Claude François

Claude François
Claude François (1965)
Background information
Birth name	Claude Antoine Marie François
Also known as	Cloclo
Born	(1939-02-01)1 February 1939 Ismaïlia, Egypt
Died	11 March 1978(1978-03-11) (aged 39) Paris, France
Genres	Pop music
Occupation(s)	Musician, singer, songwriter, producer, editor in chief
Instruments	Vocals and drums
Years active	1962–1978
Labels	Fontana, Phillips, Flèche
Website	http://www.claudefrancois.fr/

Claude Antoine Marie François ([kl̺od̪ fʁɒ̃ˈs̪wä]; 1 February 1939 – 11 March 1978), also known by the nickname Cloclo, was a French pop singer, songwriter and dancer.

François wrote and composed "Comme d'habitude", the original version of "My Way" and "Parce que je t'aime mon enfant", the original version of "My Boy". Among his most famous songs are "Le Téléphone Pleure", "Le lundi au soleil", "Magnolias for Ever", "Alexandrie Alexandra" and "Cette année là".

François sold some 70 million records during his career (and after his death) and was about to embark for the U.S. when he was accidentally electrocuted in March 1978 at age 39. Former French President Valéry Giscard d'Estaing is quoted as saying Claude François was, to him, the equivalent of The Beatles.

The son of a French father and a Calabrian mother, François was born in Egypt, in the city of Ismaïlia, where his father, Aimé François (1908–1961), was working as a senior manager in the Anglo-French Suez canal company on the Suez Canal. In 1951, the job took the family to the city of Port Tawfiq on the Gulf of Suez.

The singer's full name was Claude Antoine Marie François. It was traditional in his father's family to give boys names that start with the letter A, but his mother managed to impose her will and named him "Claude." "Antoine" was then given as a middle name, and "Marie", the name of the Virgin Mary, was also given in order to protect the child. François had an older sister, Josette (born 1934), who wrote her memoirs in 2008.

François' mother, Lucia Mazzeï (1910–1992), also known as Chouffa, was very musical and had her son take piano and violin lessons. On his own, the boy learned to play the drums. As a result of the 1956 Suez Crisis, the family returned to live in Monaco, where they struggled financially after François' father fell ill and could not work. The family's expulsion from a wealthy life in Egypt was the first of the traumas that affected his whole life.