Nino Agostino Arturo Maria Ferrari (), known as Nino Ferrer (15 August 1934 – 13 August 1998), was an Italian-born French singer-songwriter and author.

Biography and career

Nino Ferrer was born on 15 August 1934 in

Genoa Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Italian region of Liguria and the sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of the 2011 Italian census, the Province of G ...

, Italy, but lived the first years of his life in

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(an

overseas territory A territory is an area of land, sea, or space, particularly belonging or connected to a country, person, or animal. In international politics, a territory is usually either the total area from which a state may extract power resources or an ...

of France in the southwest

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the conti ...

), where his father, an engineer, was working.

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religious schooling, first in Genoa and later in Saint-Jean de Passy,

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 ...

, left him with a lifelong aversion to the Church. From 1947, the young Nino studied

ethnology Ethnology (from the grc-gre, ἔθνος, meaning 'nation') is an academic field that compares and analyzes the characteristics of different peoples and the relationships between them (compare cultural, social, or sociocultural anthropology). ...

and

archaeology Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts ...

in the Sorbonne university in Paris, also pursuing his interests in music and painting. After completing his studies, Ferrer started traveling the world, working on a freighter ship. When he returned to France he immersed himself in music. A passion for

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 the

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the Afr ...

led him to worship the music of

James Brown James Joseph Brown (May 3, 1933 – December 25, 2006) was an American singer, dancer, musician, record producer and bandleader. The central progenitor of funk music and a major figure of 20th century music, he is often referred to by the Honori ...

Otis Redding Otis Ray Redding Jr. (September 9, 1941 – December 10, 1967) was an American singer and songwriter. He is considered one of the greatest singers in the history of American popular music and a seminal artist in soul music and rhythm and blues. ...

and

Ray Charles Ray Charles Robinson Sr. (September 23, 1930 – June 10, 2004) was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. He is regarded as one of the most iconic and influential singers in history, and was often referred to by contemporaries as "The Ge ...

. He started to play the double bass in Bill Coleman's New Orleans Jazz Orchestra. He appeared on a recording for the first time in 1959, playing bass on two 45 singles by the Dixie Cats. The suggestion to take up solo singing came from the

rhythm 'n' blues Rhythm and blues, frequently abbreviated as R&B or R'n'B, is a genre of popular music that originated in African-American communities in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly ...

singer Nancy Holloway, whom he also accompanied. In 1963, Nino Ferrer recorded his own first record, the single "Pour oublier qu'on s'est aimé" ("To forget we were in love"). The B-side of that single had a song "C'est irréparable", which was translated for Italian superstar Mina as "Un anno d'amore" and became a big hit in 1965. Later again, in 1991, Spanish singer

Luz Casal María Luz Casal Paz (; born 11 November 1958) is a Spanish pop singer. She grew up in the municipality of Boimorto, took singing, piano and ballet classes, and moved to Madrid to pursue a career as a musician. She became famous in the early ...

had a hit with "Un año de amor", translated from Italian by director

Pedro Almodóvar Pedro Almodóvar Caballero (; (often known simply as Almodóvar) born 25 September 1949) is a Spanish filmmaker. His films are marked by melodrama, irreverent humour, bold colour, glossy décor, quotations from popular culture, and complex narra ...

for his film ''Tacones Lejanos'' (High Heels). His first solo success came in 1965 with the song "Mirza". Other hits, such as "Cornichons" and "Oh! hé! hein! bon!" followed, establishing Ferrer as something of a comedic singer. The

stereotyping In social psychology, a stereotype is a generalized belief about a particular category of people. It is an expectation that people might have about every person of a particular group. The type of expectation can vary; it can be, for example ...

and his eventual huge success made him feel "trapped", and unable to escape from the constant demands of huge audiences to hear the hits he himself despised.Obituary
by

James Kirkup James Harold Kirkup, FRSL (23 April 1918 – 10 May 2009) was an English poet, translator and travel writer. He wrote over 45 books, including autobiographies, novels and plays. He wrote under many pen-names including James Falconer, Aditya Jha, ...

, ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publish ...

'', 17 August 1998 He started leading a life of "wine, women and song" while giving endless provocative performances in theatres, on television and on tour. In Italy, he scored a major hit in 1967 with "La pelle nera" (the French version is "Je voudrais être un noir" I'd like to be a black man"ref>). This

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun '' soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest atte ...

song, with its quasi-revolutionary lyrics imploring a series of Ferrer's

black music Black music is a sound created, produced, or inspired by black people, people of African descent, including African music traditions and African popular music as well as the music genres of the African diaspora, including Caribbean music, Lati ...

idols to gift him their black skin for the benefit of music-making, achieved long-lasting iconic status in Italy. "La pelle nera" was followed by a string of other semi-serious Italian songs, which included two appearances at the

Sanremo Music Festival The Sanremo Music Festival, officially the Italian Song Festival () and commonly known as just (), is the most popular Italian song contest and awards ceremony, held annually in the city of Sanremo, Liguria. It is the longest-running annua ...

(in 1968 and 1970). In 1970, he returned to France and resumed his musical career there. Ferrer rebelled against the "gaudy frivolity" of French

show business Show business, sometimes shortened to show biz or showbiz (since 1945), is a vernacular term for all aspects of the entertainment industry.''Oxford English Dictionary'' 2nd Ed. (1989) From the business side (including managers, agents, produce ...

, filled with what he perceived as its "cynical technocrats and greedy exploiters of talent" (he had considered leaving show business altogether in 1967, when he left France for Italy). In his lesser-known songs, which the public largely ignored, he mocked life's absurdities. He agreed with

Serge Gainsbourg Serge Gainsbourg (; born Lucien Ginsburg; 2 April 1928 – 2 March 1991) was a French musician, singer-songwriter, actor, author and filmmaker. Regarded as one of the most important figures in French pop, he was renowned for often provoca ...

and

Claude Nougaro Claude Nougaro (, oc, Claudi Nogaròu; 9 September 1929 – 4 March 2004) was a French songwriter and singer. Life and career Claude Nougaro was born in Toulouse to a respected French opera singer, Pierre Nougaro, and a piano teacher, Liett ...

that songs are a "minor art" and "just background noise". In 1975 he started breeding horses in

Quercy Quercy (; oc, Carcin , locally ) is a former province of France located in the country's southwest, bounded on the north by Limousin, on the west by Périgord and Agenais, on the south by Gascony and Languedoc, and on the east by Rouergue and ...

, France. In 1989, Ferrer obtained French citizenship, which he explained as his "celebration of the bicentenary of the

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are consider ...

." He went on to record the French national anthem, accompanied by a choir. A couple of months after his mother died, Ferrer, on 13 August 1998, two days before his 64th birthday, took his hunting gun and walked to a field of corn, recently cut, near the neighbouring village of Saint-Cyprien. There, he lay down in a grove nearby and shot himself in the chest. His wife Kinou, with whom he had two sons, had already alerted the ''

gendarmerie Wrong info! --> A gendarmerie () is a military force with law enforcement duties among the civilian population. The term ''gendarme'' () is derived from the medieval French expression ', which translates to " men-at-arms" (literally ...

'' after finding a farewell letter in the house. Next day, there were front-page headlines in most French and Italian newspapers, such as "Adieu Nino!", "Nino Ferrer Hung Up His Telephone", "Our Nino Has Left for the South." They called him the

Don Quixote is a Spanish epic novel by Miguel de Cervantes. Originally published in two parts, in 1605 and 1615, its full title is ''The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha'' or, in Spanish, (changing in Part 2 to ). A founding work of Weste ...

and the

Corto Maltese ''Corto Maltese'' is a series of adventure and fantasy comics named after the character Corto Maltese, an adventurous sailor. It was created by the Italian comic book creator Hugo Pratt in 1967. The comics are highly praised as some of the most ...

of French show business.

Discography

Studio albums

*1966: ''Enregistrement public'' *1967: ''Nino Ferrer'' *1969: ''Nino Ferrer'' *1972: ''Métronomie'' *1972: ''Nino Ferrer and Leggs'' *1974: ''Nino and Radiah'' *1975: ''Suite en œuf'' *1977: ''Véritables variétés verdâtres'' *1979: ''Blanat'' *1981: ''La carmencita'' *1982: ''Ex-libris'' *1983: ''Rock'n'roll cow-boy'' *1986: ''13e album'' *1993: ''La désabusion'' *1993: ''La vie chez les automobiles''

Live albums

*1970: ''Rats and Rolls'' *1995: ''Concert chez Harry''

45RPM singles and 4-track EPs

* 1963 ''Pour oublier qu'on s'est aimé ; Souviens-toi / C'est irréparable ; 5 bougies bleues'' * 1964 ''Ferme la porte ; Je reviendrai / Oh ! Ne t'en va pas ; Ce que tu as fait de moi'' (Nino Ferrer et les Jubilées) * 1964 ''Les Dolly Brothers'' (Nino sings on Hello, Dolly! Though he isn't credited. * 1965 ''Viens je t'attends ; Au bout de mes vingt ans / Jennifer James ; Tchouk-ou-tchouk'' * 1966 ''Mirza ; Les cornichons / Il me faudra… Natacha ; Ma vie pour rien'' * 1966 ''Le monkiss de la police ; Monkiss est arrivé / Avec toi j'ai compris le monkiss ; Y'a que toi monkiss'' (Nino Ferrer et les Gottamou) * 1966 ''Alexandre ; Oh ! hé ! hein ! bon ! / Le blues des rues désertes ; Longtemps après'' * 1966 ''Je veux être noir ; Si tu m'aimes encore / La bande à Ferrer (parts 1 & 2)'' * 1967 ''Le téléfon ; Je cherche une petite fille / Madame Robert ; Le millionnaire'' * 1967 ''Mao et Moa ; Je vous dis bonne chance / Mon copain Bismarck ; N-F in trouble'' * 1968 ''Le roi d'Angleterre ; Il me faudra… Natacha / Les petites jeunes filles de bonne famille ; Monsieur Machin'' * 1968 ''Mamadou Mémé ; Œrythia / Les yeux de Laurence ; Non ti capisco più'' * 1969 ''Je vends des robes ; La rua Madureira / Tchouk-ou-tchouk ; Le show-boat de nos amours'' * 1969 ''Agata ; Un premier jour sans toi / Justine ; Les hommes à tout faire'' * 1970 ''Oui mais ta mère n'est pas d'accord / Le blues anti-bourgeois'' * 1970 ''Viens tous les soirs / L'amour, la mort, les enterrements'' * 1971 ''Les Enfants de la patrie / La Maison près de la fontaine'' * 1975 ''Le Sud / The garden'' (CBS) - appears only on post-1982 re-releases of the album ''Nino and Radiah'' - his biggest hit, reaching number 1 in March

1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 - Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...

* 1975 ''Alcina de Jesus / Les morceaux de fer'' (CBS) * 1976 ''Chanson pour Nathalie'' / ''Moon'' (CBS) * 1978 ''Joseph Joseph'' / ''L'Inexpressible'' (CBS) * 1981 ''Pour oublier qu'on s'est aimé'' / ''Michael et Jane'' (WEA) * 1982 ''Semiramis'' / ''Micky Micky '' (WEA) * 1983 ''Il pleut bergère / Blues des chiens'' (WEA) * 1986 ''L'arche de Noé : Création ; Chita Chita / L'arche de Noé'' * 1989 ''La Marseillaise / Il pleut bergère'' (Barclay) - (the second track was recorded with the townsfolk of his home village)

Revival

* 2015 ''Le Sud'' * 2019 ''La rua Madureira'' (credited to Bon Entendeur vs Nino Ferrer)

References

Bibliography

* Christophe Conte and Joseph Ghosn, ''Nino Ferrer. Du Noir au Sud.'', Editions no. 1, 2005. * Frank Maubert, ''La mélancolie de Nino'', Éditions Scali, 2006. * Henry Chartier, ''Nino Ferrer: c'est irréparable'', Éditions Le Bord de l'eau, 2007.

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ferrer, Nino French male songwriters 1934 births 1998 deaths People from Genoa Italian emigrants to France Artists who committed suicide 20th-century French male singers Saint-Jean de Passy alumni People with acquired French citizenship 1998 suicides Suicides by firearm in France