Jacques Brel (1929-1978) was THE ultimate French singer, even though, in fact, he was Belgian ! With his great powerful voice, his compositions (that he often made himself) and his fantastic lyrics, he didn’t define himself as a poet, but in fact he was truly one. Several of his songs have been adaptated and covered in other languages. He’s also famous for his intense stage presence. His career was cut short by his illness and cancer. He’s still a major influence for some singers of the new generation (for example Stromae, who is inspired by him in term of voice and in term of lyrics).
[More about him on Wikipedia]
He made so many huge songs that I will have to chose which ones to translate, so this will not be an exhaustive list.
- Ne me quitte pas
- Amsterdam
- La chanson des vieux amants
- Ces gens-là
- La valse à mille temps
- Vesoul
- Au suivant !
- Quand on n’a que l’amour
- Le plat pays
- Mathilde
- Jaurès
- His “round table” with Georges Brassens and Léo Ferré
French Music into English 