Singer, Songwriter. He was a 20th-century French singer-songwriter and poet. Born Jean Tenenbaum, the youngest of four children of Russian-Jewish parents, his father died after being deported to Auschwitz concentration camp during World War II. He began his career in the cabarets of the postwar Left Bank and then made a name for himself as a chanson française in the 1960s and 1970s with a series of lyrical love songs. A friend of the political Left, his song "Potemkine" is said to have helped spark the student uprisings of 1968 in France. During his career, he wrote about 200 songs reflecting his political views, using passionate but controversial lyrics. He was also known for his adaptations of works by the communist poet Louis Aragon. Among his best-known songs were "La Montagne" (The Mountain), "Potemkine" and "Ma France," the latter a patriotic song banned from radio and television in the 1960s for what the French considered excessively political content. His 1963 song "Nuit et Brouillard" (Night and Fog) was awarded the Académie Charles Cros's Grand Prix du Disque. He was recognized in 1990 with an award from the Société des auteurs, compositeurs et éditeurs de musique, the French association of songwriters, composers, and music publishers. He died of complications from lung cancer in Aubenas.
Singer, Songwriter. He was a 20th-century French singer-songwriter and poet. Born Jean Tenenbaum, the youngest of four children of Russian-Jewish parents, his father died after being deported to Auschwitz concentration camp during World War II. He began his career in the cabarets of the postwar Left Bank and then made a name for himself as a chanson française in the 1960s and 1970s with a series of lyrical love songs. A friend of the political Left, his song "Potemkine" is said to have helped spark the student uprisings of 1968 in France. During his career, he wrote about 200 songs reflecting his political views, using passionate but controversial lyrics. He was also known for his adaptations of works by the communist poet Louis Aragon. Among his best-known songs were "La Montagne" (The Mountain), "Potemkine" and "Ma France," the latter a patriotic song banned from radio and television in the 1960s for what the French considered excessively political content. His 1963 song "Nuit et Brouillard" (Night and Fog) was awarded the Académie Charles Cros's Grand Prix du Disque. He was recognized in 1990 with an award from the Société des auteurs, compositeurs et éditeurs de musique, the French association of songwriters, composers, and music publishers. He died of complications from lung cancer in Aubenas.
Bio by: Fred Beisser
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