"Les play boys" is the second single by French singer-songwriter

Jacques Dutronc Jacques Dutronc (born 28 April 1943) is a French singer, songwriter, guitarist, composer, and actor. He married singer Françoise Hardy on 30 March 1981 and together they have a son (manouche jazz) guitarist Thomas Dutronc, born 1973); they sepa ...

, released in 1966. It features on his self-titled debut album.

Composition

"Les play boys" was recorded in October 1966, shortly after a performance at the

Golf-Drouot The Golf-Drouot was a nightclub located in the 9th arrondissement of Paris. It began its life in 1955 as a tea room with a miniature golf course, hence its name. It wasn't until 1961 that the Golf-Drouot became a nightclub. With increased popula ...

nightclub in Paris. According to co-writer Jacques Lanzmann, the song's innuendo-laden lyrics reflected his experience as the editor of the men's magazine '' Lui'': "At that time, even a hint of hair sticking out from a bikini would have seen the magazine shut down".

Release and promotion

"Les play boys" was released as a four-track EP in France in November 1966. Dutronc performed "Les play boys" on the French television show ''Palmarès des chansons'', broadcast by

Office de Radiodiffusion Télévision Française L'Office de Radiodiffusion-Télévision Française (ORTF; ) was the national agency charged, between 1964 and 1975, with providing public radio and television in France. All programming, and especially news broadcasts, were under strict control ...

on 16 November 1966, accompanied by the Orchestre

Raymond Lefèvre Raymond Lefèvre (20 November 1929 – 27 June 2008) was a French easy listening orchestra leader, arranger and composer. Biography and career Born on 20 November 1929 in Calais, France, Raymond Lefèvre is best known for his interpretation of ...

. He also toured to promote the single. In 1971, he sing the song in duet with

Annie Cordy Léonie Juliana, Baroness Cooreman (16 June 1928 – 4 September 2020), also known by her stage name Annie Cordy, was a Belgian actress and singer. She appeared in more than 50 films from 1954 and staged many memorable appearances at Bruno Coq ...

during a show who honored the actress / singer on

France 2 France 2 () is a French public national television channel. It is part of the state-owned France Télévisions group, along with France 3, France 4 and France 5. France Télévisions also participates in Arte and Euronews. Since 3:20 CET on 7 A ...

named "Annie sur la 2".

Reception

"Les play boys" reached number 1 in the French singles chart on 3 December 1966, where it stayed for six weeks. It sold 600,000 copies.

Cover versions

"Les play boys" has been covered by Serge Gainsbourg and

The Divine Comedy The ''Divine Comedy'' ( it, Divina Commedia ) is an Italian narrative poem by Dante Alighieri, begun 1308 and completed in around 1321, shortly before the author's death. It is widely considered the pre-eminent work in Italian literature an ...

Track listing

Words by Jacques Lanzmann and music by

Side A

Side B

Personnel

*Jacques Dutronc: voice, guitar, percussion *Hadi Kalafate: bass, percussion *Alain Le Govic (alias

Alain Chamfort Alain Chamfort (born Alain Joseph Yves Le Govic; 2 March 1949) is a French singer of Breton origin. Life and career Chamfort was a promising pianist in his youth, and the piano became his instrument of choice. His first band The Dreamers h ...

): piano, organ *Jean-Pierre Alarcen: guitar *Jacques Pasut: rhythm guitar *Michel Pelay: drums

References

External links

Video of Jacques Dutronc performing "Les play boys"
on the French TV show ''Palmarès des chansons'', November 1966. {{DEFAULTSORT:Play Boys Jacques Dutronc songs 1966 singles Songs written by Jacques Lanzmann Songs written by Jacques Dutronc 1966 songs Disques Vogue singles