Alexandre "Sacha" Distel (29 January 1933 – 22 July 2004) was a French singer, guitarist, songwriter and actor 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 (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon ...

in 1997. He had also scored a hit as a songwriter when Tony Bennett 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 emigre Léonide Distel who was born in

Odessa Odesa (also spelled Odessa) is the third most populous city and municipality in Ukraine and a major seaport and transport hub located in the south-west of the country, on the northwestern shore of the Black Sea. The city is also the administrativ ...

(Russian Empire) and French-Jewish pianist Andrée Ventura (1902–1965), born in

Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis (" ...

. 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 Kenneth Clarke Spearman (January 9, 1914January 26, 1985), nicknamed Klook, was an American jazz drummer and bandleader. A major innovator of the bebop style of drumming, he pioneered the use of the ride cymbal to keep time rather than the hi-ha ...

Jimmy Gourley James Pasco Gourley, Jr. (June 9, 1926 – December 7, 2008) was an American jazz guitarist who spent most of his life in Paris. Gourley was born in St. Louis in 1926. He met saxophonist Lee Konitz in Chicago when both were members of the sa ...

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

Slide Hampton Locksley Wellington Hampton (April 21, 1932 – November 18, 2021) was an American jazz trombonist, composer and arranger. As his nickname implies, Hampton's main instrument was slide trombone, but he also occasionally played tuba and flugel ...

, Bobby Jaspar,

Barney Kessel Barney Kessel (October 17, 1923 – May 6, 2004) was an American jazz guitarist born in Muskogee, Oklahoma. Known in particular for his knowledge of chords and inversions and chord-based melodies, he was a member of many prominent jazz groups a ...

John Lewis John Robert Lewis (February 21, 1940 – July 17, 2020) was an American politician and civil rights activist 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 Bernard Peiffer (''pie-fer'') (23 October 1922 – 7 September 1976) was a French jazz pianist, composer, and teacher. His nickname was "Le Most", for his piano skills. Life Born in Épinal, France, Peiffer was raised in a musical family, wit ...

, Henri Renaud, Fats Sadi,

Art Simmons Arthur Eugene Simmons (February 5, 1926 – April 23, 2018) was an American jazz pianist. Simmons was born in Glen White, West Virginia in February 1926. He played in a band while serving in the U.S. military in 1946, then remained in Germany af ...

, Martial Solal, René Urtreger, and

Barney Wilen Bernard "Barney" Jean Wilen (4 March 1937 – 25 May 1996) was a French tenor and soprano saxophonist and jazz composer. Life Wilen was born in Nice, France; his father was an American dentist turned inventor, and his mother was French. He bega ...

Personal life

Distel was involved with actress Brigitte Bardot in 1958, having invited her to his birthday party in

Saint-Tropez , INSEE = 83119 , postal code = 83990 , image coat of arms = Blason ville fr Saint-Tropez-A (Var).svg , image flag=Flag of Saint-Tropez.svg Saint-Tropez (; oc, Sant Tropetz, ; ) is a commune in the Var department and the region of Provence- ...

. The relationship ended in 1959. He married championship Olympic skier Francine Bréaud in 1963. Distel publicly stated that he remained faithful to his wife: "Anything I want in a woman I can get at home." 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. In an interview a month after Distel's death, his widow Francine said she knew he had been unfaithful: "I knew it was going to happen and I knew it was going to pass."

Discography

* ''

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'' with

(

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

, 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 Records, 2003)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Distel, Sacha 1933 births 2004 deaths Musicians from Paris French people of Russian descent French people of Jewish descent French jazz guitarists French male guitarists 20th-century French Jews Chevaliers of the Légion d'honneur 20th-century guitarists 20th-century French male singers French male jazz musicians