Serge Gainsbourg
Serge Gainsbourg (
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. But since the 1980s his legacy has been firmly established.
Personal Life
He was born
Lucien Ginsburg in
Paris,
France, the son of
Jewish
Russian parents who fled to
France after the 1917
Bolshevik uprising. He had a daughter,
Charlotte with
Jane Birkin; and a son, Lulu, with his last partner,
Bambou (Caroline Von Paulus, who is related to
Friedrich Paulus). Before he was 30 years old, Lucien Ginsburg was a disillusioned painter but earned his living as a piano player in bars.
Early work
His early songs were influenced by
Boris Vian. Gainsbourg wanted to free himself from what he considered "old-fashioned"
chanson, and explore other musical grounds, influenced especially by
British and
American pop.
Success began to arrive in the mid-sixties 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.) He 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 5th.
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". The song, originally recorded with
Brigitte Bardot, it was released with a different female singer, 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. Even the
Vatican made a public statement citing the song as offensive. Its notoriety led to it reaching no. 1 in the UK singles chart.
The Seventies
His most influential work came near the start of the Seventies 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 the 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.
Next year saw the release of another major work,
L'Homme à la Tête de Chou (Cabbage-Head Man), featuring Marilou as a new character and with 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 afterwards, 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
Through the 1980's and towards 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 outburst came when he whispered "I want to fuck you" into the ear of American singer
Whitney Houston on
Michel Drucker's live Saturday evening show.
During this period he released
Love On The Beat 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 in this period, ranging from the anti-drug "Les Enfants de la Chance" to the questionable duet with his daughter Charlotte called "Lemon Incest (Un zeste de citron)." The title of the latter demonstrates Gainsbourg's love of puns (another example is "Bowie, Beau oui comme Bowie").
Film work
During his career, he wrote the soundtracks for more than forty films. He directed himself in four movies:
Je t'aime... moi non plus,
Equateur,
Charlotte For Ever and
Stan The Flasher. |
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." His home at the well-known address 5bis rue de Verneuil is still covered by 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.
* 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".
Les Sucettes 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.
* A controversial video for the song "Lemon Incest" features a half-naked Gainsbourg lying on a bed with daughter Charlotte.
* Reggae star
Bob Marley was furious when he discovered Gainsbourg made his wife
Rita Marley sing erotic lyrics.
* He once burned a 500 French franc note on television to protest against heavy taxation.
* Drunk on French national TV (Drucker show), he told a very young
Whitney Houston "I want to fuck you". Horrified, the show host pretends Gainsbourg had said something else, then after Gainsbourg repeated to a horrified Houston what he'd said, the host made him apologize (Drucker didn't cut to commercials since there were no commercial breaks on French TV back then). (See also External links.)
*
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. *
1969:
Jane Birkin/Serge Gainsbourg *
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)
* "Aux armes et caetera"
* "Baby Pop"
* "Bonnie and Clyde"
* "Comment te dire adieu"
* "Couleur Café"
* "Elisa"
* "Hold Up"
* "Initials B.B."
* "
Je t'aime... moi non plus"
* "La Gadoue"
* "La Javanaise"
* "Lemon Incest"
* "Les Incorruptibles"
* "
Les Sucettes"
* "L'homme à Tête de Chou"
* "Lola Rastaquouere"
* "New York U.S.A."
* "Poupée de cire, poupée de son"
* "Sorry Angel"
* "Sea, Sex and Sun"
* "You're Under Arrest"
*
Official website*
Audiobook (mp3): Incipit of ''Evguenie Sokolov (painter and flatulist), written by Gainsbourg in 1980
*
Biography of Serge Gainsbourg, from
Radio France Internationale*
A discussion of lyrics and themes in English*
Gainsbourg Dub - Photos and archives*
Serge Gainsbourg, A Tribute to Gainsbourg*
Tete De Chou Website & Forum*
Gainsbourg en multipisteswebsite-conference, Hall de la Chanson
*
Rue de Vernueil + Montparnasse Cemetery in panographies - 360 degree imaging*
The fabled exchange between Gainsbourg and Whitney Houston.
