PowWow

French vocal group Pow Wow has enjoyed national success, notably with the hit "Le Chat". Formed in 1990 by Alain Chennevière and Pascal Periz, former members of the rock'n'roll group Les Alligators, the band was completed by Ahmed Mouici, Bertrand Pierre and percussionist Yvo Abadi. A repertoire of cover versions with guitarist Tony Truant, rehearsed in the Paris club Le Palace, was played in bars, at the Élysée-Montmartre (Paris) and in Caen, even before the band found a name, drawing on semantics associated with North American Indian gatherings. Noticed by the Remark label, they recorded the album Regagner les Plaines (1992) in the same spirit, whose first single, an original composition entitled "Le Chat", climbed to No. 1 in the Top 50 and stayed there all summer, for seven weeks in a row. What was the first a cappella number 1 in France was immediately followed in the autumn by a version of "Le Lion est mort ce soir", based on the standard "The Lion Sleeps Tonight", which climbed to number 4 in early 1993. After an appearance at the Olympia in Paris, Pow Wow is awarded the trophy for original song at the 8th Victoires de la musique awards for "Le Chat". The same year saw the recording of the second album Comme un Guetteur (1993), featuring guitar and piano. After a break and an appearance at the Grand Rex in Paris for the Enfoirés concert, the members of Pow Wow reunited in 1995 to record an album of the same name, abandoning a cappella pieces, followed by the compilation Quatre (1996), including four previously unreleased tracks, while the group went their separate ways. In 2005, the group reformed, with Bertrand Pierre replaced by David Mignonneau for the album Chanter (2006) and the tour that followed. In 2016, Pow Wow returned as a quartet with singer Laura Mayne from Native, for the Top 50, Partez en Live tour. On December 10, 2023, Pascal Periz ended his life at the age of 62.