Claude François, “Cloclo” for his fans (1939-1978) is one of the most iconic French singers of his era. He was a huge star in France and had the image of a seducer. His repertoire was in a huge majority covers of English or American songs. He’s considered as quite cheesy nowadays, and some people already thought he was cheesy at the time. But he still had a lot of energy, a good voice, and an excellent stage presence : he was also always sourrounded by a few female dancers, the “Clodettes”. His accidental death was a huge drama for many fans at the time. (This death is quite legendary in France by the way, and it’s sometimes used as a joke, because a lot of French people like dark humor ; and it’s also quite pedagogic for kids. He was a big maniac, and one day while he was taking a shower, so while the water was touching him, he tried to change a defective bulb and was electrocuted !)
[More about him on Wikipedia]
- Belles, belles, belles
- Cette année-là
- Comme d’habitude
- Le téléphone pleure
- Magnolias for ever
- Belinda
- Le lundi au soleil
- Chanson populaire
- Alexandrie, Alexandra
French Music into English 