Introducing Jean Ferrat

Jean Ferrat was born in Vaucresson, Hauts-de-Seine. He was the youngest of four children from a modest family.

His Russian-born father (naturalized in 1928) was forced to wear the yellow star and deported to Auschwitz in 1942.

In 1956, he set "Les yeux d'Elsa" ("Elsa's eyes"), a Louis Aragon poem which Jean Ferrat loved, to music. Its rendition by popular artist André Claveau brought Jean Ferrat some initial recognition as a songwriter.

His first 45 RPM single was released in 1958, without success. It was not until 1959, with publisher Gérard Meys, who also became his close friend and associate, that his career started to flourish. He signed with Decca and released his second single, "Ma Môme", in 1960 under the musical direction of Meys.

In 1961 Jean Ferrat married Christine Sèvres, a singer who performed some of his songs. He also met Alain Goraguer, who became an arranger of his songs. His debut album, Deux Enfants du Soleil, was released that year. Jean Ferrat also wrote songs for Zizi Jeanmaire and went on the road, sharing billing with her at the Alhambra for six months.

Nuit et Brouillard ("Night and Fog"), which followed in 1963, was awarded the Académie Charles Cros's Grand Prix du Disque. Jean Ferrat toured again in 1965, but stopped performing on stage in 1973.

In 1990, Jean Ferrat received an award from the Société des auteurs, compositeurs et éditeurs de musique, (SACEM) the French association of songwriters, composers and music publishers.

In 2010, Jean Ferrat died of a cancer at the age of 79 (...)

Source of the introducing: WIKIPEDIA.

Some Jean Ferrat songs may be found from this page.