Graeme Allwright (7 November 1926 – 16 February 2020) was a

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

-born French singer and songwriter. He became popular in the 1960s and 1970s as a

French language French ( or ) is a Romance language of the Indo-European family. It descended from the Vulgar Latin of the Roman Empire, as did all Romance languages. French evolved from Gallo-Romance, the Latin spoken in Gaul, and more specifically in Nor ...

interpreter of the songs of American and Canadian songwriters such as

Leonard Cohen Leonard Norman Cohen (September 21, 1934November 7, 2016) was a Canadian singer-songwriter, poet and novelist. His work explored religion, politics, isolation, depression, sexuality, loss, death, and romantic relationships. He was inducted in ...

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...

, and

Pete Seeger Peter Seeger (May 3, 1919 – January 27, 2014) was an American folk singer and social activist. A fixture on nationwide radio in the 1940s, Seeger also had a string of hit records during the early 1950s as a member of the Weavers, notably ...

, and remained active into his nineties.

Life and career

Early life

Born in

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...

, New Zealand, Allwright grew up in

Hāwera Hāwera is the second-largest centre in the Taranaki region of New Zealand's North Island, with a population of . It is near the coast of the South Taranaki Bight. The origins of the town lie in a government military base that was established i ...

before attending

Wellington College Wellington College may refer to: *Wellington College, Berkshire, an independent school in Crowthorne, Berkshire, England ** Wellington College International Shanghai ** Wellington College International Tianjin *Wellington College, Wellington, New Z ...

. While growing up he heard

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

and

American folk songs The term American folk music encompasses numerous music genres, variously known as ''traditional music'', ''traditional folk music'', ''contemporary folk music'', ''vernacular music,'' or ''roots music''. Many traditional songs have been sung ...

on radio broadcasts for US troops stationed at

Paekākāriki Paekākāriki () is a town in the Kapiti Coast District in the south-western North Island, New Zealand, and one of the northernmost suburbs of Wellington. It lies north of Porirua and northeast of the Wellington CBD. The town's name comes from ...

and

Tītahi Bay Tītahi Bay (previously known as Titahi Bay), a suburb of Porirua in the North Island of New Zealand, lies at the foot of a short peninsula on the west coast of the Porirua Harbour, to the north of Porirua city centre. History The legendary Po ...

, and sang with his family at local fairs. He started acting in Wellington at the age of 15, and won a scholarship to attend the

Old Vic Old or OLD may refer to: Places *Old, Baranya, Hungary * Old, Northamptonshire, England *Old Street station, a railway and tube station in London (station code OLD) *OLD, IATA code for Old Town Municipal Airport and Seaplane Base, Old Town, Ma ...

theatre school in London. He travelled to England by ship, working as a

cabin boy ''Cabin Boy'' is a 1994 American fantasy comedy film, directed by Adam Resnick and co-produced by Tim Burton, which starred comedian Chris Elliott. Elliott co-wrote the film with Resnick. Both Elliott and Resnick worked for '' Late Night with Dav ...

to pay his way, and began training and working as an actor in London. He was offered a place at the

Royal Shakespeare Company The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) is a major British theatre company, based in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. The company employs over 1,000 staff and produces around 20 productions a year. The RSC plays regularly in London, St ...

but turned it down so as to move to France in 1948 with his girlfriend Catherine Dasté, a fellow theatre student who was the daughter of actor and theatre director

Jean Dasté Jean Dasté, born Jean Georges Gustave Dasté, (18 September 1904 in Paris, France – 15 October 1994 in Saint-Priest-en-Jarez, Loire, France) Sam Coley, "Graeme Allwright Profile", ''Audio Culture'', 13 June 2019
Retrieved 17 December 2019

Music career

Allwright then worked in the

vineyards A vineyard (; also ) is a plantation of grape-bearing vines, grown mainly for winemaking, but also raisins, table grapes and non-alcoholic grape juice. The science, practice and study of vineyard production is known as viticulture. Vineyards ...

Burgundy Burgundy (; french: link=no, Bourgogne ) is a historical territory and former administrative region and province of east-central France. The province was once home to the Dukes of Burgundy from the early 11th until the late 15th century. The c ...

and ran a theatre group in Pernand-Vergelesses, while learning the guitar and listening to the records of American singers such as

Woody Guthrie Woodrow Wilson Guthrie (; July 14, 1912 – October 3, 1967) was an American singer-songwriter, one of the most significant figures in American folk music. His work focused on themes of American socialism and anti-fascism. He has inspired ...

Tom Paxton Thomas Richard Paxton (born October 31, 1937) is an American folk singer-songwriter who has had a music career spanning more than fifty years. In 2009, Paxton received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.

and Pete Seeger. He lived in

Blois Blois ( ; ) is a commune and the capital city of Loir-et-Cher department, in Centre-Val de Loire, France, on the banks of the lower Loire river between Orléans and Tours. With 45,898 inhabitants by 2019, Blois is the most populated city of the ...

, where he worked in a

psychiatric hospital Psychiatric hospitals, also known as mental health hospitals, behavioral health hospitals, are hospitals or wards specializing in the treatment of severe mental disorders, such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, eating disorders, dissociative ...

, and then settled in

Dieulefit Dieulefit (; ''Dieulofé'', from Old Occitan ''Dieu lo fe'' "God made it") is a commune in the Drôme department in southeastern France. Population See also *Communes of the Drôme department The following is a list of the 363 communes of ...

where he taught English and started a children's theatre group. He discovered an aptitude for translation while adapting New Zealand stories into French for his students, and then, after moving to

Saint-Étienne Saint-Étienne (; frp, Sant-Etiève; oc, Sant Estève, ) is a city and the prefecture of the Loire department in eastern-central France, in the Massif Central, southwest of Lyon in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region. Saint-Étienne is the t ...

, began translating American songs into French. In the early 1960s he began performing in small clubs in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

, where he met fellow singer

Colette Magny Colette Magny (31 October 1926 – 12 June 1997) was a French singer and songwriter. A charismatic performer who did not record until her thirties, her work encompassed blues, jazz, protest songs, experimental music and spoken word recordin ...

and the actor and singer

Marcel Mouloudji Marcel André Mouloudji (16 September 1922 – 14 June 1994) was a French singer and actor who was born in Paris and died in Neuilly-sur-Seine. He sang songs written by Boris Vian and Jacques Prévert. Personal life Mouloudji was born to Algeria ...

, who were impressed with Allwright's ability to adapt the lyrics of writers such as Bob Dylan and Leonard Cohen into French. Mouloudji recorded Allwright and released his songs in 1965, firstly on the EP "Le Trimardeur" (a song adapted from Woody Guthrie's " Hard Travelin'"), and then on a self-titled LP. The album included adaptations of songs by Guthrie and

Oscar Brand Oscar Brand (February 7, 1920 – September 30, 2016) was a Canadian-born American folk singer-songwriter, radio host, and author. In his career, spanning 70 years, he composed at least 300 songs and released nearly 100 albums, among them Can ...

as well as several by French songwriter

Paul Koulak Paul Koulak (born Paul Koulaksezian; 27 March 1943 – 28 June 2021) was a French composer of Armenian origin. Biography Koulak was born in Saint-Chamond. Two of his three brothers are also in the artistic field, one being also a musician, t ...

, and Allwright's own material. He won a recording contract with

Mercury Records Mercury Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group. It had significant success as an independent operation in the 1940s and 1950s. Smash Records and Fontana Records were sub labels of Mercury. In the United States, it is ...

, and his second album, also entitled ''Graeme Allwright'', was issued in 1968. It featured adaptations of Dylan's "Who Killed Davy Moore?" ("Qui a tué Davy Moore?") and

Malvina Reynolds Malvina Reynolds (August 23, 1900 – March 17, 1978) was an American folk/blues singer-songwriter and political activist, best known for her songwriting, particularly the songs "Little Boxes", "What Have They Done to the Rain" and "Morningtown ...

' "

Little Boxes "Little Boxes" is a song written and composed by Malvina Reynolds in 1962, which became a hit for her friend Pete Seeger in 1963, when he released his cover version. The song is a social satire about the development of suburbia, and associat ...

" ("Petites boites"), as well as his own song "Il faut que je m'en aille (Les retrouvailles)", and became popular with students during the

May 68 Beginning in May 1968, a period of civil unrest occurred throughout France, lasting some seven weeks and punctuated by demonstrations, general strikes, as well as the occupation of universities and factories. At the height of events, which ha ...

protests.

Allwright’s songs were perfectly timed to capture the mood of the young protesters.. He didn’t just sing protest songs – he joined in, and even found himself caught up in the middle of a riot in the Latin Quarter of Paris. Armed CRS police were moving in on his group of protesters from several directions. According to Allwright, it was a dangerous situation, but luckily he managed to escape by running off down a side street. Although his music become closely associated with the protest movement, the significance of the connection wasn’t entirely clear to him at the time. "The young people, the ‘soixante-huitards" of 68, filled up the places where I was singing and were singing my songs. I realise now, afterwards, the impact of certain songs. I didn’t realise at the time how important that was."

Allwright's music "provided anthems for the French left-wing counter-culture." His greatest success came with his third album, ''Le jour de clarté'' (1968), Biography by Jason Birchmeier, ''Allmusic.com''
Retrieved 17 December 2019 which included adaptations of two songs by Leonard Cohen (" Suzanne" and "The Stranger Song"), two by Tom Paxton, and others by Pete Seeger,

Jackson C. Frank Jackson Carey Frank (March 2, 1943 – March 3, 1999) was an American folk musician. He released his first and only album in 1965, produced by Paul Simon. After the release of the record, Frank was plagued by a series of personal issues, ...

, and

Roger Miller Roger Dean Miller Sr. (January 2, 1936 – October 25, 1992) was an American singer-songwriter, widely known for his honky-tonk-influenced novelty songs and his chart-topping Country music, country and pop hits "King of the Road (song), Ki ...

. His most popular song was the title track, adapted from the

Peter, Paul and Mary Peter, Paul and Mary was an American folk group formed in New York City in 1961 during the American folk music revival phenomenon. The trio consisted of tenor Peter Yarrow, baritone Paul Stookey, and contralto Mary Travers. The group's repertoir ...

song " Very Last Day". The stress caused by the song's unexpected success led Allwright to leave his young family in France and go travelling, initially with a friend to

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

and

Ethiopia Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...

, where he spent six months in the city of

Harar Harar ( amh, ሐረር; Harari: ሀረር; om, Adare Biyyo; so, Herer; ar, هرر) known historically by the indigenous as Gey (Harari: ጌይ ''Gēy'', ) is a walled city in eastern Ethiopia. It is also known in Arabic as the City of Saint ...

. He said: "I didn’t even think of the singing career I left behind. I was living something completely different and discovering another world." In 1970 he released the album ''A long distant present from thee..."Becoming"'', a collaboration with other musicians described as "a sprawling psychedelic album that draws on his experiences in India", followed by the English-language album ''Recollections'' (1971), and ''Jeanne d'Arc'' (1972), comprising his own material as well as songs by Leonard Cohen. Over the next few years, Allwright developed a tendency to record an album and then leave France for some time to travel in Africa, India, and the Americas, which enhanced his cult status in France. In the mid-1970s he lived for 18 months on

Réunion Réunion (; french: La Réunion, ; previously ''Île Bourbon''; rcf, label= Reunionese Creole, La Rényon) is an island in the Indian Ocean that is an overseas department and region of France. It is located approximately east of the island ...

in the

Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by th ...

. He became friendly with Cohen, who approved of his adaptations, and in 1973 Allwright released the album ''Graeme Allwright chante Leonard Cohen''. The same year, he released the double

live album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

''A l'Olympia''. He continued to release albums through the 1970s, culminating in the 1979 album ''Condamnés?''. In 1980 he played a series of concerts with

Maxime Le Forestier Maxime Le Forestier (; born 10 February 1949 as Bruno Le Forestier) is a French singer-songwriter. Life and career Bruno Le Forestier was born on 10 February 1949 in Paris to father Robert Le Forestier and mother Genevieve (née Lili 1917–2010 ...

, recorded on the album ''Enregistrement Public au Palais des Sports'', with the royalties donated to children's charities. In 1985 he released a collection of songs by

Georges Brassens Georges Charles Brassens (; 22 October 1921 – 29 October 1981) was a French singer-songwriter and poet. As an iconic figure in France, he achieved fame through his elegant songs with their harmonically complex music for voice and guitar and a ...

. He continued his campaigning activities, protesting against the French government's nuclear testing in the Pacific, and the sinking of the ''Rainbow Warrior'' in 1985.

Later years

Allwright later worked on film soundtracks, and recorded an album of songs for children. He released the album ''Tant de Joies'', a collaboration with American jazz trombonist

Glenn Ferris Glenn Arthur Ferris (born June 27, 1950) is an American jazz trombonist who has also worked in other fields. Outside of jazz he has played for Frank Zappa, Stevie Wonder, James Taylor, and Duran Duran. He studied classical music from 1958 to 196 ...

, in 2000. In 2005, he made a rare return to New Zealand to perform. He performed until the 2010s to spread his non-violent message of working in our conscience to change inegalitarian society. In the 2000s, together with Sylvie Dien, he wrote new lyrics to the French national anthem, "

La Marseillaise "La Marseillaise" is the national anthem of France. The song was written in 1792 by Claude Joseph Rouget de Lisle in Strasbourg after the declaration of war by France against Austria, and was originally titled "Chant de guerre pour l'Armée du R ...

", to make it a song of peace rather than of war. Allwright also became well known for his French lyrics adaptation "Petit Garçon" for the Christmas song "

Old Toy Trains "Old Toy Trains" (sometimes titled "Little Toy Trains") is a Christmas song written and originally recorded by American musician Roger Miller. It was released in late 1967 as a single for Smash Records. Since the original recording, the song has ...

" by Roger Miller. In 2014, the song was adopted as the official song for the annual French charity event ''Téléthon 2014'' and was recorded by the campaign's sponsor (parrain), the Canadian French singer Garou accompanied by a young singer Ryan. It also appeared in Garou's Christmas new album ''It's Magic'' released 1 December 2014 in France. A biography, ''Graeme Allwright par lui-même'', by Jacques Vassal, was published in 2018.

Death

Graeme Allwright died aged 93 on 16 February 2020, in the retirement home in

Seine-et-Marne Seine-et-Marne () is a Departments of France, department in the Île-de-France Regions of France, region in Northern France. Named after the rivers Seine and Marne (river), Marne, it is the region's largest department with an area of 5,915 square ...

where he had been living for a year, according to his daughter Jeanne.

Discography

Albums

* ''Graeme Allwright'' (aka ''Le trimardeur''), 1965, BAM. * ''Graeme Allwright'' (aka ''Joue, joue, joue''), 1966, Mercury. * ''Le jour de clarté'', 1968, Mercury. * ''Recollections'', 1970, Mercury. * ''A Long Distant Present from Thee ... "Becoming,"'', 1971, Mercury 6459 100 * ''Jeanne d'Arc'', 1972, Mercury. * ''Graeme Allwright chante Leonard Cohen'', 1973, Mercury. * ''À l'Olympia'', 1973, Mercury. * ''De passage'', 1975, Mercury. * ''Questions...'', 1978, Mercury. * ''Condamnés?'', 1979, Mercury. * ''Graeme Allwright et Maxime Le Forestier enregistement au Palais des Sports'', 1980, Mercury. * ''Ombres'', 1981, Mercury. * ''Lumière'', 1992, EPM. * ''Live'', 1994, EPM. * ''Graeme Allwright & The

Quartet'', 2000, EPM.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Allwright, Graeme 1926 births 2020 deaths 20th-century French male singers French folk singers French male songwriters New Zealand emigrants to France People from Wellington City