Je t’aime bien…moi non plus

Oh…Bourvil. How I love thee.

I suppose, however, that not too many people outside of French speaking countries would know who he was.

Bourvil was a French comedian, mainly known on the big screen for his roles in Louis de Funès movies. His comedy persona usually consisted of a naive, vulnerable and good natured man (much like Jacques Villeret, another gone-too-soon French comedy actor).

An underrated dramatic actor as well, Bourvil’s last role before his untimely death at the age of 53 was in one of my all time favorite movies, by my all time favorite French movie director, Jean-Pierre Melville’s masterful “Le cercle rouge“, in which Bourvil plays a police detective, on Alain Delon and Yves Montand’s pursuit. Casting Bourvil in this role was a brilliant move, and he is shockingly poignant and graceful as detective Mattei.

With Paul Piot’s orchestra, here is Bourvil performing two classic Serge Gainsbourg songs, along with French comedian Jacqueline Maillan (“Pauvre Lola” & “Ça”). In “Ça” (“That”, a cover of “Je t’aime, moi non plus”), Bourvil & Maillan play an old, tired couple sitting in front of the TV and going on about their routine, until they decide to finally do…”that”, amidst lots of giggles!

Both these covers are actually quite endearing.

Come back tomorrow for more !

Bourvil & Maillan – Ça
Bourvil & Maillan – Pauvre Lola

Gainsbourg covers, part deux

Let’s take a swingin’ breather, shall we? Here are two great Gainsbourg songs by Nana and Pierre, for you to listen to on a rainy Sunday evening. Or whenever.

Alright so Nana Mouskouri and Pierre Lalonde are probably the last names you’d expect to hear when talking about Gainsbourg, but there you go.

I have to say, I’ve only recently discovered Nana Mouskouri’s early Jazz répertoire…what an amazing artist. On this album, she sings Aznavour, Gilbert Bécaud and Eddie Marnay under the direction of Jacques Denjean and it’s divine. Gainsbourg wrote the song “Les yeux pour pleurer” for her. I have no idea how available this is or if it’s been reissued, I just thought I’d share it regardless.

And finally, Pierre Lalonde, a popular crooner type singer who started his career in the late 50′s as a radio announcer in Montreal. He recorded popular French and English hits for the Québec market and even tried his hand at a career in da States by recording an album in English, under the more American name “Peter Martin” (sheesh.)

The album “Jet…Première classe” was an attempt to be taken a bit more seriously (I’m not making this up, it is blatantly written as such in the back cover’s liner notes.). On this album Peter Mar…Pierre Lalonde sings Bécaud, Charles Trenet all under the fine direction of the legendary Georges Tremblayand his orchestra. How the hell a Gainsbourg song (“Quand le soleil est au soleil”) found its way in there is BEYOND me, but it is a nice one!

Pierre Lalonde later established himself as the québécois “Dick Clark” and hosted popular tv music shows for teens in the 60′s like “Jeunesse Oblige”on Radio-Canada.

And I never thought I would say this about a Pierre Lalonde album, but it’s friggin’ good!

Nana Mouskouri – Les yeux pour pleurer
Pierre Lalonde – Le soleil est au soleil

Gainsbourg covers, part 1

In a category I like to call “The poor man’s version of…”, here is Michèle Richard and (what appears to be) Denis Pantis trying to sing the Gainsbourg/Bardot classic “Bonnie and Clyde”. Now, since music blogs and sites like Youtube have started popping up, I’ve noticed that there appears to be a heartwarming love for Michele Richard amongst 60s French pop lovers out there. As someone who hails from the same province as her, I have to say that perhaps the cultural context in which I grew up prevents me of sharing the same affection. I guess it’s the same thing with all the Italians I’ve met (all 5 of them) and their mutual disdain for Rita Pavone. I mean…how can you not love Rita Pavone?!? But I disgress. Let me explain…where I come from, Michèle Richard is known as someone who embraces qualities such as tackiness, trashiness, not too much of a singing talent-ness, and prima donna-ness. Perhaps the Québécoise “Britney”of her days. Just look at the photo of Michèle and her dog! (oh the joke possibilities…) And that was deemed good enough for a record cover! She has famously defecated (yes) in the lobby of a four star hotel in Montreal in the 70s and was arrested for stealing fur coats, twice. She’s had live, on-air prima donna fits on her tacky tv shows in the 80′s and has starred in her own reality tv series a few years ago (in which she gave one of her dogs a funeral and burial).

Oh but don’t be fooled by my writings. It’s a love-hate thing.

In this post we also have Québécoise cutie Denise Brousseau (pictured) singing an upbeat version of “N’écoutes pas les idoles”, with Georges Tremblay and his orchestra. And finally québécoise Maryka doing a GREAT cover of Hold-Up. I unfortunately know very little about her.

BANG! BANG!

More Gainsbourg covers from La belle province in a few days.

Michèle Richard – Bonnie and Clyde
Denise Brousseau – N’écoutes pas les idoles
Maryka – Hold-Up