France Gall
| France Gall | |
|---|---|
France Gall, 1965
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Isabelle Geneviève Marie Anne Gall |
| Also known as | France Gall |
| Born |
9 October 1947 Paris, France |
| Origin | Paris, France |
| Genres | Yé-yé, French pop, synthpop |
| Occupation(s) | Singer |
| Years active | 1963–1997 |
| Labels |
WEA France Philips France |
| Associated acts | Michel Berger, Serge Gainsbourg |
France Gall (born Isabelle Geneviève Marie Anne Gall; 9 October 1947) is a French yé-yé singer. She was married to, and had a successful singing career in partnership with, the late French singer-songwriter Michel Berger, until his death. The couple had two children.
Isabelle Geneviève Marie Anne Gall was born in Paris on October 9, 1947, to a highly musical family. Her father, lyricist Robert Gall, penned songs for Edith Piaf and Charles Aznavour. Her mother, Cécile Berthier, was a singer herself and the daughter of Paul Berthier, co-founder of Les Petits Chanteurs à la Croix de Bois. The sole daughter of her family, she had two brothers: Patrice and Claude. In spring 1963, Robert Gall encouraged his daughter to record songs and send the demos to music publisher Denis Bourgeois. That July, she auditioned for Bourgeois at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées in Paris, after which Bourgeois wanted to sign her immediately. France was subsequently signed to Philips.
At the time, Bourgeois was working for the label as Artistic Director for Serge Gainsbourg and assumed this role for Gall as well. He encouraged her to record four tracks with French jazz musician, arranger and composer Alain Goraguer.
The first airplay of France's first single "Ne sois pas si bête" ("Don't Be So Stupid"), occurred on her 16th birthday. It was released in November and became a hit, selling 200,000 copies.Serge Gainsbourg, who had released several albums and written songs for singers including Michèle Arnaud and Juliette Gréco, was asked by Bourgeois to write songs for Gall. Gainsbourg's "N'écoute pas les idoles" ("Don't listen to the idols") became Gall's second single; it reached the top of the French charts in March 1964 and stayed there for three weeks.
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