Hervé Forneri (; 24 April 1945 – 24 April 2019), known professionally as Dick Rivers, was a French singer and actor who began performing in the early 1960s. He was an important figure in introducing

rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It originated from African-American music such as jazz, rhythm a ...

music in France. He was an admirer of

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...

, who influenced both his singing and looks. His stage name came from the character, Deke Rivers, that Presley played in his second film, '' Loving You'' (1957).

Biography

Rivers was born in

Nice Nice ( , ; Niçard dialect, Niçard: , classical norm, or , nonstandard, ; it, Nizza ; lij, Nissa; grc, Νίκαια; la, Nicaea) is the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes departments of France, department in France. The Nice urban unit, agg ...

, France. He started his music career in 1960 as the lead singer of the band Les Chats Sauvages, cutting his first record on his fifteenth birthday. In 1961, the British music magazine ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...

'' reported that a Rivers concert with his group Les Chats Sauvages at the Palais des Sports de Paris, whilst headlining with

Vince Taylor Vince Taylor (14 July 1939 – 28 August 1991), born Brian Maurice Holden, was an English rock and roll singer. As the lead singer of Vince Taylor and His Playboys, sometimes Vince Taylor and The Playboys, he was successful primarily in France ...

, had turned into a full-scale riot. Rivers left Les Chats Sauvages in 1962 to pursue a solo career. His last album, ''Rivers'', was released in 2014. He died in Neuilly-sur-Seine in 2019, from cancer, on his 74th birthday. "Dick Rivers, French rock star inspired by Elvis and admired by the Beatles – obituary", ''Telegraph'', 29 April 209
Retrieved 6 December 2019

Selected Discography

* 1964 ''Rien que toi'' * 1971 ''Bye Bye Lily'' * 1971 ''Dick n'Roll'' * 1972 ''The Rock Machine'' * 1974 ''Rock & roll star'' * 1976 ''Mississippi River's'' * 1994 ''Very Dick'' (compilation album) * 1995 ''Plein Soleil'' * 1996 ''AuthenDick'' (live album) * 1998 ''Vivre comme ça... entre la terre et l'amour'' * 2001 ''Amoureux de vous''

References

External links

Official website
* 1945 births 2019 deaths Burials at Montmartre Cemetery French male singers French people of Italian descent Male actors from Nice, France French male film actors French male television actors French male voice actors Pathé-Marconi artists Deaths from cancer in France {{France-actor-stub