Claude Antoine Marie François (; 1 February 1939 – 11 March 1978), also known by the nickname Cloclo, was a French pop singer, composer, songwriter, record producer, drummer and dancer. François co-wrote the lyrics of "
Comme d'habitude" (composed by Jacques Revaux), the original version of "
My Way
"My Way" is Paul Anka's English-language lyrical adaptation of the French song " Comme d'habitude", released by Frank Sinatra in 1969. The original song was written by Jacques Revaux, Gilles Thibaut, and Claude François, and was first recor ...
" and composed the music of "Parce que je t'aime mon enfant", the original version of "
My Boy". Among his other famous songs are "
Le Téléphone Pleure", "Le lundi au soleil", "Magnolias for Ever" and "
Alexandrie Alexandra". He also enjoyed considerable success with French-language versions of English-language songs, including "
Belles! Belles! Belles!" (
The Everly Brothers
The Everly Brothers were an American rock duo, known for steel-string acoustic guitar playing and close-harmony singing. Consisting of Isaac Donald "Don" Everly and Phillip "Phil" Everly, the duo combined elements of rock and roll, country, ...
' "
Made to Love"), "Cette année là" ("
December, 1963 (Oh, What a Night)
"December, 1963 (Oh, What a Night)" is a song originally performed by American band the Four Seasons, written by original Four Seasons keyboardist Bob Gaudio and his future wife Judy Parker, produced by Gaudio, and included on the group's albu ...
") and "Je vais à Rio" ("
I Go to Rio").
Claude François sold more than 20 million records during his career, and 6 million since his death.
He was about to embark for the United States when he was accidentally electrocuted in March 1978 at age 39. Former French President
Valéry Giscard d'Estaing
Valéry René Marie Georges Giscard d'Estaing (, ; ; 2 February 19262 December 2020), also known as simply Giscard or VGE, was a French politician who served as President of France from 1974 to 1981.
After serving as Ministry of the Economy ...
is quoted as saying Claude François was, to him, "the French equivalent of
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...
, meaning the great talent of a generation".
Early life
The son of a French father and an Italian mother, Claude Antoine Marie François was born in Egypt, in the city of
Ismaïlia, where his father, Aimé François (1908–1961), was working as a senior manager in the Anglo-French Suez canal company on the
Suez Canal
The Suez Canal (; , ') is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, Indo-Mediterranean, connecting the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea through the Isthmus of Suez and dividing Africa and Asia (and by extension, the Sinai Peninsula from the rest ...
. In 1951, the job took the family to the city of
Port Tewfik (now
Suez Port). François had an older sister, Josette (born 1934), who wrote her memoirs in 2008.
François' mother, Lucia Mazzeï (1910–1992) was very musical and had her son take piano and violin lessons. On his own, the boy learned to play the drums. As a result of the 1956
Suez Crisis
The Suez Crisis, also known as the Second Arab–Israeli War, the Tripartite Aggression in the Arab world and the Sinai War in Israel, was a British–French–Israeli invasion of Egypt in 1956. Israel invaded on 29 October, having done so w ...
, the family returned to live in
Monaco
Monaco, officially the Principality of Monaco, is a Sovereign state, sovereign city-state and European microstates, microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Regions of Italy, Italian region of Liguria, in Western Europe, ...
. The family's expulsion from Egypt was traumatic. They struggled financially after François' father fell ill and could not work. François found a job as a bank clerk and at night earned extra money playing drums with an orchestra at the luxury hotels along the
French Riviera
The French Riviera, known in French as the (; , ; ), is the Mediterranean coastline of the southeast corner of France. There is no official boundary, but it is considered to be the coastal area of the Alpes-Maritimes department, extending fr ...
. With a good singing voice, he was offered a chance to sing at a hotel in the fashionable Mediterranean resort town of
Juan-les-Pins. His show was well received, and he began to perform at the nightclubs along the
Côte d'Azur
The French Riviera, known in French as the (; , ; ), is the Mediterranean coastline of the southeast corner of France. There is no official boundary, but it is considered to be the coastal area of the Alpes-Maritimes department, extending fr ...
, including the
Monte-Carlo Sporting, where in 1959, he met
Janet Woollacott; they wed in 1960.
Professional career and personal life
François moved to Paris, where there were many more opportunities to pursue his career. At the time, American
rock and roll
Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock-n-roll, and rock 'n' roll) is a Genre (music), genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It Origins of rock and roll, originated from African ...
was taking hold in France and he took a job as part of a singing group to make a living. With the goal of eventually making it as a solo act, he paid the cost to record a
45rpm. Trying to capitalise on the American dance craze "
The Twist", he recorded a song titled "Nabout Twist" that proved a resounding failure. Undaunted, in 1962 he recorded a
cover version
In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song release ...
in French of an
Everly Brothers
The Everly Brothers were an American rock duo, known for steel-string acoustic guitar playing and close-harmony singing. Consisting of Isaac Donald "Don" Everly and Phillip "Phil" Everly, the duo combined elements of rock and roll, country, an ...
song, "Made to Love", also known as "Girls, Girls, Girls", under the name "Belles! Belles! Belles!".
François' career continued to blossom under a new manager. In 1963 he followed the first success with another French adaptation of an American song, this time recording "
If I Had a Hammer" and "
Walk Right In" in French as "Si j'avais un marteau" and "Marche Tout Droit" respectively. François met
Michel Bourdais who was working for the French magazine ''
Salut les Copains'' ("Hi Buddies") and he asked him to draw his portrait.
[ Richard Anthony, ''Quand on choisit la liberté...'', éditions Florent Massot, octobre 2010 (French)]
On 5 April 1963, he headlined at the
Paris Olympia, a sign that he had arrived.
In 1964, he dated 17-year-old
Eurovision-winning singer,
France Gall
Isabelle Geneviève Marie Anne Gall (9 October 1947 – 7 January 2018), known professionally as France Gall, was a French ''yé-yé'' singer. In 1965, at the age of 17, she won the Eurovision Song Contest 1965, tenth edition of the Eurov ...
.
At the end of that year, François created original new dance steps, and Bourdais drew them. For the first time, they brought up the idea of setting up a show with female dancers.
In 1967, he and
Jacques Revaux wrote and composed a song in French called "
Comme d'habitude" ("As Usual"), which became a hit in Francophone countries. Canadian singer
Paul Anka
Paul Albert Anka (born July 30, 1941) is a Canadian and American singer, songwriter and actor. His songs include " Diana", “ You Are My Destiny", “Lonely Boy", " Put Your Head on My Shoulder", and " (You're) Having My Baby".
Anka also wr ...
later wrote English lyrics for the song, to create "
My Way
"My Way" is Paul Anka's English-language lyrical adaptation of the French song " Comme d'habitude", released by Frank Sinatra in 1969. The original song was written by Jacques Revaux, Gilles Thibaut, and Claude François, and was first recor ...
". François sang the original version of "Parce que je t'aime, mon enfant" ("Because I Love You My Child") in 1971; it remained relatively little-known in France but
Elvis Presley
Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977) was an American singer and actor. Referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one of the most significant cultural figures of the ...
covered it under the title "
My Boy".
Although François continued his successful formula of adapting English and American rock and roll hits for the French market, by the 1970s the market had changed and the disco craze that swept North America took root in France. François adapted to the new trend, recording "La plus belle chose du monde", a French version of the
Bee Gees
The Bee Gees
were a musical group formed in 1958 by brothers Barry Gibb, Barry, Robin Gibb, Robin, and Maurice Gibb. The trio was especially successful in popular music in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and later as prominent performers in ...
' hit record, "
Massachusetts
Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...
".
Looking for new talent, he came across a singing family of two sisters and their cousins. These women became known as "
Les Flêchettes" (named after "Flèche", the production label he owned) and then "Les Clodettes". He produced a couple of albums for them before his death, and they went on to sing for some of the major stars in European music. He worked non-stop, touring across Europe, Africa and at major venues in
Quebec
Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...
in Canada.
However, in 1971, his workload caught up with him when he collapsed on stage from exhaustion. After a brief period off, he returned to the recording studios, releasing several best-selling hits throughout the early 1970s. He expanded from owning his own record company to acquiring a celebrity magazine and a
modelling agency.
Philanthropy
Although driven to achieve financial success, in 1974 he organised a concert to raise funds for a charity for handicapped children, and the following year he participated in a Paris concert to raise funds for medical research.
Personal life
In November 1960, he married French-British dancer Janet Woollacott. She left him in 1962, and he was finally divorced from her in 1967. This failed marriage was one of the three big traumas that affected his whole life. The relationship with France Gall ended in July 1967. After this, François had an affair with singer Annie Phillippe, who reportedly refused to marry him.
François soon got consolation when he arranged a date with model Isabelle Forêt, whom he had first met a few years before. Their relationship lasted from 1967 to 1972 and produced two sons, Claude Jr. in July 1968 and Marc in November 1969. He hid the existence from the public of his second son for five years because he thought that being a father of two would destroy his boyish image as "a free man and seducer". His loyal fans knew & had photos taken with him but kept it a secret
By 1972 he was single again, dating several well-known European stars. Finnish model Sofia Kiukkonen 1973–76 and American model Kathalyn (Kathleen) H. Jones-Mann 1976–78 were his most important relationships of this period. He also had an affair with his dresser Sylvie Mathurin from 1974 to 1978.
He continued to perform while overseeing his numerous business interests. In 1975, while in London, he narrowly escaped death when an
IRA bomb exploded in the lobby of the Hilton hotel and two years later a fan tried to shoot him while he drove his car.
International career
He performed an international career mostly in Belgium and Switzerland, but also in Italy, Spain, England and Canada. In 1976, his song "
Le Telephone Pleure" ("Tears on the Telephone") reached No. 35 in the
UK Singles Chart.
On 16 January 1978, he performed, for the first time for a French singer, a gala at the
Royal Albert Hall
The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London, England. It has a seating capacity of 5,272.
Since the hall's opening by Queen Victoria in 1871, the world's leading artists from many performance genres ...
in London to an audience of 6000.
Death
After recording a television special at
Leysin
Leysin is a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality of the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Vaud in the Aigle (district), Aigle district of Switzerland. It is first mentioned around 1231–32 as ''Leissins'', in 1352 as ''Leisins''.
Located ...
for the
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
on 10 March 1978, François returned to his Paris apartment at 46 Boulevard Exelmans. He was due to appear on ''Les Rendez-vous du Dimanche'' with
Michel Drucker. While preparing for a bath, François attempted to straighten a lightbulb in his bathroom lamp, causing him to receive a severe electric shock. He died in his apartment.
His body was buried in the village of
Dannemois, in the
Essonne
Essonne () is a department in the southern part of the Île-de-France region in Northern France. It is named after the river Essonne. In 2019, it had a population of 1,301,659, across 194 communes.[jukebox musical
A jukebox musical is a stage musical or musical film in which a majority of the songs are well-known, pre-existing popular music songs, rather than original music composed for the musical.
Some jukebox musicals use a wide variety of songs, while ...]
''
Belles belles belles'' is based on François' songs.
A biographical film called ''Cloclo'' (''
My Way
"My Way" is Paul Anka's English-language lyrical adaptation of the French song " Comme d'habitude", released by Frank Sinatra in 1969. The original song was written by Jacques Revaux, Gilles Thibaut, and Claude François, and was first recor ...
'' internationally) was released in March 2012 to coincide with the anniversary of his death. It runs two and a half hours long and stars
Jérémie Renier.
Claude François's sons, Claude Jr and Marc, have assumed the management of their father's artistic heritage over the years.
Controversies
A woman named Julie Bocquet maintains that François is her father. Fabienne, her mother, was 15 when she got pregnant. She lied about her age to him and said she was a lot older. Others have come forward as well. "Je les aime jusqu'à 17, 18 ans. Après je commence à me méfier. Dieu seul sait si j'ai des aventures au-delà de 18 ans. Les filles commencent à réfléchir, elles ne sont plus naturelles ; ça commence même quelquefois avant", said Claude François in an interview with a Belgian channel.
Discography
References
External links
Claude Francois biography*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Francois, Claude
1939 births
1978 deaths
Accidental deaths by electrocution
Accidental deaths in France
Egyptian emigrants to France
French disco singers
French people of Italian descent
French pop singers
People from Ismailia Governorate
People of Calabrian descent
Philips Records artists
People from Ismailia
French people of Calabrian descent
Fontana Records artists
Phonogram Inc. artists
20th-century French male singers
French male singer-songwriters
French singer-songwriters