Jean Ferrat
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Jean Ferrat, author, poet and singer, born December 26, 1930, as Jean Tenenbaum, in Vaucresson a suburb of Paris.
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[edit] Biography
The youngest of 4 children from a modest Jewish family which moved to Versailles in 1935, he studied at the Jules Ferry College. His father was deported to Auschwitz during the war, and died there. Ferrat dropped out to help the family survive.
In the early 1950s he started in Parisian cabaret, and since then has not attempted to adhere to any particular musical style but remain faithful to himself, his friends and public.
In 1956, he sets music to Les yeux d'Elsa (Elsa’s eyes), a poem of Louis Aragon which Ferrat loved. Its interpretation by the popular artist, André Claveau, brought Ferrat some initial recognition as songwriter.
His first 45 RPM single was released in 1958, without success. It was not until 1959, with publisher Gérard Meys, who became also his close friend and associate, that his career started to flourish. He then signed with Decca, and released his second single, Ma Môme, in 1960 under the musical direction of Meys.
In 1961 he married Christine Sèvres, a singer who took up some of his songs. He met Alain Goraguer, who became an arranger of his songs. His debut album, Deux Enfants du Soleil was released that year. In that year, Ferrat wrote songs for Zizi Jeanmaire, and went on the road, sharing billing with her at the Alhambra for 6 months.
Nuit et Brouillard, which followed in 1963, was awarded the Grand Prix du Disque by l'Académie Charles Cros. Ferrat toured again in 1965, but stopped performing on stage in 1973.
In 1990, he received an award from the French Authors’ and Composers’ Society (SACEM)
[edit] Attitudes
He criticized record companies for being more interested in making money than giving opportunity to creative artists.
Ferrat claimed “not to write just to pass his time”. His preferred style of writing was poetry often mixed with militant messages. For example, ’Nuit et Brouillard’ paid tribute to the deportees to Nazi concentration camps. Thus, during his career, Ferrat had some difficulty with censorship by the authorities owing to his humanist perspectives and links with communism.
He loved the poetry of Louis Aragon and Spanish poet Federico Garcia Lorca, and devoted much effort to setting the poetry into his songs.
After his master tapes had been bought by Polygram, he re-recorded his entire back-catalogue and re-issued it as an 11 volume set as a defiant gesture to the record giant in 1980.
[edit] Discography
- 1961 : Deux enfants au soleil (Ma Môme, Federico Garcia Lorca...)
- 1963 : Nuit et brouillard (C'est beau la vie, Nous dormirons ensemble...)
- 1964 : La Montagne (Que serais-je sans toi, Hourrah ! ... )
- 1965 : Potemkine (C'est toujours la première fois, On ne voit pas le temps passer...)
- 1966 : Maria (Heureux celui qui meurt d'aimer, Un enfant quitte Paris...)
- 1967 : À Santiago (Cuba si, Les Guérilleros...)
- 1969 : Ma France (Au printemps de quoi rêvais-tu ?, L'Idole à papa...)
- 1970 : Camarade (Sacré Félicien, Les Lilas...)
- 1971 : La Commune (Les touristes partis, Aimer à perdre la raison...)
- 1971 : Ferrat chante Aragon (Le Malheur d'aimer, Robert le Diable...) sold more than 2,000,000 copies
- 1972 : À moi l'Afrique (Une femme honnête, Les Saisons...)
- 1975 : La femme est l'avenir de l'homme (Dans le silence de la ville, Un air de liberté...) sold 500,000 copies
- 1979 : Les Instants volés (Le Tiers chant, Le chef de gare est amoureux...)
- 1980 : Ferrat 80 (Le Bilan, L'amour est cerise...) declared platinum record
- 1985 : Je ne suis qu'un cri (La Porte à droite, Le Chataîgnier...)
- 1991 : Dans la jungle ou dans le zoo (Les Tournesols, Nul ne guérit de son enfance...)
- 1995 : Ferrat 95 (Complainte de Pablo Neruda, Lorsque s'en vient le soir...)
- 2002 : Ferrat en scène
