Michèle Torr (born Michelle Cléberte Tort 7 April 1947) is a French singer and author, best known in non-Francophone countries for her participation 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 ...

for

Luxembourg Luxembourg, officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, is a landlocked country in Western Europe. It is bordered by Belgium to the west and north, Germany to the east, and France on the south. Its capital and most populous city, Luxembour ...

1966 Events January * January 1 – In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa takes over as military ruler of the Central African Republic, ousting President David Dacko. * January 3 – 1966 Upper Voltan coup d'état: President Maurice Yaméogo i ...

and for

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, ...

1977 Events January * January 8 – 1977 Moscow bombings, Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group. * January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (no ...

Early career

Born in

Pertuis Pertuis (; ) is a Communes of France, commune in Vaucluse, a Departments of France, department in the southeastern Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of France, south of the Luberon. Pertuis has existed since at least 981, and a castle was first b ...

, Vaucluse, Torr won her first singing contest at age fifteen, in 1962, winning the first year's ''On Chante dans mon Quartier'' contest in Avignon. Michèle was a tall beautiful woman with actress-like expression, and easily wins the audience over by singing the Édith Piaf song ''Exodus''.

Mireille Mathieu Mireille Mathieu (; born July 22, 1946) is a French singer. She has recorded over 1,200 songs in eleven languages, with more than 122 million records sold worldwide. Biography and career Early years Mireille Mathieu was born on July 22, 1946, ...

was runner-up that year with ''Les cloches de Lisbonne'' by Maria Candido. Then in 1963, at age sixteen, Michèle won a recording contract with the Mercury label, and opened for

Jacques Brel Jacques Romain Georges Brel (; 8 April 1929 – 9 October 1978) was a Belgian singer and actor who composed and performed theatrical songs. He generated a large, devoted following—initially in Belgium and France, but later throughout the world ...

at the Paris Olympia. She released three EPs (four songs each) throughout 1964, which were aimed at radio and juke-box play. Torr's release of ''Dans mes bras, oublie ta peine'' in 1964 was a big hit. Further releases of both original French material, and French covers of British and American hits, proved to be hit and miss. This setting the tone for Torr's career throughout the 60's, as she tried to find her niche. The Mercury contract ended in 1972.

Eurovision Song Contest appearances

In 1966, Torr was invited to perform the

Luxembourgish Luxembourgish ( ; also ''Luxemburgish'', ''Luxembourgian'', ''Letzebu(e)rgesch''; ) is a West Germanic language that is spoken mainly in Luxembourg. About 400,000 people speak Luxembourgish worldwide. The language is standardized and officiall ...

entry, '' Ce soir je t'attendais'', at the eleventh

. This was permitted as there has never been a requirement at Eurovision for the singer to be native to the country they represent; indeed Luxembourg only very rarely chose a Luxembourger as their performer. As Luxembourg had won the 1965 contest, the 1966 contest was held in

Luxembourg City Luxembourg (; ; ), also known as Luxembourg City ( or ; ; or ), is the capital city of Luxembourg and the Communes of Luxembourg, country's most populous commune. Standing at the confluence of the Alzette and Pétrusse rivers in southern Luxe ...

on 5 March. Torr wound up finishing joint-tenth out of eighteen participants, alongside the entries from Finland and Germany. Eleven years later, in 1977, Torr again took part in Eurovision, this time representing

with the song '' Une petite française''. The

contest took place in London on 7 May, and Torr improved on her previous result, finishing fourth of eighteen participants. In between her two Eurovision appearances, Torr had also taken part in the French Eurovision pre-selection in 1970 with two songs, but had not progressed beyond the semi-final stage.

Later career

Torr had continued to record and release singles during the early and mid 1970s like ''Une vague bleue'', a big hit, but she achieved the biggest successes of her career at the end of the decade with ''Emmène-moi danser ce soir'', ''La séparation'' and ''Discomotion''. Through the 1980s she continued to release successful singles and albums and was a regular on television. Her career stalled in the 1990s, with much less new material being released, although compilations of earlier work kept her in the public eye. On 3 March 2008, she released her album ''Ces années-là'' on the Sony BMG Import label. On 12 November 2012, she released an album of religious songs ''Chanter c'est Prier'' on the Sony Music France S.M.A.R.T. label. As of 2015, She continues to tour worldwide on the French music nostalgia circuit, with almost a concert a month.

Decorations

* Commander of the Order of Arts and Letters (2016)

Discography

45s

* ''Les Amoureux'' et ''Piano va l'amour'' 1973 * ''Une vague bleue'' *Je m'appelle Michèle * '' :fr:Cette fille c'était moi'' 1975 * ''Ce soir je t'attendais'' ( Eurovision) 1976 * ''Une petite Française'' ( Eurovision) 1977 * '' :fr:Emmène-moi danser ce soir'' 1978 * ''J'aime'' 1978 * ''Chanson inédite'' 1979 * ''Lui (1980)'' * '' :fr:J'en appelle à la tendresse'' 1981 * ''Midnight blue en Irlande'' 1983 * ''Adieu'' 1983 * ''Donne moi la main, donne moi l'amour'' 1984

Albums

* 1964: ''Dans mes bras oublie ta peine'' * 1965: ''Dis-moi maintenant'' * 1966: ''Ce soir je t'attendais'' * 1970: ''tous les oiseaux reviennent'' * 1974: ''un disque d'amour'' * 1976: ''je m'appelle Michèle'' * 1976: ''Michele Torr'' * 1977: ''j'aime'' * 1978: ''Emmène moi danser ce soir'' * 1979: ''chanson inédite'' * 1980: ''à l'Olympia'' * 1980: ''Lui'' * 1981: ''j'en appelle à la tendresse'' * 1982: ''Olympia'' * 1983: ''adieu/à mon père'' * 1983: ''midnight blue en Irlande'' * 1983: ''Adieu'' Disc'Az 478 * 1984: ''donne-moi le matin, donne-moi l'amour'' * 1985: ''Michèle Torr'' * 1986: ''Qui'' * 1987: ''chansons de toujours'' * 1987: ''I remember you'' * 1988: ''je t'avais rapporté'' * 1988: ''Argentina'' * 1990: ''la compil' de mes succès'' * 1991: ''vague à l'homme'' * 1993: ''à mi vie'' * 1995: ''à nos beaux jours'' * 1996: ''le meilleur de Michele Torr en public'' * 1997: ''seule'' * 1998: ''portrait de scène'' * 1998: ''Michele Torr 2cd'' * 1999: ''emmene moi danser ce soir en public'' * 2000: ''une petite française 3cd'' * 2001: ''acoustique'' * 2001: ''best of'' * 2002: ''donner'' * 2003: ''à l'Olympia'' * 2003: ''chante Piaf'' * 2004: ''en concert'' * 2005: ''à l'Olympia'' * 2006: ''la louve'' * 2007: ''ces années là'' * 2008: ''Olympia'' * 2010: ''triple best of'' * 2011: ''Olympia'' * 2012: ''chanter c'est prier'' * 2013: ''Herbert Léonard / Michele Torr au Québec'' * 2014: ''diva'' * 2016: ''tout l'amour du monde'' ;Others *2012: ''Chanter c'est prier''

Books

* 1999: La Cuisine (provençale) de ma mère by Michèle Torr * 2005: la Couleur des mots (autobiography) by Michèle Torr, and Laurent Fialaix

References

External links

Official website

{{DEFAULTSORT:Torr, Michele French pop singers 1947 births Living people People from Pertuis French women pop singers Eurovision Song Contest entrants Commandeurs of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres