Serge Gainsbourg

Serge Gainsbourg, born Lucien Ginzburg, (April 2, 1928 - March 2, 1991) was a poet, singer-songwriter, actor and director.

His early songs were influenced by Boris Vian. Gainsbourg wanted to break free from old-fashioned chanson and explore new musical grounds, influenced by British and American pop. During his career, he wrote the soundtracks for more than 40 movies.

He directed himself four movies : Je t'aime... moi non plus, Equateur, Charlotte For Ever and Stan The Flasher.

His most famous song, Je t'aime... moi non plus, was vocally very erotic. Originally recorded with Brigitte Bardot, it was released with a different female singer, future girlfriend Jane Birkin, when Bardot backed out. Considered too "hot", the song was censored in various countries and in France even the toned-down version was suppressed. Its notoriety led to it reaching no. 1 in the UK chart.

His most influencial work Histoire de Melody Nelson was released in 1971. This concept-album arranged by Jean-Claude Vannier was mainly based on Nabokov's novel Lolita. It has proven exceptionally influential with artists such as Air, David Holmes and Beck.

In 1975, he released the album Rock Around the Bunker the only rock album entirely written on the subject of the Nazis, recalling with black humour of how he and his family suffered during World War II. Serge had worn the yellow star as a child in Paris.

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 somptuous orchestral themes.

In 1978 he recorded a reggae version of the French national anthem "La Marseillaise", "Aux Armes et cetera", with Bob Marley's band in Jamaica, which resulted in him getting death threats from right wing veterans of the Algerian War of Independence. 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.

Next year saw him in the new look of Gainsbarre officially introduced in the song "Ecce Homo". During this last decade he made a lot of TV appearances devoted to his controversial sense of humour and provocation. During this period he released Love On The Beat and his last studio album You're Under Arrest, as well as two live recordings.

Towards the end of his life, Gainsbourg became a regular feature on French talk shows, with perhaps the most famous outburst coming when he told Whitney Houston "I want to fuck you". His songs became increasingly eccentric, ranging from the anti-drug "Les Enfants de la Chance" to the questionable duet with Charlotte "Lemon Incest". The title of the latter demonstrates Gainsbourg's love of word play, which could sometimes be painful "Bowie, Bah Oui".

Gainsbourg died on March 2, 1991 of a heart-attack and was buried in Montparnasse Cemetery, in Paris. His home at the well-known address 5bis rue de Verneuil is still totally covered by grafitti and poems.

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.

Brief notes:

• "Aux Armes et cetera ..." caused anger among veterans of the war in Algeria, resulting in several death-threats.
• "Poupée de cire, poupée de son" for the Eurovision Song Contest.
• France Gall was horrified to discover the sexual double-meaning of the lyrics to "Les Sucettes".
• The controrversial video featuring a half-naked Gainsbourg and daughter Charlotte for the song "Lemon Incest."
• Controversy surrounding "Je t'aime Moi non plus"
• Bob Marley was furious when he discovered Gainsbourg made Rita Marley sing erotic lyrics.
• Towards the end of his life, Gainsbourg used to show up drunk and unshaven on stage
• He once burned a 500 French franc bill on TV to protest heavy taxation

Discography

• 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)

Noted songs

• Aux armes et caetera
• Poupée de cire, poupée de son
• Les Sucettes
• Lemon Incest
• Je t'aime... moi non plus
• Bonnie and Clyde
• Couleur Café
• La Javanaise
• La Gadoue
• Les Incorruptibles

External links

• Official website (http://www.sergegainsbourg.com.fr/)

• Serge Gainsbourg, A Tribute to Gainsbourg (http://www.gainsbourg.org/)

• Tete De Chou Website & Forum (http://www.tetedechou.com/)

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