Francis Christian Cabrel (; born 23 November 1953) is a French singer-songwriter, composer and guitarist. Considered one of the most influential French musical artists of all time, he has released a number of albums falling mostly within the realm of folk, with occasional forays into

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 ...

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, whi ...

. Several of his songs, such as "L'encre de tes yeux", "Je l'aime à mourir", "Le chêne liège" and "La corrida", have become enduring favourites in French music. Since the start of his career, Cabrel has sold over 25 million albums. His first hit song was "Petite Marie" in 1974, which was about the woman who soon became his wife, Mariette. His song "Je l'aime à mourir" was covered by

Shakira Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll ( , ; born 2 February 1977), professionally known by the mononym Shakira, is a Colombian singer and songwriter. Born and raised in Barranquilla, she has been referred to as the "Honorific nicknames in popular ...

; this version, both sung in French and Spanish, became a major hit single. An

unauthorised biography An unauthorized biography is a biography written without the subject's permission or input. The term is usually restricted to biographies written within the subject's lifetime or shortly after their death; as such, it is not applied to biographi ...

was published in 2015. Cabrel, who is one of the most private French singers, attempted to have the book suppressed.

Biography

Francis Cabrel was born in

Agen The commune of Agen (, ; ) is the prefecture of the Lot-et-Garonne department in Nouvelle-Aquitaine, southwestern France. It lies on the river Garonne southeast of Bordeaux. Geography The city of Agen lies in the southwestern departme ...

, Lot-et-Garonne into a modest family of

Veneto Veneto (, ; vec, Vèneto ) or Venetia is one of the 20 regions of Italy. Its population is about five million, ranking fourth in Italy. The region's capital is Venice while the biggest city is Verona. Veneto was part of the Roman Empire unt ...

descend. His father was a labourer in a biscuit factory and his mother a cashier in a cafeteria. He has a sister, Martine, and a brother, Philippe. He spent his childhood in

Astaffort Astaffort (; oc, Astahòrt) is a commune in the Lot-et-Garonne department in southwestern France. It is situated on the river Gers, about 15 km south of Agen. Astaffort has a mill and the church of Sainte-Geneviève. Population Personal ...

, in Lot-et-Garonne.Cabrel official website
franciscabrel.com; accessed 21 June 2015.

Albums

Studio albums

Live albums

Compilation albums

Box sets

Singles

As lead artist

As featured artist

Other charted songs

Videography

* ''Sarbacane tour'' (1989)

Footnotes

References

External links

Official Francis Cabrel websiteBiography of Francis Cabrel
from

Radio France Internationale Radio France Internationale, usually referred to as RFI, is the state-owned international radio broadcaster of France. With 37.2 million listeners in 2014, it is one of the most-listened-to international radio stations in the world, along with ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cabrel, Francis 1953 births Living people People from Agen French people of Italian descent French male singers French singer-songwriters French folk music Columbia Records artists Spanish-language singers of France French male singer-songwriters