He worked both as a longshoreman and as a licensed hairdresser. His friends included Pablo Picasso and Jean-Paul Sartre. And, he could sing his cul off.
In songs like “Les Fleurs Mortes” and “Un P’tit Bock” he sang both existential poetry and of the simple pleasure of drinking beer.
This Tuesday July 14, we celebrate Bastille Day, commemorating the 1789 storming of the Bastille prison, a pivotal event that dismantled the absolute monarchy and launched the French Revolution.
For modern democracies (c’est nous?) the day symbolizes the triumph of popular sovereignty over tyranny, the power of collective civic action, and the universal principles of liberty, equality, and fraternity.
Percy Faith’s hit “The Song from Moulin Rouge” aka “Where Is Your Heart” was #1 on the Billboard charts for ten weeks in 1953-1954. We’ll hear sweet versions of that song, along with great French covers of the garage rock classic “Hey Joe”, Dylan’s “The Mighty Quinn”, and the Shirelle’s “Baby, It’s You”
In the opening set, we hear mon homme, Francis Cabrel singing a sublime cover of Bob Dylan’s “Simple Twist of Fate” from Cabrel’s 2010 tribute album to Dylan, “Vise Le Ciel.” Cabrel also closes this first episode of summer with the country-tinged “Quand j’aime une fois j’aime Pour Toujours,” from the singer’s classic “Double Live” album (1999.)
