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Serge Gainsbourg [sɛʁʒ gɛ̃'zbuʁ] (April
2, 1928 – March 2, 1991) was
a French poet, singer-songwriter, actor and director. Gainsbourg's varied style and individuality made him difficult to categorize. Although famous in
France for many years, he did not achieve his first No. 1 album until 1979, when he released Aux
Armes et caetera more than twenty years after his music career had begun. Since the 1980s, his legacy has been firmly
established.
Biography
Personal life
He was born Lucien Ginzburg in Paris, France, the son of Russian Jewish
parents who fled to France after the 1917 Bolshevik uprising.
His childhood was profoundly affected by the occupation of France by Nazi Germany, during
which he and his family, as Jews, were forced to wear the yellow star and eventually flee from Paris.
He had a daughter, actress Charlotte, with English singer and actress
Jane Birkin; and a son, Lucien (best known as Lulu), with
his last partner, Bambou (Caroline von Paulus, who is related to Friedrich Paulus).
Before he was 30 years old, Lucien Ginzburg was a disillusioned painter but earned his living as a piano player in bars.
Early work
His early songs were influenced by Boris Vian and were largely in the vein of
"old-fashioned" chanson. Very early, however, Gainsbourg began to move beyond this and
experiment with a succession of different musical styles: jazz early on, English pop in the 60s,
reggae in the 70s, even electronica and hip hop in the 80s.
Success began to arrive when, in 1965, his song "Poupée de cire, poupée de
son" was the Luxembourg entry in the Eurovision Song Contest. Performed by French teen singer France
Gall, it won the grand prize. (The song was covered in English as "A Lonely Singing Doll" by British teen idol
Twinkle.) His next song for Gall, "Les Sucettes"
("Lollipops"), began a scandal in France: Gainsbourg had written the song with double-meanings and strong sexual innuendo, of
which the singer was apparently unaware when she recorded it. The public furor arising from the song, although a big hit for
Gall, threw her career off-track in France for several years. Gainsbourg arranged other Gall songs and LPs that were
characteristic of the late 1960s psychedelic styles, among them Gall's 1968 album. Another of Serge's songs "Boum Bada
Boum" was entered in by Monaco in the 1967 contest, sung by Minouche
Barelli; it came fifth. He also wrote hit songs for other artists, such as "Comment Te Dire Adieu" for Françoise Hardy.
In 1969, he released what would become his most famous song in the English-speaking world, "Je t'aime... moi non plus," which featured simulated sounds of female orgasm. The song appeared that year on an LP, Jane Birkin/Serge
Gainsbourg. Originally recorded with Brigitte Bardot, it was released with
future girlfriend Birkin when Bardot backed out. While Gainsbourg declared it the "ultimate love song," it was considered too
"hot"; the song was censored in various countries, and in France even the toned-down version was suppressed. The Vatican made a public statement citing the song as offensive. Its notoriety led it to reaching no. 1 in the UK
singles chart. A long-standing rumor maintains that Gainsbourg and Birkin were actually having sex during the recording
session.
The seventies
His most influential work came near the start of the 70s with Histoire de
Melody Nelson, released in 1971. This concept album, produced and arranged by
Jean-Claude Vannier, tells the story of a Lolita-esque affair, with Gainsbourg as the narrator and Jane Birkin as the eponymous English heroine. It
features prominent string arrangements and even a massed choir at its tragic climax. At the time, sales were poor, but the album
has proven influential with artists such as Air, David Holmes, and Beck.
In 1975, he released the album Rock Around the Bunker, a rock album
written entirely on the subject of the Nazis. Gainsbourg used black humour, as he and his family suffered during World War II.
While a child in Paris, Gainsbourg himself had worn the yellow badge as the mark of a
Jew.
The next year saw the release of another major work, L'Homme à Tête de Chou
(Cabbage-Head Man), featuring the new character Marilou and sumptuous orchestral themes.
In Jamaica in 1978 he recorded "Aux Armes et cetera," a reggae version of the French national anthem "La Marseillaise," with
Robbie Shakespeare, Sly Dunbar, and Rita Marley. This song earned him death threats from right-wing veterans of the Algerian War of Independence who were opposed to certain lyrics. Shortly afterward, Gainsbourg bought the
original manuscript of "La Marseillaise." He was able to reply to his critics that his version was, in fact, closer to the
original as the manuscript clearly shows the words "Aux armes et cætera..." for the chorus.
The next year saw him in the new look of Gainsbarre, officially introduced in the song "Ecce Homo."
Final years
In the 1980s, approaching the end of his life, Gainsbourg became a regular figure on French TV. His appearances seemed devoted
to his controversial sense of humour and provocation. He would frequently show up drunk and unshaven on stage. Perhaps his most
famous incident came when, on Michel Drucker's live Saturday evening show with the
American singer Whitney Houston, he exclaimed to the host, "I want to fuck her."[1]
During this period he released Love on the Beat, a controversial electronic
album with highly sexual themes in the lyrics, and his last studio album, You're Under Arrest, (which saw him adapt his
style to the hip-hop genre), as well as two live recordings. His third and last Eurovision
Song Contest entry came in 1990 with the French entry "White and Black Blues,"
sung by Joëlle Ursull. It came second in a tie with Ireland.
His songs became increasingly eccentric during this period, ranging from the anti-drug "Aux Enfants de la Chance" to the duet
with his daughter Charlotte named "Lemon Incest."[2] This translates as "Inceste de citron", a wordplay on
"un zeste de citron" (a lemon zest). The title demonstrates Gainsbourg's love for puns (another example of which is
Bowie, Beau oui comme Bowie).
Film work
During his career, he wrote the soundtracks for more than 40 films. In 1996, he
received a César Award for Best Music Written for a Film
for Élisa, along with Zbigniew Preisner and
Michel Colombier.
He directed four movies: Je t'aime... moi non plus,
Équateur, Charlotte For Ever and Stan The Flasher.
Death and legacy
Gainsbourg's grave in the Montparnasse Cemetery (he is buried with his parents).
Gainsbourg died on March 2, 1991 of a heart attack and was
buried in Montparnasse Cemetery, in Paris. His funeral brought Paris to a standstill, and French President François Mitterrand said of him, "He was our Baudelaire,
our Apollinaire... He elevated the song to the level of art."[3] His home at the well-known address
5bis rue de Verneuil is still covered in graffiti and poems.
Since his death, Gainsbourg's music has reached an iconic stature in France. His lyrical brilliance in French has left an
extraordinary legacy. His music, always progressive, covered many styles: jazz, ballads, mambo, lounge, reggae, pop (including
adult contemporary pop, kitsch pop, yé-yé pop, '80s pop, pop-art pop, prog pop, space-age pop,
psychedelic pop, and erotic pop), disco, calypso, Africana, bossa nova, and rock and roll. He has gained a following in the
English-speaking world with many non-mainstream artists finding his imaginative and eclectic arrangements highly influential.
He is also considered to be one of the first music pop artists of the late 1960s. While artists such as Andy Warhol and Roy Lichtenstein explored modern iconographic
consumer culture through painting, Gainsbourg explored similar territory in music with songs such as "Comic Strip," "Ford
Mustang," "Qui est In Qui est Out," and "Teenie Weenie Boppie."
One of the most frequent interpreters of Gainsbourg's songs was British singer Petula
Clark, whose success in France was propelled by her recordings of his tunes. In 2003, she wrote and recorded La Chanson
de Gainsbourg as a tribute to the composer of some of her biggest hits.
Serge has had a profound influence on many contemporary musicians, especially in England where he strived to be as important
and well-known as he was in France. He is now achieving this with many American and British artists who, from the last 15 years,
have cited him as crucial to them: Placebo (especially Brian
Molko), Beck, Blur, Pulp, and Suede.[citation needed]
His lyrics are collected in the volume Dernières nouvelles des étoiles.
Trivia
- The first English-language version of a Gainsbourg song was Dionne Warwick's 1965
version of Mamadou.
- Australian rock musician Mick Harvey released two CDs worth of Gainsbourg's songs
translated into English.
- France Gall was horrified to discover the sexual double-meaning of the lyrics to
Les Sucettes, which tells about a little girl with a strong taste for lollipops — a
perfectly innocent song suitable for small children. However, one can also interpret it as a description of fellatio.
- Reggae star Bob Marley was furious when he discovered Gainsbourg made his wife
Rita Marley sing erotic lyrics.[1]
- He once burned a 500 French franc note (roughly 75 €) on television to protest against
heavy taxation.[4]
- Placebo did a cover of Gainsbourg's "The Ballad Of Melody Nelson"
- Alternative rock band Luna's cover of Gainsbourg's song "Bonnie and Clyde" is featured
in the burlesque show scene of Rush Hour 3.
Discography
- 1958: Du chant à la une
- 1959: Disque N°2
- 1961: L'étonnant Serge Gainsbourg
- 1962: Disque N°4
- 1963: Gainsbourg Confidentiel
- 1964: Gainsbourg Percussions
- 1967: Anna
- 1967: Gainsbourg & Brigitte Bardot: Bonnie & Clyde
- 1968: Gainsbourg & Brigitte Bardot: Initials B.B.
- 1968: Ce Sacré Grand-Père
- 1969: Jane Birkin/Serge Gainsbourg
- 1970: Cannabis
- 1971: Histoire de Melody Nelson
- 1974: Vu de l'extérieur
- 1975: Rock Around the Bunker
- 1976: L'homme à tête de chou
- 1979: Aux armes et cætera
- 1980: Enregistrement public au Théâtre Le Palace
- 1981: Mauvaises nouvelles des étoiles
- 1984: Love On The Beat
- 1985: Serge Gainsbourg live (Casino de Paris)
- 1987: You're under arrest
- 1988: Le Zénith de Gainsbourg
- 1989: De Gainsbourg à Gainsbarre (Box Set)
- 2001: Gainsbourg Forever (Integral Box Set)
- 2001: Le Cinéma de Gainsbourg (Box Set)
- 2005: Monsieur Gainsbourg Revisited (Tribute album)
Noted songs
References
- ^ a b The Guardian (April 14, 2006). Gainsbourg, je
t'aime.
- ^ A controversial video for "Lemon Incest" featured a
half-naked Gainsbourg lying on a bed with his daughter Charlotte. Phrases from the song include "L'amour que nous ne ferons
jamais ensemble/ Est le plus beau le plus violent/ Le plus pur le plus enivrant" ("The love that we will never make together/ is
the most beautiful, the most violent/ The most pure, the most heady").
- ^ The Guardian (February 2, 2001). The eyes have
it.
- ^ The Guardian (February 5, 2003). Serge, mon amour.
External links
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