With 70 millions albums sold, Claude François is one of the most famous French-speaking artists of the 1960s and 1970s. Born in Egypt in Ismaïlia on February the 1st, 1939, the young Claude chose music to escape from the daily life of an immigrant family back in Paris. As a drummer, he was fascinated by the Motown sounds: his first hits were American covers (“Belles, belles, belles” in 1962) to which he added a choregraphic visual in 1967 with a dance quartet called “Les Clodettes” (thank you Otis Redding!).

His songs, often made for the dancefloor, followed the disco wave with “Magnolia for ever” and “Alexandrie Alexandra”. His most famous composition is “Comme d’habitude” (“My way”) written in 1967 with Jacques Revaux after his break-up with French singer France Gall: Paul Anka adapted the song in English; Frank Sinatra and Elvis Presley transformed it into an American classic. Claude François’ career is a mix between a true cult “à la Beatles” and a difficult private life where he faced death several times: two car accidents, a bomb attack in a hotel in London, an explosion in his Parisian office, an assault by a fan, a dangerous car chase with gun fire, etc.

30 years after his death by accident in his bathroom on March 11th, 1978, this popular singer is now better recognized: with a special tribute, the label Mercury offers us some interesting covers with Jérémie Kisling, AS Dragon, Jeanne Cherhal, or La Grande Sophie.