Serge Gainsbourg
Serge Gainsbourg was the dirty old man of popular music; a French singer/songwriter and provocateur notorious for his voracious appetite for alcohol, cigarettes, and women, his scandalous, taboo-shattering output made him a legend in Europe but only a cult figure in America, where his lone hit "Je T'Aime...Moi Non Plus" stalled on the pop charts -- fittingly enough -- at number 69.
Born Lucien Ginzberg in Paris on April 2, 1928, his parents were Russian Jews who fled to France following the events of the 1917 Bolshevik uprising. After studying art and teaching, he turned to painting before working as a bar pianist on the local cabaret circuit. Soon he was tapped to join the cast of the musical Milord L'Arsoille, where he reluctantly assumed a singing role; self-conscious about his rather homely appearance, Gainsbourg initially wanted only to carve out a niche as a composer and producer, not as a performer.
Still, he made his recording debut in 1958 with the album Du Chant a la Une; while strong efforts like 1961's L'Etonnant Serge Gainsbourg and 1964's Gainsbourg Confidentiel followed, his jazz-inflected solo work performed poorly on the charts, although compositions for vocalists ranging from Petula Clark to Juliette Greco to Dionne Warwick proved much more successful. In the late '60s, he befriended the actress Brigitte Bardot, and later became her lover; with Bardot as his muse, Gainsbourg's lushly arranged music suddenly became erotic and delirious, and together, they performed a series of duets -- including "Bonnie and Clyde," "Harley Davidson," and "Comic Strip" -- celebrating pop culture icons.
Gainsbourg's affair with Bardot was brief, but its effects were irrevocable: after he became involved with constant companion Jane Birkin, they recorded the 1969 duet "Je T'Aime...Moi Non Plus," a song he originally penned for Bardot complete with steamy lyrics and explicit heavy breathing. Although banned in many corners of the globe, it reached the top of the charts throughout Europe, and grew in stature to become an underground classic later covered by performers ranging from Donna Summer to Ray Conniff.
Gainsbourg returned in 1971 with Histoire de Melody Nelson, a dark, complex song cycle which signalled his increasing alienation from modern culture: drugs, disease, suicide and misanthropy became thematic fixtures of his work, which grew more esoteric, inflammatory, and outrageous with each passing release. Although Gainsbourg never again reached the commercial success of his late-'60s peak, he remained an imposing and controversial figure throughout Europe, where he was both vilified and celebrated for his shocking behavior, which included burning 500 francs on a live television broadcast and recording a reggae version of the sacred "La Marseillaise."
Gainsbourg also created a furor with the single "Lemon Incest," a duet with his daughter, the actress Charlotte Gainsbourg. In addition, he posed in drag for the cover of 1984's Love on the Beat, a collection of songs about male hustlers, and made sexual advances towards Whitney Houston on a live TV broadcast. Along with his pop music oeuvre, Gainsbourg scored a number of films, and also directed and appeared in a handful of features, most notably 1976's Je T'Aime...Moi Non Plus, which starred Birkin and Andy Warhol mainstay Joe Dallesandro. He died on March 2, 1991.
© Jason Ankeny /TiVo
Similar artists
-
Le Poinçonneur Des Lilas
Pop - Released by Rendez-Vous Digital on 26 Oct 2010
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Gainsbourg Au Cinema 1960-62 (Remastered)
French Music - Released by RevOla on 7 Nov 2018
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
L'Archive Secret 1957-62 (Remastered)
French Music - Released by RevOla on 7 Nov 2018
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Close combat (extrait du film "Trop jolies pour être honnêtes")
Film Soundtracks - Released by Warner Chappell Music France on 13 Mar 2023
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
SERGE GAINSBOURG INTEGRAL 1958 - 1962
Pop/Rock - Released by Diggers Factory on 4 Nov 2016
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
En studio avec Serge Gainsbourg
French Music - Released by Universal Music Division Mercury Records on 11 Oct 2019
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
BOF Anna
French Music - Released by Universal Music Division Mercury Records on 1 Jan 1967
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Les 50 plus belles chansons de Serge Gainsbourg
French Music - Released by Universal Music Division Mercury Records on 1 Jan 2007
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Gainsbourg & The Revolutionaries (Super Deluxe Edition)
French Music - Released by Universal Music Division Mercury Records on 22 Jun 2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Histoire de Melody Nelson - 40e Anniversaire
French Music - Released by Universal Music Division Mercury Records on 1 Jan 1971
The Qobuz Essential Discography16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Reggae
Reggae - Released by UME - Global Clearing House on 1 Jul 2021
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Le Zénith de Gainsbourg (Live / 1989)
French Music - Released by Universal Music Division Mercury Records on 1 Jan 1989
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Jane Birkin & Serge Gainsbourg
French Music - Released by Universal Music Division Mercury Records on 1 Jul 1969
The Qobuz Essential Discography16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Je t'aime moi non plus
French Music - Released by UME - Global Clearing House on 30 Jan 2023
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Histoire de Melody Nelson
French Music - Released by Universal Music Division Mercury Records on 24 Mar 1971
The Qobuz Essential Discography16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Love songs
French Music - Released by UME - Global Clearing House on 8 Feb 2022
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Salut les copains
French Music - Released by Universal Music Division Mercury Records on 1 Jan 2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Live Au Palace
French Music - Released by Universal Music Division Mercury Records on 1 Jan 1979
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Serge Gainsbourg : Le poinçonneur des lilas
Pop - Released by Le Chant du Monde on 26 Aug 2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Requiem pour un twister
Pop - Released by EPM Musique on 12 Feb 2021
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Aux armes et caetera
French Music - Released by Universal Music Division Mercury Records on 1 Jan 1979
The Qobuz Essential Discography16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo