Juliette Gréco
Encyclopedia
Juliette Gréco, ʒy.ljɛt gʁe.ko — also Michelle – (born 7 February 1927) is a French actress and popular chanson
singer.
to a Corsica
n father and a mother who became active in the Résistance
, in the Hérault
département of southern France. She was raised by her maternal grandparents. Gréco also became involved in the Résistance, and was caught but not deported because of her young age. She moved to Saint-Germain-des-Prés
in 1946 after her mother left the country for Indochina
.
and Boris Vian
.
Gréco spent the post liberation years frequenting the Saint Germain cafes, immersing herself in political and philosophical Bohemian culture. As a regular figure at music and poetry venues like Le Tabou
on Rue Dauphine
, Greco became acquainted with Miles Davis
and Jean Cocteau
, even being given a role in Cocteau’s film Orphée in 1949. That same year, she began a new singing career with a number of well-known French writers writing lyrics; Raymond Queneau
's "Si Tu T’Imagines" was one of her earliest songs to become popular.
in early June.
in the film Gainsbourg (Vie héroïque) (2010).
Gréco is featured in "Lovers of Saint-Germain-des-Prés", a chapter written in screenplay format in PARISIANS: An Adventure History of Paris, by Graham Robb (New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 2010).
The Canadian band Library Voices
describes Gréco's relationship with Miles Davis in their song "Be my Juliette Gréco, Paris 1949" from the album Summer of Lust
Chanson
A chanson is in general any lyric-driven French song, usually polyphonic and secular. A singer specialising in chansons is known as a "chanteur" or "chanteuse" ; a collection of chansons, especially from the late Middle Ages and Renaissance, is also known as a chansonnier.-Chanson de geste:The...
singer.
Early life and family
Juliette Gréco was born in MontpellierMontpellier
-Neighbourhoods:Since 2001, Montpellier has been divided into seven official neighbourhoods, themselves divided into sub-neighbourhoods. Each of them possesses a neighbourhood council....
to a Corsica
Corsica
Corsica is an island in the Mediterranean Sea. It is located west of Italy, southeast of the French mainland, and north of the island of Sardinia....
n father and a mother who became active in the Résistance
Resistance
- Physics :* Electrical resistance, a measure of the degree to which an object opposes an electric current through it* Friction, the force that opposes motion** Drag , fluid or gas forces opposing motion and flow...
, in the Hérault
Hérault
Hérault is a department in the south of France named after the Hérault river.-History:Hérault is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on 4 March 1790...
département of southern France. She was raised by her maternal grandparents. Gréco also became involved in the Résistance, and was caught but not deported because of her young age. She moved to Saint-Germain-des-Prés
Saint-Germain-des-Prés
Saint-Germain-des-Prés is an area of the 6th arrondissement of Paris, France, located around the church of the former Abbey of Saint-Germain-des-Prés....
in 1946 after her mother left the country for Indochina
Indochina
The Indochinese peninsula, is a region in Southeast Asia. It lies roughly southwest of China, and east of India. The name has its origins in the French, Indochine, as a combination of the names of "China" and "India", and was adopted when French colonizers in Vietnam began expanding their territory...
.
Bohemian lifestyle
Gréco became a devotee of the bohemian fashion of some intellectuals of post-war France. A famous description of Gréco is that her voice "encompasses millions of poems". She was known to many of the writers and artists working in Saint-Germain-des-Prés, such as Jean-Paul SartreJean-Paul Sartre
Jean-Paul Charles Aymard Sartre was a French existentialist philosopher, playwright, novelist, screenwriter, political activist, biographer, and literary critic. He was one of the leading figures in 20th century French philosophy, particularly Marxism, and was one of the key figures in literary...
and Boris Vian
Boris Vian
Boris Vian was a French polymath: writer, poet, musician, singer, translator, critic, actor, inventor and engineer. He is best remembered today for his novels. Those published under the pseudonym Vernon Sullivan were bizarre parodies of criminal fiction, highly controversial at the time of their...
.
Gréco spent the post liberation years frequenting the Saint Germain cafes, immersing herself in political and philosophical Bohemian culture. As a regular figure at music and poetry venues like Le Tabou
Le Tabou
Le Tabou was a cellar club located at 33 Rue Dauphine in Saint Germain des Pres, Paris. The club opened shortly after Club des Lorientais on 11 April 1947...
on Rue Dauphine
Rue Dauphine
Rue Dauphine is a street in Saint-Germain-des-Prés in the VIe arrondissement of Paris, France.It was named after the Dauphin, son of Henry IV of France.The Pont Neuf crosses the river Seine in front of the Rue Dauphine....
, Greco became acquainted with Miles Davis
Miles Davis
Miles Dewey Davis III was an American jazz musician, trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. Widely considered one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Miles Davis was, with his musical groups, at the forefront of several major developments in jazz music, including bebop, cool jazz,...
and Jean Cocteau
Jean Cocteau
Jean Maurice Eugène Clément Cocteau was a French poet, novelist, dramatist, designer, playwright, artist and filmmaker. His circle of associates, friends and lovers included Kenneth Anger, Pablo Picasso, Jean Hugo, Jean Marais, Henri Bernstein, Marlene Dietrich, Coco Chanel, Erik Satie, María...
, even being given a role in Cocteau’s film Orphée in 1949. That same year, she began a new singing career with a number of well-known French writers writing lyrics; Raymond Queneau
Raymond Queneau
Raymond Queneau was a French poet and novelist and the co-founder of Ouvroir de littérature potentielle .-Biography:Born in Le Havre, Seine-Maritime, Queneau was the only child of Auguste Queneau and Joséphine Mignot...
's "Si Tu T’Imagines" was one of her earliest songs to become popular.
Je Me Souviens De Tout
In 2009 her newest album, Je Me Souviens De Tout, was released. To mark the occasion, Gréco, accompanied by her husband Gérard Jouannest on the piano, and Jean-Louis Matinier on the accordion gave four concerts at the Théâtre des Champs-ÉlyséesThéâtre des Champs-Élysées
The Théâtre des Champs-Élysées is a theatre at 15 avenue Montaigne. Despite its name, the theatre is not on the Champs-Élysées but nearby in another part of the 8th arrondissement of Paris....
in early June.
Fiction TV
In the late '60s she featured in the well-known TV serial Belphegor, Phantom of the Louvre. This gloomy character was so strongly connected with Juliette Greco, that she brought it with herself for the rest of her life and in 2001 she was included in the cast of the famous movie remake with the same title Belphegor, Phantom of the Louvre.Personal life
She has been married three times: to actor Philippe Lemaire (1953–1956; one daughter, Laurence-Marie Lemaire, b. 1954), actor Michel Piccoli (1966–1977), and pianist Gérard Jouannest (since 1988).In popular culture
Gréco was portrayed by actress Anna MouglalisAnna Mouglalis
-Biography:Anna Mouglalis was born in Nantes, Loire-Atlantique, to her Greek father and French mother. She spent her youth in the Var département, before moving back to Nantes with her family. Her father is a doctor and her mother is a masseuse. Until 2001 she studied at the Conservatoire National...
in the film Gainsbourg (Vie héroïque) (2010).
Gréco is featured in "Lovers of Saint-Germain-des-Prés", a chapter written in screenplay format in PARISIANS: An Adventure History of Paris, by Graham Robb (New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 2010).
The Canadian band Library Voices
Library Voices
Library Voices are a Canadian indie pop band from Regina, Saskatchewan. Formed in 2008 as a ten-piece group of musician friends, they have released two EPs and two full-length albums...
describes Gréco's relationship with Miles Davis in their song "Be my Juliette Gréco, Paris 1949" from the album Summer of Lust
Albums
- 1950: Si tu t'imagines, poème de Raymond Queneau mis en musique de Joseph Kosma.
- 1950: La Fourmi, poème de Robert Desnos mis en musique par Joseph Kosma.
- 1951: Je suis comme je suis, paroles de Jacques Prévert et musique de Joseph Kosma.
- 1951: Les Feuilles mortes, paroles de Jacques Prévert et musique de Joseph Kosma du film Les Portes de la nuit de Marcel Carné.
- 1951: Sous le ciel de Paris, paroles de Jean Dréjac et musique d’Hubert Giraud du film Sous le ciel de Paris de Julien Duvivier.
- 1951: Je hais les dimanches, paroles de Charles Aznavour et musique de Florence Véran.
- 1953: La Fiancée du pirate, extraite de L'Opéra de quat'sous, adaptation française d’André De Mauprey d’après des paroles de Bertolt Brecht, musique de Kurt Weill.
- 1954: Coin de rue, paroles et musique de Charles Trenet
- 1955: Chanson pour l'Auvergnat, paroles et musique de Georges Brassens
- 1960: Il n'y a plus d'après, paroles et musique de Guy Béart
- 1961: Jolie Môme, paroles et musique de Léo Ferré
- 1961: C'était bien (Le P’tit bal perdu), paroles de Robert Nyel et musique de Gaby Verlor
- 1962: Accordéon, paroles et musique de Serge Gainsbourg
- 1962: Paris canaille, paroles et musique de Léo Ferré
- 1963: La Javanaise, paroles et musique de Serge Gainsbourg
- 1966: Un petit poisson, un petit oiseau, paroles de Jean-Max Rivière et musique de Gérard Bourgeois
- 1967: Déshabillez-moiDéshabillez-moi"Déshabillez-moi" is a 1967 song first recorded by French singer Juliette Gréco, by Patti Layne in 1987, then by Mylène Farmer in a studio version in 1988 and in a live version during her 2006 concerts at Bercy . This live version was the second single from Farmer's fourth live album, Avant que...
, paroles de Robert Nyel et musique de Gaby Verlor - 1970: Les Pingouins, paroles et musique de Frédéric Botton
- 1971: La Chanson des vieux amants, paroles de Jacques Brel et musique de Gérard Jouannest
- 1971: J'arriveJ'arriveJ'arrive is Jacques Brel's tenth studio album. Originally released in 1968 by Barclay , the album was reissued on 23 September 2003 under the title Grand Jacques as part of the 16-CD box set Boîte à Bonbons by Barclay ....
, paroles de Jacques Brel et musique de Gérard Jouannest - 1972: Mon fils chante, paroles de Maurice Fanon et musique de Gérard Jouannest
- 1977: Non monsieur je n'ai pas vingt ans, paroles d’Henri Gougaud et musique de Gérard Jouannest
- 1983: Le Temps des cerisesLe Temps des cerisesLe Temps des cerises is a song written in France in 1866, with words by Jean-Baptiste Clément and music by Antoine Renard. The song is strongly associated with the Paris Commune...
, poème de Jean-Baptiste Clément et musique d’Antoine Renard - 1988: Ne me quitte pasNe me quitte pas"Ne me quitte pas" is a song written and sung in French and in Dutch by the Belgian chansonnier Jacques Brel in 1959. It has been covered in the original French by many artists and has also been translated into and performed in many other languages...
, paroles et musique de Jacques Brel - 2003: L'Éternel féminin – Intégrale en 21 CD Mercury
- 2009: Je Me Souviens De Tout
Notable songs
- 1950: "Si tu t'imagines"
- 1951: "Je suis comme je suis"
- 1952: "Les Dames de la poste"
- 1952: "Je hais les dimanches"
- 1952: "Les feuilles mortes"
- 1958: "Bonjour tristesse"
- 1961: "On n'oublie rien"
- 1962: "Paris canaille"
- 1963: "La javanaise"
- 1965: "Marions-les"
- 1966: "Un petit poisson, un petit oiseau"
- 1967: "Déshabillez-moi"
- 1970: "J'arrive"
- 1970: "Les pingouins"
- 1972: "Mon fils chante"
- 1972: "L'embellie"
- 1972: "La lelluia"
- 1972: "Mes theatres"
Partial filmography
- 1950: Orpheus
- 1951: ...Sans laisser d'adresse...Sans laisser d'adresse...Sans laisser d'adresse is a 1951 French comedy film directed by Jean-Paul Le Chanois. At the 1st Berlin International Film Festival it won the Golden Bear award.-Cast:* Bernard Blier - Émile Gauthier* Danièle Delorme - Thérèse Ravenaz...
- 1957: The Sun Also RisesThe Sun Also Rises (1957 film)The Sun Also Rises is a 1957 film adaptation of the Ernest Hemingway novel of the same name, with the screenplay written by Peter Viertel. It starred Tyrone Power, Ava Gardner, Mel Ferrer and Errol Flynn. Much of it was filmed on location in France and Spain in Cinemascope and color by Deluxe...
- 1958: The Roots of HeavenThe Roots of HeavenThe Roots of Heaven is a 1958 adventure film made by 20th Century Fox, directed by John Huston and produced by Darryl F. Zanuck. The screenplay by Romain Gary and Patrick Leigh Fermor is based on Romain Gary's 1956 Prix Goncourt winning novel The Roots of Heaven .The film starred Errol Flynn,...
- 1958: Bonjour Tristesse
- 1960: Crack in the MirrorCrack in the MirrorCrack in the Mirror is a 1960 drama film. The three principal actors, Orson Welles, Juliette Gréco, and Bradford Dillman, play dual roles in two interconnected stories as the participants in two love triangles.-Cast:*Orson Welles as Hagolin / Lamerciere...
- 1961: The Big Gamble
- 1975: Lily, aime-moiLily, aime-moiLily, aime-moi is a 1975 French comedy film directed by Maurice Dugowson. It was entered into the 25th Berlin International Film Festival.-Cast:* Jean-Michel Folon - François* Patrick Dewaere - Gaston, dit Johnny Cash* Rufus - Claude* Zouzou - Lily...
- 2001: Belphegor, Phantom of the Louvre
- 2002: Everyman's FeastEveryman's FeastEveryman's Feast, also known as Jedermanns Fest, is a 2002 Austrian film written and directed by Fritz Lehner.-Plot:Jan Jedermann is an ingenious fashion designer, but also an unscrupulous showman. He dies in a car accident and ruminates during his last hours about how one more night in his life...
- 2009: An EducationAn EducationAn Education is a 2009 British coming-of-age drama film, based on an autobiographical article in Granta by British journalist Lynn Barber. The film was directed by Lone Scherfig from a screenplay by Nick Hornby, and stars Carey Mulligan as Jenny, a bright schoolgirl, and Peter Sarsgaard as David,...
Sources
- Boggio, Philippe. Boris VianBoris VianBoris Vian was a French polymath: writer, poet, musician, singer, translator, critic, actor, inventor and engineer. He is best remembered today for his novels. Those published under the pseudonym Vernon Sullivan were bizarre parodies of criminal fiction, highly controversial at the time of their...
(pp. 152–154) - Davis, MilesMiles DavisMiles Dewey Davis III was an American jazz musician, trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. Widely considered one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Miles Davis was, with his musical groups, at the forefront of several major developments in jazz music, including bebop, cool jazz,...
, Miles (pp. 126–127)