Alexandre "Sacha" Distel (29 January 1933 – 22 July 2004) was a French musician and singer who had hits with a cover version of "

Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head "Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head" is a song written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David for the 1969 film ''Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid''. The uplifting lyrics describe somebody who overcomes his troubles and worries by realizing that "it w ...

" in 1970, which reached No 10 in the UK Charts, " Scoubidou", and " The Good Life". He was made Chevalier (Knight) of the

Légion d'honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...

in 1997. He had also scored a hit as a songwriter when

Tony Bennett Anthony Dominick Benedetto (August 3, 1926 – July 21, 2023), known professionally as Tony Bennett, was an American jazz and traditional pop singer. He received many accolades, including 20 Grammy Awards, a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, ...

recorded Sacha's song for "The Good Life" in 1963. It peaked at #18 on ''Billboard''s Hot 100 chart and Top 10 on the Easy Listening chart.

Career

Distel was the son of Russian-French émigré Léonide Distel who was born in Odessa, Ukraine and French-Jewish pianist Andrée Ventura (1902–1965), born in

Constantinople Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...

. His uncle was bandleader Ray Ventura. After Ventura settled in Paris with his orchestra Les Collégiens, Distel gave up piano and switched to guitar. During his career, Distel worked with Kenny Clarke, Jimmy Gourley,

Lionel Hampton Lionel Leo Hampton (April 20, 1908 – August 31, 2002) was an American jazz vibraphonist, percussionist, and bandleader. He worked with jazz musicians from Teddy Wilson, Benny Goodman, and Buddy Rich, to Charlie Parker, Charles Mingus, an ...

, Slide Hampton, Bobby Jaspar, Barney Kessel,

John Lewis John Robert Lewis (February 21, 1940 – July 17, 2020) was an American civil rights activist and politician who served in the United States House of Representatives for from 1987 until his death in 2020. He participated in the 1960 Nashville ...

, Pierre Michelot, Bernard Peiffer, Henri Renaud, Fats Sadi, Art Simmons, Martial Solal, René Urtreger, and Barney Wilen. As well as his musical career he also did some acting, primarily on French television. He had a cameo appearance in the 1960 film ''

Zazie dans le Métro Isabelle Marie Anne de Truchis de Varennes (born 18 April 1964), better known by her stage name Zazie, is a French pop singer and songwriter. Her greatest hits include "Je suis un homme", "À ma place" and "Speed (Zazie song), Speed". She co-pr ...

''. He appeared in "Fallen Angels" by Noel Coward on British television in 1974.

Personal life

After Brigitte Bardot accepted Distel's invitation to his birthday party in

Saint-Tropez Saint-Tropez ( , ; ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Var (department), Var departments of France, department and the regions of France, region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, Southern France. It is west of Nice and east of Marseille, o ...

in 1958, the two began a much-publicized relationship that lasted until 1959. In 1963, he married champion Olympic skier Francine Bréaud. Distel publicly stated that he remained faithful to his wife: "Anything I want in a woman I can get at home."

Death

Distel died of cancer at the age of 71 on 22 July 2004 at his mother-in-law's home in Rayol-Canadel, near Saint-Tropez, France.

Discography

* '' Afternoon in Paris'' with

(

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the Age of Discovery, it was known for se ...

, 1957) * ''Everybody Loves the Lover'' (Philips, 1961) * ''From Paris with Love'' (RCA Victor, 1962) * ''Les Filles Moi J'Aime Ca!'' (RCA, 1963) * ''The Good Life'' (Kapp, 1969) * ''Back to Jazz'' with Slide Hampton (La Voix de Son Maitre, 1969) * ''Sacha Distel'' (Warner Bros., 1970) * ''Close to You'' (Warner Bros., 1970) * ''More and More'' (Warner Bros., 1971) * ''Love Music'' (Polydor, 1973) * ''Swing with Sacha Distel'' (Contour, 1973) * ''Love Is All'' (Pye, 1976) * ''Forever and Ever'' (Carrere, 1978) * ''From Sacha with Love'' (Mercury, 1979) * ''Amour Tout Court'' (DRG, 1982) * ''My Guitar and All That Jazz'' (Pablo, 1983) * ''Move Closer'' (Towerbell, 1985) * ''Ecoute Mes Yeux'' (Arcade Music, 1998) * ''But Beautiful'' (Mercury, 2003)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Distel, Sacha 1933 births 2004 deaths French jazz guitarists French male guitarists French male jazz musicians French male television actors French people of Jewish descent French people of Russian descent Knights of the Legion of Honour Musicians from Paris 20th-century French guitarists 20th-century French Jews 20th-century French male singers Electrola artists