''La maison où j'ai grandi'' is a

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...

of French pop singer

Françoise Hardy Françoise Madeleine Hardy (; 17 January 1944 – 11 June 2024) was a French singer-songwriter, actress, and author. She was known for singing melancholic, sentimental ballads. Hardy rose to prominence in the early 1960s as a leading figure in F ...

. It was released in

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

in November 1966, on LP,

Disques Vogue Disques Vogue was a jazz record company founded in France by Léon Cabat and Charles Delaunay in 1947, the year after the American Vogue label ceased. They originally specialized in jazz, featuring American performers such as Sidney Bechet, ...

/Vogue international industries (CLD 702-30). Published without title, except for the word ''Françoise'' on the cover, but has become known by the title of the most successful song on the album, " La maison où j'ai grandi" ("The House where I Grew Up").

Background and production

In Italy from the 27th to the January 29, 1966, Françoise Hardy participated in the 16th Italian Song Festival of Sanremo to perform "Parlami di te", written by Vito Pallavicini, to music by Edoardo Vianello. Vianello wrote another song, "Ci sono cose più grandi", which Françoise took as basis for her French version ("Il est des choses"). Another participant, the singer Adriano Celentano, wrote an autobiographical song, "Il ragazzo della via Gluck", which Hardy adapted in French for her fifth album. "Il ragazzo della via Gluck" was ranked 2nd in the month of June 1966, in the hit parade of the radio show "Salut les Copains". "Rendez-vous d'automne" ranked 7th in this same Top 50 in November.

Composition

Hardy's lyrics express "romantic longing, reflecting on what it means to lose love once you find it, or when it doesn't live up to your fantasies". Hardy plays Spanish

guitar The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...

on the record, alongside a

harpsichord A harpsichord is a musical instrument played by means of a musical keyboard, keyboard. Depressing a key raises its back end within the instrument, which in turn raises a mechanism with a small plectrum made from quill or plastic that plucks one ...

Critical reception

Hazel Cills, writing for ''

Pitchfork A pitchfork or hay fork is an agricultural tool used to pitch loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. It has a long handle and usually two to five thin tines designed to efficiently move such materials. The term is also applie ...

'', deemed ''La Maison Où J'Ai Grandi'' to be a "more grown-up", "most well-produced", and "well-written record", compared to Hardy's previous discography. It achieved a "baroque sound .that matched the depth of her sorrow and its complexities", and became "cohesive in sound and subject matter". Cillis was particularly impressed by the song "Si C'est Ça", where Hardy's "whispery voice and hushed guitar playing operate on the same frequency".

Track listing

Words and music were written by Françoise Hardy, except where noted. She is accompanied by the Johnny Harris orchestra. Maison Ou J'ai Grandi – overview

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

. Accessed on line May 1, 2009. # "Je changerais d'avis" – 2:53
Original title: " Se telefonando"
Lyrics: Ghigo De Chiara,

Maurizio Costanzo Maurizio Costanzo (28 August 1938 – 24 February 2023) was an Italian television host, journalist, screenwriter, and film director. Biography Costanzo began his career as a journalist, first as a contributing writer to '' Paese Sera'' and the ...

Music written by:

Ennio Morricone Ennio Morricone ( , ; 10 November 19286 July 2020) was an Italian composer, Orchestration, orchestrator, conductor, trumpeter, and pianist who wrote music in a wide range of styles. With more than 400 film score, scores for cinema and televisi ...

First sung by: Mina, 1966
French adaptation by:

Jacques Lanzmann Jacques Lanzmann (4 May 1927 – 21 June 2006) was a French journalist, writer and lyricist. He is best known as a novelist and for his songwriting partnership with Jacques Dutronc. Early life Lanzmann spent the early part of his life in Auv ...

and Françoise Hardy # "Si c'est ça" – 2:09 # "Rendez-vous d'automne" – 2:40
Lyrics: Jean-Max Rivière
Music written by: Gérard Bourgeois
Accompanists: Charles Blackwell orchestra. # "Je serai là pour toi" – 2:24 # "Peut-être que je t'aime" – 2:12 # "Il est des choses" – 2:31
Original title: "Ci sono cose più grandi"
Lyrics: Eliana de Sabata
Music written by:

Edoardo Vianello Edoardo Vianello (born 24 June 1938) is an Italian singer, composer and actor, considered one of the most popular Italian singers of the 1960s. Career Born in Rome, Vianello started his career in 1956. His first successes came in 1961, with "Il ...

First sung by:

Tony Renis Elio Cesari (born 13 May 1938), known by his stage name Tony Renis, is an Italian singer, composer, music producer, and film actor. Life and career Renis was born in Milan. In the mid-1950s he met with Adriano Celentano, and the two started pe ...

, 1966
French adaptation by: Françoise Hardy
Accompanists: Charles Blackwell orchestra. # "Comme" – 1:54 # "Mes jours s'en vont" – 2:26 # "Qu'ils sont heureux" – 2:21
Lyrics:

Eddy Marnay Edmond Bacri (18 December 1920 – 3 January 2003), known professionally as Eddy Marnay, was a French songwriter. In his career, he wrote more than 4000 songs, including works for Édith Piaf, Frida Boccara and Céline Dion. He was joint win ...

Music written by:

André Popp André Charles Jean Popp (19 February 1924 – 10 May 2014) was a French composer, arranger and screenwriter. Biography Popp was born into a family of German-Dutch background, in Fontenay-le-Comte, Vendée. He started his career as a church ...

# "Surtout ne vous retournez pas" – 2:20 # "Tu es un peu à moi" – 2:14 # " La maison où j'ai grandi" – 3:39
Original title: " Il ragazzo della via Gluck"
Lyrics:

Luciano Beretta Luciano Beretta (1 January 1928 – 11 January 1994) was an Italian lyricist, best known for his long collaboration with Adriano Celentano. Life and career Born in Milan, Beretta was the son of a driver and a tailor, and had a degree in accou ...

and Michele "Miki" Del Prete
Music written by:

Adriano Celentano Adriano Celentano (; born 6 January 1938) is an Italian singer-songwriter, actor, showman, and filmmaker. He is dubbed ''Il Molleggiato'' ('the springy one') because of his energetic dancing. Celentano's many albums frequently enjoyed both com ...

First sung by: Adriano Celentano, 1966
French adaptation:

Accompanists: Charles Blackwell orchestra.

LP record The LP (from long playing or long play) is an Analog recording, analog sound storage medium, specifically a phonograph record format characterized by: a speed of revolutions per minute, rpm; a 12- or 10-inch (30- or 25-cm) diameter; use ...
s: first editions in
English-speaking world The English-speaking world comprises the 88 countries and territories in which English language, English is an official, administrative, or cultural language. In the early 2000s, between one and two billion people spoke English, making it the ...

:, 1966: LP, Vogue (VGL 7022). :, 1966: LP, Vogue/Vogue international industries (VRL 3028). :, 1968: Vogue (SVL 933.540). :, 1968: ''La maison où j'ai grandi'', Vogue/Vogue international industries (VC 6024). :, 1968: Vogue (SVL 933-540).

Reissues on CD

* , 1996: Disques Vogue/

Sony BMG Sony BMG Music Entertainment was an American record company owned as a 50–50 joint venture between Sony Corporation of America and Bertelsmann. The venture's successor, the revived Sony Music, is wholly owned by Sony, following their buyout o ...

(7 43213 80052 3). * , October 16, 2015: CD, ''La maison où j'ai grandi'',

Light in the Attic Records Light in the Attic Records is an independent record label that was established in 2002 in Seattle, Washington by Matt Sullivan. The label is known for its roster of reissue projects and for its distribution catalog. Light in the Attic has re-re ...

/Future Days Recordings (FDR 618).

Reissue on 180g Vinyl

:, January 2016: ''La maison où j'ai grandi'',

/Future Days Recordings (FDR 618).

Notes and references

{{DEFAULTSORT:Maison Ou J'ai Grandi, La Françoise Hardy albums 1966 albums 1960s French-language albums Disques Vogue albums