Alain Bashung

Alain Bashung born Alain Claude Baschung 1 December 1947 14 March 2009 was a French singer songwriter and actor Credited with reviving the French chanson in a time of French musical turmoil he is often regarded in his home country as the most important French rock musician after Serge Gainsbourg He rose to prominence in the early 1980s with hit songs such as Gaby oh Gaby and Vertige de lamour and later had a string of hit records from the 1990s onward such as Osez Joséphine Ma petite entreprise and La nuit je mens He has had an influence on many later French artists and is the most awarded artist in the Victoires de la Musique history with 12 victories obtained throughout his career Bashungs Play blessures 1982 Osez Joséphine 1991 and Fantaisie militaire 1998 have made multiple French lists of the greatest albums LImprudence 2002 and Bleu pétrole 2008 the last two studio albums released during his lifetime also garnered acclaim Bashung died at 61 after a twoyear fight with lung cancer Alain Baschung he later dropped the c from his surname was the son of a Breton mother working in a rubber factory and an Algerian father whom he never knew His mother remarried and at the age of one Bashung was sent to Wingersheim near Strasbourg to live with his stepfathers parents He spent his childhood in the countryside in a rather conservative environment alongside a grandmother who did not speak French He discovered music during his childhood notably Kurt Weills Mahagonny and began to practice with a Rosebud harmonica offered to him when he was five He also practiced basketball and cycling and sang in the church choir of Wingersheim He came back to Paris in 1959 where he discovered the great chanson artists and then rock artists such as Gene Vincent Buddy Holly whom he admired deeply and Elvis Presley While studying before dropping out after he was awarded a BTS in accountancy from the École nationale de commerce in 1965 he formed a band called Les Dunces playing folk music and rockabilly He later formed a band with musicians met in Royan and then began to tour in restaurants hotels and US military bases He began his career with his first EP Pourquoi rêvezvous des ÉtatsUnis in 1966 which he wrote and composed At the same time he joined the RCA label to become a music arranger He wrote songs for French artists In June 1967 at the Palais des Sports of Paris he was the opening act alongside Noël Deschamps and Ronnie Bird of artists such as the Pretty Things the Troggs or Cream In 1968 he released his first single Les Romantiques which was largely ignored by the public and unsuccessful Around that time he dropped the c from his name and spent some time at the house of fellow singer Christophe From 1972 to 1974 he composed some of the music and cowrote three albums and three singles including Marilou for French rock singer Dick Rivers In 1973 he played Robespierre in the musical La Révolution française by ClaudeMichel Schönberg Source Article Alain Bashung from Wikipedia in english licensed under CCBYSA 30