Claude François: King of French Disco (Late 70's)

Claude François was born in Ismailia, Egypt in 1939. When Claude was 12, his father was transferred to Port Tawfik, on the shores of the Red Sea. He and his sister, Josette, spent the rest of their childhood there. Claude’s mother was very musical and talented and made Claude take piano and violin lessons; he also learned to play the drums on his own. His mother was his inspiration. He learned to love music from her.

After a while, the François family moved to Monaco. Claude found a job there as a bank clerk by day and was a drummer in an orchestra during the night. He played in many luxury hotels along the French Riviera. One night, he was offered the chance to sing during a show. His performance was well received and he began performing in night-clubs. He met his wife while performing in one of those night-clubs. He married Janet Woolcoot.

When Claude François grew tired of singing in local bars, he widened his sites on Paris. His records were picked up by a teenage radio show “Salut les Copains”. That was his big break. After that he recorded a string of hit singles. Claude François fans were growing. Young teens pressed up against the stage at his shows. He liked to take American songs and adapting them into his own. One of his famous adaptations was Frank Sinatra’s “My Way”. He toured all across Europe, Africa and Canada until he collapsed on stage from exhaustion in 1971. The only rewards he received were that many of his songs reach number one on the charts.His death was a terrible one. He died at the age of 39. On Saturday, the 11^th of March of 1978, while taking a bath he noticed a light bulb was not completely straight. He tried to fix it, but his hands were wet and he was electrocuted. That was a sad day for France. The French felt like they lost a “national treasure.”

What about your musician's sound do you like? How does the sound affect your mood? What does the sound remind you of?

What i like about Claude François' music is its light, bubbly feeling. It makes you want to get up a dance, especially with "Belles Belles Belles". It makes me, personally, happy. "Belles Belles Belles" is one of those songs that i would sing along to if it was played on the radio. I might just buy it off of iTunes, and yes it is on iTunes. Its sound reminds me of the old days. I can imagine a couple in the 70's doing the twist to that song.

How does your musician's music reflect his or her time period? Was there anything happening in the world or music industry that influenced the music or sound?

When Claude François first moved to Paris, rock 'n roll was the "big thing." His first songs were rock 'n roll. They were a bit heavier and had more emotion to them. Then the Beatles invaded. They added to the rock 'n roll hype. During the disco era, Claude François' music lighten up and had simple lyrics and a rhythm to dance to. I personally like his disco music. The disco music is simple. It has a beat for dancing. The Beatles' music was like, too. They had simple lyrics and a rhythm to move to. I guess Claude François was influenced by the Beatles.