in his bathtub when he touched a lamp that used to tilt by itself and had the cables sticking out from so much repositioning, losing his life. Instantly.

Inspector Michel Pleiber, called to the scene of the tragedy to investigate the death of Claude François, put an end to the numerous rumors circulating about it in the columns of the Parisian press, confirming that he died electrocuted in his bathroom, after have wanted to repair a wall lamp:

“There was an almost straight bruise on the right shoulder, clearly indicating a fall. This fall caused him to hit the edge of the bathtub violently. To me, there is no doubt: he had stood up to straighten the wall lamp. There was a lot of water around the bathtub. And the wall lamp was detached from the wall and hung. He reached behind the wall lamp and touched the electrical wires. He died electrocuted as confirmed by the forensic pathologist and the inspector on duty at the neighborhood police station, ”said the former police officer, 27 years old at the time.

François was buried in Dannemois, about 55 kilometers south of Paris. It was a quiet place where he had a house where he went to relax.

Versions

He did some covers of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons as "Reste", cover of "Beggin" and "Cette année-là", version of "December, 1963 (Oh, What a Night)". In addition to songs by The Beatles translated into French and their hit "belles belles belles" by the Everly Brothers ("made to love").

International career

He carried out an international race over the countries of Belgium and Switzerland, his goal was to conquer Italy, Spain, England and Canada. In 1976 his song "Cry the Telephone", reached #34 in the UK Top 40. On January 16, 1978, a gala was held for the first time for a French singer at the Royal Albert Hall in London with an audience of 6000 people.

Legacy

The song Comme d'habitude is one of his greatest legacies as it became a global hit with the English version My Way which leaves Claude as a music legend in France and the world.

On March 11, 2000, the 22nd anniversary of his death, a street in Paris named "Place Claude-François" which is located right in front of the building where he died.

A biopic called Cloclo ('My Way' internationally) was released in March 2012 to coincide with the anniversary of his death. Its duration is two and a half hours, it is starring Jérémie Renier, this film shows the stages of François' life from his life in Egypt until his sudden death.

Claude François's sons, Claude Jr and Marc, have meticulously ensured the management of their father's artistic heritage in recent years.

Greatest Hits

• "Nabout Twist" (Claude François)
• Belles! Belles! Belles! ("Made to Love", Phil Everly/Claude François/Vline Buggy)
• "Pauvre petite fille riche" (Hubert Giraud/Claude François/Vline Buggy) "If j'avais un marteau" ("If I Had a Hammer", Lee Hays/Pete Seeger/Claude François/Vline Buggy)
• "J'y pense et puis j'oublie" ("It Comes and Goes", Bill Anderson/Claude François)
• "Donna Donna" (Sholom Secunda/Claude François/Vline Buggy)
• "Je sais" (Claude François/Gérard Gustin/Vline Buggy)
• "Quand un bateau passe" ("Trains and Boats and Planes", Burt Bacharach/Hal David/Claude François/Vline Buggy)
• "Même si tu revenais" (Bernard Kesslair/Claude François/Jacques Chaumelle)
• "Mais combien de temps" (Claude François/Vline Buggy)
• "Reviens-moi vite" (Claude François)
• "J'attendrai" ("Reach Out I'll Be There", Holland–Dozier–Holland/Claude François/Vline Buggy)
• "Mais quand le matin" (Eric Charden/Claude François/Gilles Thibaut)
• "Comme d'habitude" (Jacques Revaux/Claude François/Gilles Thibaut)
• "Pardon" (Jean Renard/Claude François/Gilles Thibaut)
• "Aussi loin" (Reg Guest/Claude François/Gilles Thibaut)
• "Avec la tête, Avec le cœur" (Claude François/Jean-Pierre Bourtayre/Yves Dessca/Vline Buggy)
• "Reste" ("Beggin'", Bob Gaudio/Peggy Farina/Jacques Plante)
• "Dans les orphelinats" (Claude François/Gilles Thibaut)
• "A monde de musique" (Claude François/Ralph Bernet)
• "Une petite fille aux yeux rouges" (Jean-Pierre Bourtayre/Claude François/Vline Buggy)
• "Un jour ou l'autre" (Claude François/Jacques Plante)
• "Cherche" ("Show Me", Joe Tex Claude François)
• "Mon cœur est une maison vide" (Claude François/Jean-Pierre Bourtayre/Yves Dessca/Vline Buggy)
• "Tout éclate tout explose" ("Love Explosion", George Harrison/George Kerr/Jacques Plante)
• "C'est de l'eau, c'est du vent" (Alice Dona/Pierre Delanoë)
• "Le monde est grand, les gens sont beaux" ("Beautiful World, Beautiful People", Jimmy Cliff/Eddy Marnay)
• "If douce à mon souvenir" ("Gentle On My Mind", John Hartford/Claude François/Colette Rivat)
• "It seems that he t'aime mon enfant" (Claude François/Jean-Pierre Bourtayre/Yves Dessca)
• "C'est la même chanson" ("It's the Same Old Song", Holland–Dozier–Holland/Claude François/Colette Rivat)
• "Et pourtant le temps passe" (Claude François/Paul Sebastian/Lana Sebastian/Michaële)
• "Je vais mieux" (Claude François)
• "Bye bye petite Julie" (Claude François)
• "Plus rien qu'une adresse en commun" (Alain Chamfort/Yves Dessca)
• "Il fait beau, il fait bon" (Roger Greenaway/Roger Cook/Eddy Marnay)
• "Seule une romance" (Claude François/Eddy Marnay)
• "Y'a le printemps qui blacke (Viens à la maison)" (Claude François/Jean-Pierre Bourtayre/Jean-Michel Rivat/Franck Thomas)
• "En attendant" (Claude François/Michèle Vendôme)
• "Le Lundi au soleil" (Patrick Juvet/Jean-Michel Rivat/Franck Thomas)
• "Belinda" ("Miss Belinda", Des Parton/Eddy Marnay)
• "Je viens dîner ce soir" (Paul Sebastian/Lana Sebastian/Michaële)
• "Je t'embrasse" (Claude François/Jean-Pierre Bourtayre/Yves Dessca/Jean-Michel Rivat)
• "A part ça la vie est belle" ("By the Devil I Was Tempted", Doug Flett/Guy Fletcher/ Eddy Marnay)
• "Sha la la (Hier est près de moi)" ("Yesterday Once More", Richard Carpenter/Eddy Marnay)
• "Chanson populaire" (Jean-Pierre Bourtayre/Nicolas Skorsky/Claude François)
• "Le mal aimé" (Terry Dempsey/Eddy Marnay)
• "La musique américaine" (Claude François/Jean-Pierre Bourtayre/Jean-Michel Rivat)
• "Le téléphone pleure" (Claude François /Jean-Pierre Bourtayre/Franck Thomas)
• "Toi et moi contre le monde entier" (Claude François/Jean-Pierre Bourtayre/Eddy Marnay)
• "Soudain il ne reste qu'une chanson" ("I'll Be Around", Thom Bell/Philip Hurtt/Jean-Michel Rivat)
• "Le blackeur malheureux" (Jean-Pierre Bourtayre/Martial Carceles/Jean-Michel Rivat/Michel Renard)
• "Joue quelque chose de simple" (Claude François/Jean-Pierre Bourtayre/Jean-Michel Rivat)
• "Le spectacle est terminé" (Claude François/Jean-Pierre Bourtayre/Eddy Marnay)
• "Pourquoi pleurer (sur un succès d'été)" ("Please Mr. Please", Bruce Welch/John Rostill/Franck Thomas)
• "17 ans" ("At Seventeen", Janis Ian/Franck Thomas)
• "Une chanson française" (Claude François/Jean-Pierre Bourtayre/Nicolas Skorsky)
• "Sale bonhomme" ("Nasty Dan", Jeff Moss/Eddy Marnay)
• "Dors petit homme (La chèvre grise)" (Claude François/Eddy Marnay)
• "Cette année-là" ("December, 1963 (Oh, What a Night), Bob Gaudio/Eddy Marnay)
• "The solitude c'est après" (André Popp/Gilbert Sinoué)
• "Le vagabond" (Cyril Assous/Eddy Marnay)
• "Danse ma vie" (Claude François /Jean-Pierre Bourtayre/Pierre Delanoë)
• "Quelquefois" (Duet with Martine Clemenceau) (Claude François/Jean-Pierre Bourtayre/Vline Buggy)
• "Je vais à Rio" ("I Go to Rio", Peter Allen/Eddy Marnay)
• "Les anges, les roses et la pluie" (Claude François/Jean-Pierre Bourtayre/Vline Buggy)
• "Toi et le soleil" ("I Can See Clearly Now," Johnny Nash/Eddy Marnay)
• "C'est comme ça que l'on s'est aimé" (Duet with Kathalyn Jones) (Claude François/Jean-Pierre Bourtayre/Vline Buggy)
• "Écoute ma chanson" (Toto Cutugno/Claude François/Yves Dessca)
• "Et je t'aime tellement" ("And I Love You So", Don McLean/Claude François)
• "Magnolias for Ever" (Claude François /Jean-Pierre Bourtayre/Étienne Roda-Gil)
• "Alexandrie Alexandra" (Claude François/Jean-Pierre Bourtayre/Etienne Roda-Gill)