Artist Bio:
Singer-composer-agent provocateur Serge Gainsbourg (1928–1991,) with his heavy-lidded eyes, incongruously sensitive mouth, omnipresent cigarette and three-day stubble, was the single most innovative force behind French popular music from the late 20th century onward. His songs, whether delivered in his own languid, insinuating basso profundo or performed by one of his avid apostles, linked three generations of French musicians and broke ground for developments that occurred long after his death.
Lucien Ginzburg was born into a Paris-based Russian Jewish family on April 2 1928. His father, Josef, was a multifaceted artist and musician who arranged for the boy to study piano. Lucien was enthralled by classical music and jazz and was soon making headway as a barroom pianist. To escape the Nazi occupation, the family was obliged to lay low outside of Limoges, but upon their return to the capitol in 1945, Lucien immersed himself in painting, although he was seldom satisfied by his efforts. Meanwhile, having gotten married in 1951, he made his living as an art teacher, moonlighting as a choir director in his spare time. By 1954, he was already experimenting with songwriting, wisely publishing his works through SACEM, the French equivalent of BMI or ASCAP.
By 1958, his fame as a songwriter increasing, he officially became Serge Gainsbourg—the first name was a nod to his Russian ancestry, the last was borrowed from the English painter. He took a job at a cabaret where he accompanied the singer Michèle Arnaud on piano and guitar and met singer-composer, writer and jazz trumpeter Boris Vian. The two, who shared a tartly satiric world view, became fast friends and Gainsbourg was encouraged to perform his songs in public. Audience reaction was mixed to say the least but the Philips label soon signed him. His début album, Du Chant à la Une!, was not a critical favorite but was nonetheless awarded the Grand Prix de L'Académie Charles Cros in 1959, largely due to the song "Le Poinçonneur des Lilas," which has since become a classic. Gainsbourg's love-hate relationship with the press also dates from this period but even the most hostile critics could not deny his gifts as a songwriter. His second album did not do well, but by now he had gathered a few prominent singers to his banner, among them the lovely existentialist diva Juliette Gréco. By the early '60s Gainsbourg decided to try his wings as an actor but, despite a brief affair with Brigitte Bardot that led to a series of sexy duets, he was to make his mark there primarily as a soundtrack composer.
The jazz-favored L'Etonnant Serge Gainsbourg (1961), which included tributes to Victor Hugo and chanson lyricist/poet Jacques Prévert, and the Afro-Caribbean-influenced Gainsbourg Confidentiel (1964) did not rack up huge sales. But other vocalists continued to seek him out including 16-year-old France Gall for whom he wrote "Les Sucettes," a tune about a lollipop whose suggestiveness appalled the young chanteuse—once she figured it out. Petula Clark (who had a burgeoning career in France), Marianne Faithfull and Dionne Warwick also sang his songs. Gainsbourg himself was now performing in large concert halls, initially as an opening act, then as headliner.
After he became involved with the young British actress Jane Birkin, whom he later married, they recorded "Je T'Aime...Moi Non Plus" (1969). He had intended this salacious ditty for Brigitte Bardot but even that renowned sexpot found the lyrics far too suggestive. Birkin was less inhibited, and the sizzling, extended duet became an international hit and was later covered by artists the world over—despite being banned almost everywhere. The fact that it stalled at No. 69 on the American Billboard charts must have delighted its composer. In 1971 Gainsbourg released Histoire de Melody Nelson, a disturbing, Lolita-like work. From this time forward, his output was even more intellectual, provocative and confrontational. Even if Gainsbourg was never to achieve anything resembling his late-'60s sales figures, he was still a much-admired figure, despite conceptual acting-out on live TV like the time he set 500 francs afire or crudely propositioned Whitney Houston.
Later exploits included an album of Nazi-related material called Rock Around the Bunker and a 1979 reggae version of "La Marseillaise" called "Aux Armes et Caetera," which featured some of Jamaica's finest musicians and outraged France's always-vocal right wing. Always game for new experiences, Gainsbourg published a novel, Evguénie Sokolov in 1980 and taped several television commercials. A duet with his then-teenage daughter, Charlotte, called "Lemon Incest" raised some hackles, and in 1987 he composed a song cycle for Jane Birkin called Lost Songs and released You're Under Arrest, which featured a hilarious rap version of the Edith Piaf chestnut "Mon Légionnaire."
Later in life, he invented a drunken, disheveled alter-ego called Gainsbarre and achieved cult status with youngsters who were not even born when his career began. By the late '80s, decades of nicotine and alcohol abuse took their toll and Gainsbourg died of a heart attack in his early 60s. His ex-wife Jane Birkin, who was his favorite muse in life, still maintains his legacy. Post-Gainsbourg French songwriter/producers of note include Philippe Katerine and Benjamin Biolay, both of whom readily acknowledge their debt to him. Gainsbourg's example has also galvanized non-French-speaking art-rockers the world over. —Christina Roden
