Gilbert Becaud, singer, 74

[Deathwatch Central <cdw@slick.org>]

Tuesday December 18 6:31 AM ET 

French crooner Becaud dies aged 74

By Joelle Diderich

PARIS, Dec 18 (Reuters) - Popular French singer Gilbert Becaud, known
as ``Mr 100,000 Volts'' for his electrifying stage performances, died
on Tuesday aged 74, French radio RTL said.

Becaud, whose real name was Francois Silly, rose to fame during the
1950s golden era of French chanson as part of a generation of
composer-performers including Georges Brassens, Charles Aznavour and
Jacques Brel.

Songs such as ``Et maintenant,'' ``Nathalie'' and ``L'important c'est
la rose'' brought him international renown.

An English version of ``Et maintenant'' entitled ``What Now My Love?''
became a 20th century classic recorded by scores of artists including
Shirley Bassey, Elvis Presley and more recently, as a duet by Frank
Sinatra and Aretha Franklin.

Born in October 1927 in the southern French city of Toulon, Becaud
joined the music conservatory in the southern seaside resort of Nice,
aged nine. By the end of World War Two, his family had moved to Paris
where Becaud played the piano in bars and clubs.

He soon drew the attention of the legendary diminutive singer Edith
Piaf and of Aznavour, who helped launch a songwriting career that would
spawn 400 tunes.

Becaud's recording debut in 1953 met with explosive success. His first
appearances at the Olympia music hall in Paris sent the crowd into a
hysterical frenzy, earning him the nicknames ``Monsieur Dynamite'' and
``The Atomic Mushroom.''

Becaud said his visceral approach to performing kept him going through
a career spanning more than 50 years.

``When I write a song, when I jump on stage, I do it from the heart,
from the gut, like tennis players who shout when they land a serve. I'm
not the kind of guy who thinks, I'm not a careerist who plots his next
move,'' he said.

Becaud said the same impulsiveness prompted him to celebrate news that
he had overcome cancer by smoking a cigarette.

Although Becaud's son Gaya, head of programming at RTL, did not divulge
the cause of death, other French media reported the illness had won out
in the end.

Reuters/Variety

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