Serge Koolenn

Guitarist and singer with the group Il Était Une Fois, Serge Koolenn was previously involved with several rock bands in the 1960s. Born in La Garenne-Colombes on April 15, 1947, he met musicians at the MJC (Maison des jeunes et de la culture) who, like him, were Beatles fans. Named successively New Peatles, Peatles, Peetles and Piteuls, in 1964 they won the prize for best group in a rock contest organized by Radio Luxembourg (later RTL). However, unable to record under this name, the group that accompanied Charles Trenet, Evy, and performed at the Golf Drouot and in 1966 at the Olympia in Paris, adopted those of Le Bain Didonc, Pierre, Paul ou Jacques, Les Papyvores or Pro Cromagnum, to perform and record several albums, before calling themselves Les Jelly Roll in 1968. The following year, a meeting with Joëlle Mogensen on the terrace of a Saint-Tropez café led to a romance and a duet for the single "Sonne, carillonne" (1970), followed by the formation with his musician friends of the group Il Était Une Fois, whose success only grew with songs like "Les Filles du mercredi " (1973), "Viens faire un tour sous la pluie" and "J'ai encore rêvé d'elle" (1975), for which Serge Koolenn wrote the lyrics. Even before they split up in 1979, he formed the group MEKS, made up of the initials of the names Jacques Mercier, Gilbert Einaudi, Serge Koolenn and Riquet Séré, which recorded a single album. In 1980, Serge Koolenn produced his first solo album with American musicians and British guitarist Albert Lee, featuring the singles "Filles à problèmes " and "À cause de vous", followed by Paris Hollywood (1981). On May 15, 1982, his former partner died of pulmonary edema at the age of 29. After forming the short-lived group Moby Dick in 1986, Serge Koolenn retired from the stage. Stricken with cancer, he stopped treatment and died on April 28, 2015 at the age of 68.