French Rock

DISCLAIMER : I’m just starting my blog so nothing is done yet on this page (no translations, no links to the songs, no explanations, no menu on the site…). Be patient, it’s a work in progress ! 😉

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“French Rock is like English wine.” John Lennon.

This is how the famous Beatle allegedly answered the question of a French journalist. Honestly, I’m not gonna lie – it hurts, and it’s not completely wrong. Who can seriously pretend to compete with England or with the U.S. in this domain anyway ? But even though you may not find a French Pink Floyd or a French Led Zeppelin, I will try to show you that this statement is not completely true : in fact, there are more than a few French rockers that you’ll be glad to know !

Rock music in the 50s and 60s

Rock and roll begun to have a huge impact in the United States especially in the second half of the 1950s, but it took a long time to come to France, and for French people to be accustomed to it. I will explain you this story later, but apparently the first French songs that can be considered “rock and roll” are actually parodies :

• Henri Salvador : Blouse du Dentiste
• Henri Salvador : Rock and roll mops
• Magali Noël : Fais-moi mal, Johnny

But French “mainstream” rock and roll ended up taking a very different direction. Everybody was now paying attention to what was happening musically in the other side of the Atlantic, and on the other side of the Channel : and everybody began to copy it shamelessly. The first international rock festival took place in Paris in 1961 at the Palais des Sports, which really launched the popularity of the genre, despite press critics being nearly unanimously negative (which was appartently also the case in the United States in the beginning).

French rockers were doing their best to look like Elvis. Their names were Eddy Mitchell, Johnny Halliday, Dick Rivers… And their repertoire contained mainly covers of anglophones standards, or songs that were very similar sounding. For example, when you look at the early carrer of a singer as impactful as Johnny Halliday, there is a lot of covers : Tutti Frutti, Let’s Twist Again, Hound Dog… And during my researchs I keep discovering that some French songs from this era are in fact covers of rock standards. Still some very interesting stuff has been produced in this era, some of it more mellow than “usual” rock and roll. It is also remembered for its quite joyful and carefree tone. This specific 60’s style, made of imitation of the English/American model and characterised by the rise of many young and famous “pop-stars”, was (and is still) called the yéyés (= yeah yeah) for obvious reasons.

Rock Music in the 70s, 80s and 90s

But after a decade, French rock begun to become something else, and went in a lot of different directions. These 3 decades are to me the most interesting in French rock, and you will find some cool bands for pretty much every style that you’re looking for. Are you a fan of the Rolling Stones ? Then you might love Telephone. Do you prefer hard rock ? Then Trust is a band for you. But there is also a lot of punk bands : Les Béruriers Noirs, Les Wampas, Les Garçons Bouchers, Les Négresses Vertes, Ludwig von 88… And I can’t forget the band Indochine, essential in most French parties, who is leaning more on the new wave side. Many singers were also inspired by rock and integrated it into their catalogue. And finally, there are a few unique bands that have explored various genres, who are therefore difficult to classify, and that you will find nowhere else. Enjoy the listen !

• Michel Polnareff : La poupée qui fait non (late 60’s)
• Michel Polnareff : Holidays (with a psychedelic influence)
• Telephone : Ça
• Telephone : Un autre monde
• Telephone : New York avec toi
• Telephone : Cendrillon
• Jacques Dutronc : La fille du père Noël
• Laurent Voulzy : Rockollection (a mix of several well-known rock classics)
• Indochine : L’aventurier
• Indochine : Trois nuits par semaine
• Indochine : Troisième Sexe
• Plastic Bertrand : Ça plane pour moi
• Trust : Antisocial
• Les Wampas : Petite Fille
• Carte de Séjour : Douce France
• Starshooter : Betsy Party
• Les Béruriers Noirs : Salut à toi
• Daniel Balavoine : Quand on arrive en ville (from the rock opera Starmania)
• Les Rita Mitsouko : Les Histoires d’A
• Bijou : Je hais les mecs comme toi
• Mano Negra : Mala Vida
• Mano Negra : Pas assez de toi
• Alain Bashung : Osez Joséphine
• Alain Bashung : Vertige de l’amour
• Les Sales Majestés : Petit papa Noël
• Noir Désir : Le vent nous portera
• Noir Désir : Un homme pressé
• Louise Attaque : Je t’emmène au vent

More recent French rock songs :

In these laste two decades, French rock didn’t die, even though it’s gone far away from the spotlight. The French rock scene is still active and several very good bands have emerged. I don’t want you to be bored by a too long article, so I tried to put only one song by each band (my favorite, or their most famous, or their most rocking song) even though it was very complicated ! So don’t hesitate to explore these bands more. For some of them, I’ll translate some other songs.

• Les Ramonneurs de Menhirs : Menez Daou
• Eiffel : À tout moment la rue
• Shaka Ponk : My name is Stain
• Les Fatals Picards : Noir(s)
• Gojira : Stranded