Gainsbourg… The man, the myth, the legend. Not only one of the most famous and influential French singers ever, but also an unforgettable character : “Gainsbarre”, the dude who always acted drunk, who always provoked a scandal whenever he appeared on TV, whose reggae version of the French national anthem made him receive serious death threats… His work, his attitude and his way of singing (of nearly talking in fact) inspired countless artists, in France and abroad. He also wrote music for many other artists : France Gall, Vanessa Paradis, Alain Bashung…
[More about him on Wikipedia]
Songs by himself :
- Le poinçonneur des lilas
- Intoxicated man
- Je suis venu te dire que je m’en vais
- Boomerang
- Sea, sex and sun
- La Javanaise
- Love on the beat
- La chanson de Prévert
- Bonnie and Clyde (with Brigitte Bardot)
- Initials BB
- Comic Strip
- Melody Nelson
- Cargo culte
- Je t’aime… moi non plus (with Jane Birkin)
- Aux armes, et caetera
- Vieille canaille (with Eddy Mitchell)
Songs written by him for others (non exhaustive list) :
- France Gall : Poupée de cire, poupée de son
- France Gall : Les sucettes
- Julien Clerc : Belinda
- Jane Birkin : Quoi
- Alain Chamfort : Manureva
- Vanessa Paradis : Tandem
French Music into English 