François Deguelt (, born Louis Deghelt; 4 December 1932 – 22 January 2014) was a French singer, best known for his participation on behalf of

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, ...

in the

Eurovision Song Contest The Eurovision Song Contest (), often known simply as Eurovision, is an international Music competition, song competition organised annually by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) among its members since 1956. Each participating broadcaster ...

s of 1960 and 1962.

Biography

Deguelt gave up his studies to become a

cabaret Cabaret is a form of theatrical entertainment featuring music song, dance, recitation, or drama. The performance venue might be a pub, casino, hotel, restaurant, or nightclub with a stage for performances. The audience, often dining or drinking, ...

singer in Paris in the early 1950s. In 1956, he was the winner of the

Grand Prix du Disque Grand may refer to: People with the name * Grand (surname) * Grand L. Bush (born 1955), American actor Places * Grand, Oklahoma, USA * Grand, Vosges, village and commune in France with Gallo-Roman amphitheatre * Grand County (disambiguation), ...

of the

Académie Charles Cros The Académie Charles Cros (Charles Cros Academy) is an organization located in Chézy-sur-Marne, France, that acts as an intermediary between government cultural policy makers and professionals in music and the recording industry. The academy ...

. Following a period of

military service Military service is service by an individual or group in an army or other militia, air forces, and naval forces, whether as a chosen job (volunteer military, volunteer) or as a result of an involuntary draft (conscription). Few nations, such ...

in Algeria, Deguelt returned to France, and was offered the chance in 1960 to sing for Monaco in the fifth

, held in London on 29 March. Deguelt's song " Ce soir-là" ("That Night") proved popular with the juries, finishing in third place of the 13 entrants. Deguelt returned to Eurovision, again representing Monaco, in

1962 The year saw the Cuban Missile Crisis, which is often considered the closest the world came to a Nuclear warfare, nuclear confrontation during the Cold War. Events January * January 1 – Samoa, Western Samoa becomes independent from Ne ...

with the song " Dis rien" ("Say Nothing"). This contest took place on 18 March in

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, where he went one better by finishing second of 16 participants. Deguelt is one of five acts in Eurovision history (alongside

Cliff Richard Sir Cliff Richard (born Harry Rodger Webb; 14 October 1940) is a British singer and actor. He has total sales of over 21.5 million singles in the United Kingdom and, as of 2012, was the third-top-selling artist in UK Singles Chart histo ...

Katja Ebstein Katja Ebstein (born Karin Witkiewicz; 9 March 1945) is a German singer. She was born in Girlachsdorf (now Gniewków, Poland). She achieved success with songs such as "Theater (song), Theater" and "Es war einmal ein Jäger". She was married to , w ...

Chiara Siracusa Chiara Siracusa (born 25 September 1976), known professionally as Chiara, is a Maltese singer. She represented her country in the Eurovision Song Contest in 1998, 2005, and 2009 and is with a second and a third place the third most successful p ...

and Zeljko Joksimovic) to have finished second and third without having won. Deguelt's later successful singles included "Le Ciel, le soleil et la mer" (1965), "Le printemps" (1966), "Minuit, le vent, la nuit" (1968) and "La libération" (1968). He continued to tour and perform on the nostalgia circuit throughout the Francophone world until his death. He died at the age of 81 on 22 January 2014.

References

External links

Discography and cover art at encyclopédisque.fr
{{DEFAULTSORT:Deguelt, Francois 1932 births 2014 deaths People from Tarbes Pathé-Marconi artists 20th-century French male singers Eurovision Song Contest entrants