Jean Ferrat’s death, in 2010, was probably the first big loss of the decade in French music. He was indeed considered one of the greatest artists in French music, alongside Jacques Brel, Georges Brassens, Léo Ferré and others. He’s famous for his lyrics but also as a melodist, and he adaptated several poems by Louis Aragon into songs. Leaning on the alt-left of the political spectrum, he was close to the communist party like many artists and philosophers in France at the time, but still disagreed with them occasionnally. Outside from that, he’s also known for his praise of the countryside, of the French “terroir”, which earned him the appreciation of a big part of the public.
[More about him on Wikipedia]
- Nuit et Brouillard
- La Montagne
- Ma France
- Que serais-je sans toi
- C’est beau la vie
French Music into English 