Juliette Greco – Four Songs – words by Francois Sagan – 1956 – Philips Records France –
Juliette Greco to end the week. The iconic French singer who captured the spirit of Paris in the Postwar years of the late 1940s, 1950s and 1960s – who paved the way for an entire generation of female French singers and who epitomized the Beat Generation in Europe.
She became an icon and the epitome for the Bohemian lifestyle of Post-War France, and her close associations with writers and artists of that period made her the object of dedications of poetry and songs, which she later recorded during an astonishing career that involved not only music but acting in numerous films and TV, including a part in Jean Cocteau‘s Orpheus in 1949.
This set of four songs, which come from one of her very first U.S. releases on Columbia Records is from 1956. It features songs with lyrics written by the novelist Francoise Sagan; 1. La Valse 2. Sans Vous Aimer 3. Le jour 4. Vous mon Coeur.
With a career spanning some 70 years, it was only natural Greco receive a Commander of the Order Of Arts And Letters from the French government last year. She has been the subject of numerous biographies and most all of her recordings have been reissued in one form or another over the years.
If you aren’t familiar with her work, or even who she is, you really need to dive into this sampler of her amazing work and investigate the rich legacy of her recordings. She has been a major influence on the Chanson genre and has been the object of discovery by numerous artists over the years.
Her sultry and evocative voice and her impeccable phrasing have turned the average song into an unforgettable experience. And even if you don’t understand the language, the expression on its own is more than enough to create an impression.
Sit down and have a listen.
