Franck Pourcel (14 August 1913 – 12 November 2000) was a

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

composer,

arranger In music, an arrangement is a musical adaptation of an existing composition. Differences from the original composition may include reharmonization, melodic paraphrasing, orchestration, or formal development. Arranging differs from orchestra ...

, and

conductor Conductor or conduction may refer to: Music * Conductor (music), a person who leads a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra. * ''Conductor'' (album), an album by indie rock band The Comas * Conduction, a type of structured free improvisation ...

of popular and classical music.

Biography

Early life

Born in

Marseille Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Fran ...

, France, Pourcel started learning the violin at the age of six. Later, Pourcel studied violin at the Conservatoire in Marseille, and also drums because he loved

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a majo ...

, and spent a year in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. ...

at the Conservatoire. By 1931, he was working as a violinist in several theaters in Marseille, marrying Odette eight years later. He then became the musical director for Lucienne Boyer, with whom he went on a world tour.

Career: recording

He immigrated to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

in 1952 but returned to France the following year to record "Blue Tango" and the follow-up "Limelight". In 1954, Pourcel recorded his first

album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

on the Pathé-Marconi

record label A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the prod ...

, with whom he would record a total of nine albums in a three-year period. In 1956, he recorded his version of The Platters hit " Only You", which sold over three million copies by 1959, and was awarded a gold disc. It peaked at number 9 on the

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop!, a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Albums * ''Pop'' (G ...

chart during a 16 weeks chart run. *

Succès de Films ''Succès de Films'' is the title of a recording by Franck Pourcel and his Orchestra, released on La Voix de son Maitre (French His Master's Voice) LP record FELP 149. Track listing Side one # "Gelsomina" from the film "La Strada" (N. Rota) # " ...

, orchestra instrumental album

Conducting

Between 1956 and 1972, he was the conductor for France at the Eurovision Song Contest, with the exceptions of 1957 and 1968. Four of the songs that he conducted won first place for France. As a result, France became the most successful country in the contest's early years, until Luxembourg matched its four wins in 1973. By 1958, Pourcel started recording classical music. His series of ''Pages Célèbres'' led him to conduct the

London Symphony Orchestra The London Symphony Orchestra (LSO) is a British symphony orchestra based in London. Founded in 1904, the LSO is the oldest of London's orchestras, symphony orchestras. The LSO was created by a group of players who left Henry Wood's Queen's ...

, The Society of Concerts for the Conservatoire, The BBC Orchestra at the

Royal Festival Hall The Royal Festival Hall is a 2,700-seat concert, dance and talks venue within Southbank Centre in London. It is situated on the South Bank of the River Thames, not far from Hungerford Bridge, in the London Borough of Lambeth. It is a Grade I l ...

, and the Lamoureux Orchestra at the Salle Pleyel in Paris. In 1961, he co-composed with Paul Mauriat the hit "Chariot", which was recorded by Petula Clark and followed up by Peggy March as " I Will Follow Him". The song became the main theme for the film, '' Sister Act''. In 1975, at the request of

Air France Air France (; formally ''Société Air France, S.A.''), stylised as AIRFRANCE, is the flag carrier of France headquartered in Tremblay-en-France. It is a subsidiary of the Air France–KLM Group and a founding member of the SkyTeam global airl ...

, Pourcel composed an anthem for their new supersonic plane,

Concorde The Aérospatiale/BAC Concorde () is a retired Franco-British supersonic airliner jointly developed and manufactured by Sud Aviation (later Aérospatiale) and the British Aircraft Corporation (BAC). Studies started in 1954, and France and t ...

.English
Franckpourcel.com (1913-08-14). Retrieved on 2012-04-23. Pourcel recorded 250 albums, over 3000 songs, and he conducted famous orchestras such as

London Symphonic Orchestra The London Symphony Orchestra (LSO) is a British symphony orchestra based in London. Founded in 1904, the LSO is the oldest of London's orchestras, symphony orchestras. The LSO was created by a group of players who left Henry Wood's Queen's ...

, BBC Orchestra and Orchestre des concerts Lamoureux. He created the series ''Amour Danse et violons'' (54 albums) and the classical series ''Pages Célébres''. His first recordings from 1956 to 1962 were released under the series ''Originals''. Pourcel recorded until 1995 with EMI. He died on 12 November 2000 in

Neuilly-sur-Seine Neuilly-sur-Seine (; literally 'Neuilly on Seine'), also known simply as Neuilly, is a commune in the department of Hauts-de-Seine in France, just west of Paris. Immediately adjacent to the city, the area is composed of mostly select residentia ...

, at the age of 87, from

Parkinson's disease Parkinson's disease (PD), or simply Parkinson's, is a long-term degenerative disorder of the central nervous system that mainly affects the motor system. The symptoms usually emerge slowly, and as the disease worsens, non-motor symptoms becom ...

. His daughter Françoise Pourcel, is taking care of his musical legacy.

Awards

He was rewarded with the following distinctions: *1956: The Grand prix du disque Français *1957: The Grand prix du disque in

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

*1963: The Golden disc in

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in ...

Discomoda *1965: Amsterdam: The Edison Prize for his orchestrations of pop music *1966: Gold record for his sales in France *1968: Golden disc in Colombia for ''Disco Mundo'' *1969: Grand Prix du disque of the Charles Cros Academy in Paris *1969: Gold record in Japan for the album ''Continental Tango'' *1970: Gold record in Japan for album ''Adoro'', featuring " Adoro" *1972: Tokyo Music Festival; Arranger award *1973: Guacaipuro de Oro in

*1973: Gold record in Japan for the album ''For Your Lovely Baby''

References

External links

Official website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Pourcel, Franck 1913 births 2000 deaths Easy listening musicians French musicians Eurovision Song Contest conductors France in the Eurovision Song Contest French male conductors (music) Neurological disease deaths in France Deaths from Parkinson's disease 20th-century French conductors (music) 20th-century French male musicians