Howdy folks,

Your vintage multimedia maven here, back with another European artist who is less well-known to American audiences, Charles Trénet (1913-2001). I had no idea who he was until I heard one of his songs in a toilet paper commercial and then scoured the internet until I found out who he was. Do you remember in finding Nemo and then later in LOST where they sing… well, you know… that old song? It’s La Mer, which in English was a big hit as Beyond the Sea for Bobby Darin, the ’60s swinger who died prematurely of a heart condition. Unfortunately, the only live clip online of singer-songwriter Trenet singing his most-famous work is when he’s an old fogey. Interestingly, rockabilly sensation Cliff Richard opted to learn the song in its original tongue.

Trénet was popular primarily from the ’30s-’50s, but remained popular with his fans until his death in 2001. Unusually for his era, he exclusively performed and recorded songs he wrote himself. Here he is performing his first big hit, “Boum”… the film version or, if you like, the hopped-up warp-speed rendition (perhaps he wanted to get it over with after singing it for 30 years.) I love the little women popping out and his nicely tailored mafioso attire.

Dubbed “Le Fou Chantant” (the Singing Fool/Madman), Trénet’s pleasant baritone, animated stage presence, and penchant for unusual lyrics helped his songs take off and contributed to his career’s longevity. Some of his whimsical and surreal lyrical imagery included the Eiffel tower walking across the street and lovers engaged in a minuet who become ‘no longer human’, but wax figures trapped in a museum.

Over the course of his 60-years of performing, Trénet published close to a thousand songs, along with books of poetry and a few novels for good measure, although he tended to downplay the impressiveness of his prolific composition.

Clarita! Nicole! Here’s Nick’s favorite Trénet clip, from 1938’s decidedly silly Je Chante. The song’s name is as fun as his sweater is awesome: “Ah! Dis, Ah! Dis, Ah! Bonjour”

La romance de Paris. I love how he cocks his hat, which he often also uses as a prop.

Here is a song of his I particularly fancy, “L’âme des artistes (Longtemps)” in an abridged form from a 1951 film. (Generally I think he aged pretty well—see his live Dutch show at age 50.)

And that’s Charles Trénet for you.

Be seeing you!

.:re:.

For more:

Chicks dig fake piano playing.

Chicks dig horribly fake street scenes.

Old chicks dig records of yourself.