Serge Gainsbourg | Artist

Lucien Ginsberg aka Serge Gainsbourg was a French singer, songwriter, pianist, film composer, poet, painter, screenwriter, actor, and film director born 1928 in Paris. Gainsbourg was initially a cabaret singer but his musical scope expanded to incorporate rock'n'roll, electronica, disco, new wave and reggae. Regarded as one of the most important figures in French pop, He was always the musical innovator and became one of France's most revered musicians. His lyrical works incorporated wordplay, with humorous, bizarre, provocative, sexual, satirical or subversive overtones. Gainsbourg wrote over 550 songs, which have been covered more than 1,000 times by diverse artists. Born the son of Ukrainian Jewish migrants who fled to Paris after the 1917 Russian Revolution, Gainsbourg's childhood was profoundly affected by the occupation of France by Germany during WWII. The identifying yellow star that Jews were required to wear haunted Gainsbourg and in later years he was able to transmute this memory into creative inspiration. After attending art schools in Paris, young Gainsbourg was conscripted to the Army for 12 months where, in his own words, he spent the time playing dirty songs on his guitar, visiting prostitutes and drinking, later admitting that the service made him an alcoholic. Later he earned a living working odd jobs and as a piano player in bars, soon becoming the venue pianist at the drag cabaret club Madame Arthur. Gainsbourg had a revelation when he saw Boris Vian at the Milord l'Arsouille club, whose provocative and humorous songs would influence his own compositions. By 1957 Gainsbourg was accompanying singer and club star Michèle Arnaud on the guitar, and soon was performing his own repertoire, despite suffering from stage fright. His debut album, Du chant à la une! was recorded in 1958, backed by arranger Alain Gorageur and his orchestra, beginning a fruitful collaboration. Upon release it was a commercial and critical failure, despite winning the grand prize at L'Academie Charles Cross and the praise of Boris Vian, who compared him to Cole Porter. His first commercial success came in 1960 with his single "L'Eau à la bouche", the title song from the film of the same name. His third LP L'Étonnant Serge Gainsbourg (1961) included one of his best known songs from this period "La Chanson de Prévert." Despite initially mocking yé-yé, a style of French pop typically sung by young female singers, Gainsbourg would soon become one of its most important figures after writing a string of hits for artists like Brigitte Bardot, Petula Clark and France Gall. In terms of his own recordings, Gainsbourg's masterpiece is 1971's Histoire de Melody Nelson, with orchestration by Jean-Claude Vannier. Other outstanding albums include No.4 (1962), Confidentiel (1964), Initials B.B (1968), Jane Birkin et Serge Gainsbourg (1969), L'homme à tête de chou (1976), and Gainsbourg Live (1986). Other albums worth investigating are Aux armes et cætera (1979) which was recorded with Bob Marley and the Wailers, and the excellent compilations Bonnie and Clyde (1968), Comic Strip (1996), and Initials S.G. (2003). One of the artist's most infamous songs comes with an interesting story. In 1967 Gainsbourg had a brief but ardent love affair with glamorous actress Brigitte Bardot. One day she asked him to write the most beautiful love song he could imagine and, that night, he wrote the duet "Je t'aime...moi non plus" for her. The erotic yet cynical "Je t'aime", describing the hopelessness of physical love, was recorded by the pair in a small glass booth in Paris but after Bardot's husband, German businessman Gunter Sachs, became aware of the recording, he demanded it be withdrawn. Gainsbourg, who smoked five packs of unfiltered Gitanes cigarettes a day, died from a heart attack at his home on 2 March 1991, aged 62. He was buried in the Jewish section of the Montparnasse Cemetery in Paris. French President François Mitterand paid tribute by saying, "He was our Baudelaire, our Apollinaire... He elevated the song to the level of art."

Artist Website: gainsbourg.net

Featured Albums: Serge Gainsbourg

Related Artists: Jean-Claude Vannier, Jane Birkin, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Michel Colombier

Collections: Music Visionaries