Introducing Jacques Brel

Jacques Brel (8 April 1929 – 9 October 1978) was a Belgian singer-songwriter who composed and performed literate, thoughtful, and theatrical songs that generated a large, devoted following in Belgium and France initially, and later throughout the world.

In September 1959, he recorded his fourth album, La Valse à Mille Temps (The waltz a thousand times as fast), with François Rauber and his orchestra. At the end of the decade, he had gained an impressive and enthusiastic following across France. He was so popular that he was invited to headline the end-of-year concert at the renowned Bobino Cabaret in Paris. In January 1961, Jacques Brel made a triumphant return to the Bobino Theatre.

On 6 March 1962, he recorded his first song for Barclay, "Le plat pays" (The flat country). During the second week of March, he recorded the remaining tracks for his sixth studio album, Les Bourgeois (The middle class). In addition to the title song and "Le plat pays", the new album contained the future Jacques Brel classics "Madeleine".

In January 1967, Jacques Brel finished recording songs for a new studio album, Jacques Brel 67, which was released later in the year. The album included "Les bonbons 67" (The candies 67) and "La chanson des vieux amants" (Song of the old lovers). On 16 May 1967, he gave his final concert performance in the town of Roubaix in northern France.

In French-speaking countries, Jacques Brel was also a successful actor, appearing in ten films. He also directed two films, one of which, Le Far West, was nominated for the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival in 1973 (...)

Source of the introducing: WIKIPEDIA.

Some Jacques Brel songs may be found from this page.