Gilbert Bécaud

Gilbert Bécaud 24 October 1927 18 December 2001 was a French singer composer pianist and actor known as Monsieur 100000 Volts for his energetic performances His bestknown hits are Nathalie and Et maintenant a 1961 release that became an English language hit as What Now My Love He remained a popular artist for nearly fifty years identifiable in his dark blue suits with a white shirt and lucky tie blue with white polka dots When asked to explain his gift he said A flower doesnt understand botany His favourite venue was the Paris Olympia under the management of Bruno Coquatrix He debuted there in 1954 and headlined in 1955 attracting 6000 on his first night three times the capacity On 13 November 1997 Bécaud was present for the reopening of the venue after its reconstruction Born François Gilbert Léopold Silly in Toulon France Bécaud learned to play the piano at a young age and then went to the Conservatoire de Nice In 1942 he left school to join the French Resistance during World War II He began songwriting in 1948 after meeting Maurice Vidalin who inspired him to write his early compositions He began writing for Marie Bizet Bizet Bécaud and Vidalin became a successful trio and their partnership lasted until 1950 In 1952 he married Monique Nicholas They had three children While touring with Jacques Pills as a pianist Bécaud met Édith Piaf Pills wife at the time He began singing at her suggestion in 1953 with Mes Mains and Les Croix His first performance came the year after His hits in the later part of the decade included La Corrida 1956 Le Jour où la Pluie Viendra 1957 and Cest Merveilleux Lamour 1958 His first hit in the Englishspeaking world was Jane Morgans cover version of Le jour où la pluie viendra as The Day the Rains Came with English lyrics by Carl Sigman in 1958 He began acting in the same period starting with Le Pays Doù Je Viens 1956 In 1960 he won a Grand Prix du Disque and composed Lenfant à Létoile a Christmas cantata That same year Let It Be Me an English version of his Je tappartiens became a hit for the Everly Brothers followed over the years by Bob Dylan Nina Simone Elvis Presley Willie Nelson Jerry Butler Sam Dave and James Brown In 1973 he married Kitty SaintJohn with whom he had two children He died of cancer at the age of 74 In 1961 Bécaud wrote and recorded Et Maintenant one of the biggest selling singles in French history Translated as What Now My Love the song became a hit by Shirley Bassey Sonny Cher Elvis Presley Judy Garland Andy Williams Herb Alpert and Frank Sinatra In 1962 he completed his largest composition the 2act opera LOpéra dAran which was premiered at the Théâtre des ChampsÉlysées on 25 October 1962 Georges Prêtre conductor The plot of the opera takes place on the Aran Islands off the west coast of Ireland although Bécaud had never been to Ireland before Source Article Gilbert Bécaud from Wikipedia in English licensed under CCBYSA 30