Olivier Toussaint
Encyclopedia
Olivier Toussaint is a French
composer
, pop
singer, orchestra
arranger
, company manager, and record producer
.
, in a family of classical
musicians. His great-grandfather, Gilbert Duprez
was a very well known Opera
singer. His grandparents were both opera singers, and his mother was a concert
pianist
who played in big orchestras in France.
On the insistence of his mother, he studied Economics
and Social Sciences
at University in Paris. But as soon as he graduated, he was back making music. He worked professionally as a singer and musician, playing guitar. At the same time he was involved in writing music for television and the cinema.
Classical music was a part of his life due to his family background, but it did not fit to his musical expectations. Other than classical music, he was very interested in jazz
, easy listening
, semi-classical, and pop music
.
in 1968. Soon after, they started to compose many songs together. Their collaboration got well known immediately, and their compositions were recorded by major French singers such as Michel Polnareff
, Christophe
, Dalida
, Petula Clark
, Claude François
and Mireille Mathieu
. They internationally sold more than 100 million records.
Olivier Toussaint and Paul de Senneville also got involved in music production business and started up the group "Pop Concerto Orchestra". In this group, Toussaint was a lead singer. Then they launched a second rock and roll
group "Anarchic System". Over a period of 5 years, both of the groups sold several millions of records.
.
They collaborated with the French composer/arranger Gérard Salesses, in arranging many of titles for Jean-Claude Borelly.
In 1976, Paul de Senneville and Olivier Tousaint set up their own record company, Delphine Productions (named after de Sennevville's first daughter, Delphine). Delphine company is one of the leading French music exporters to the world market. Soon after in 1976, they discovered Richard Clayderman
, and established him as the top French record seller world wide more than 65 millions of LPs sold. Ballade pour Adeline
composed by Paul de Senneville and Olivier Tousaint, was the first song recorded by Richard Clayderman at Delphine studio, and it sold over 22 million singles in 38 countries through the years 1977 to 1979.
entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 1978
, and performing the duet Les jardins de Monaco
(The Gardens of Monaco) with the female singer "Caline". It was succeeded as Monegasque representative at the 1979 Contest by Laurent Vaguener with Notre Vie C'Est La Musique
.
In 1983, with the song "Eden is a magic world" (composed by Paul de Senneville), Olivier Toussaint got No.1 in the charts in France, Switzerland and Belgium.
Since then, Olivier Toussaint has been the main manager to Delphine company, looking after over 40 employees and artists. Delphine company is nowadays several groups representing 15 companies dealing with various activities. Besides producing and recording music for several international instrumentalists such as Richard Clayderman
, Nicolas de Angelis
, and Ocarina group, Delphine activities is in instrumental an advertising film and clip production.
Olivier Toussaint is still passionately involved with Richard Clayderman's career; managing his worldwide tours, producing his albums, etc.
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
, pop
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
singer, orchestra
Orchestra
An orchestra is a sizable instrumental ensemble that contains sections of string, brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. The term orchestra derives from the Greek ορχήστρα, the name for the area in front of an ancient Greek stage reserved for the Greek chorus...
arranger
Arranger
In investment banking, an arranger is a provider of funds in the syndication of a debt. They are entitled to syndicate the loan or bond issue, and may be referred to as the "lead underwriter". This is because this entity bears the risk of being able to sell the underlying securities/debt or the...
, company manager, and record producer
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
.
Early life
He was born in ParisParis
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, in a family of classical
Classical music
Classical music is the art music produced in, or rooted in, the traditions of Western liturgical and secular music, encompassing a broad period from roughly the 11th century to present times...
musicians. His great-grandfather, Gilbert Duprez
Gilbert Duprez
Gilbert Duprez was a French tenor, singing teacher and minor composer who famously pioneered the delivery of the operatic high C from the chest. He also created the role of Edgardo in the popular bel canto-era opera Lucia di Lammermoor in 1835.-Biography:Gilbert-Louis Duprez, to give his full...
was a very well known Opera
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
singer. His grandparents were both opera singers, and his mother was a concert
Concert
A concert is a live performance before an audience. The performance may be by a single musician, sometimes then called a recital, or by a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra, a choir, or a musical band...
pianist
Pianist
A pianist is a musician who plays the piano. A professional pianist can perform solo pieces, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers, solo instrumentalists, or other performers.-Choice of genres:...
who played in big orchestras in France.
On the insistence of his mother, he studied Economics
Economics
Economics is the social science that analyzes the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. The term economics comes from the Ancient Greek from + , hence "rules of the house"...
and Social Sciences
Social sciences
Social science is the field of study concerned with society. "Social science" is commonly used as an umbrella term to refer to a plurality of fields outside of the natural sciences usually exclusive of the administrative or managerial sciences...
at University in Paris. But as soon as he graduated, he was back making music. He worked professionally as a singer and musician, playing guitar. At the same time he was involved in writing music for television and the cinema.
Classical music was a part of his life due to his family background, but it did not fit to his musical expectations. Other than classical music, he was very interested in jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
, easy listening
Easy listening
Easy listening is a broad style of popular music and radio format that emerged in the 1950s, evolving out of big band music, and related to MOR music as played on many AM radio stations. It encompasses the exotica, beautiful music, light music, lounge music, ambient music, and space age pop genres...
, semi-classical, and pop music
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
.
Early years
He started a partnership with the French composer, Paul de SennevillePaul de Senneville
Paul de Senneville is a French melody composer and a music producer.-Career:He began his career as a journalist working for big French newspapers such as France Soir...
in 1968. Soon after, they started to compose many songs together. Their collaboration got well known immediately, and their compositions were recorded by major French singers such as Michel Polnareff
Michel Polnareff
Michel Polnareff, born in Nérac on 3 July 1944, is a French singer-songwriter who was very popular from the mid-1960s until the early 1980s...
, Christophe
Christophe (singer)
Christophe is a French singer and songwriter. He was born Daniel Bevilacqua on 13 October 1945 in Juvisy-sur-Orge, Essonne to Italian parents....
, Dalida
Dalida
Dalida , born with Italian name of Iolanda Cristina Gigliotti, was a world-famous singer and actress born in Egypt with Italian origins but naturalised French with the name Yolanda Gigliotti. She spent her early years in Egypt amongst the Italian Egyptian community, but she lived most of her adult...
, Petula Clark
Petula Clark
Petula Clark, CBE is an English singer, actress, and composer whose career has spanned seven decades.Clark's professional career began as an entertainer on BBC Radio during World War II...
, Claude François
Claude François
Claude François was a French pop singer, songwriter and dancer. He wrote "Comme d'habitude," the original version of "My Way."-Early life:...
and Mireille Mathieu
Mireille Mathieu
Mireille Mathieu is a French chanteuse, and pop singer. Hailed in the French press as the successor to Édith Piaf, she has achieved great commercial success, recording over 1200 songs in nine different languages, with more than 120 million records sold worldwide.-Childhood to early...
. They internationally sold more than 100 million records.
Olivier Toussaint and Paul de Senneville also got involved in music production business and started up the group "Pop Concerto Orchestra". In this group, Toussaint was a lead singer. Then they launched a second rock and roll
Rock and roll
Rock and roll is a genre of popular music that originated and evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s, primarily from a combination of African American blues, country, jazz, and gospel music...
group "Anarchic System". Over a period of 5 years, both of the groups sold several millions of records.
Career development
1975 was the major breakthrough for both Paul de Senneville and Olivier Toussaint with the triumph of Dolannes Melody which launched the trumpet player Jean-Claude BorellyJean-Claude Borelly
-Background:At the age of seven he developed a passion for the trumpet after discovering Louis Armstrong on television.He met a prominent trumpeter of the Paris Opera who touched by his fascination for the trumpet, introduced him to the instrument and accompanies all during his studies at the...
.
They collaborated with the French composer/arranger Gérard Salesses, in arranging many of titles for Jean-Claude Borelly.
In 1976, Paul de Senneville and Olivier Tousaint set up their own record company, Delphine Productions (named after de Sennevville's first daughter, Delphine). Delphine company is one of the leading French music exporters to the world market. Soon after in 1976, they discovered Richard Clayderman
Richard Clayderman
Richard Clayderman is a French pianist who has released numerous albums including the compositions of Paul de Senneville and Olivier Toussaint, instrumental renditions of popular music, rearrangements of movie soundtracks, ethnic music, and easy-listening arrangements of most popular works of...
, and established him as the top French record seller world wide more than 65 millions of LPs sold. Ballade pour Adeline
Ballade pour Adeline
"Ballade pour Adeline" is a 1976 instrumental composed by Paul de Senneville and Olivier Toussaint. Paul de Senneville composed the piece as a tribute to his newborn daughter, Adeline. The first recording was by Richard Clayderman and world-wide sales now have reached 22 million copies in 38...
composed by Paul de Senneville and Olivier Tousaint, was the first song recorded by Richard Clayderman at Delphine studio, and it sold over 22 million singles in 38 countries through the years 1977 to 1979.
Success
The year 1978 was Olivier Toussaint's big success, attending in MonégasqueMonégasque language
Monégasque is a dialect of the modern Ligurian language, spoken in Monaco.- Language family :Forming a part of the Western Romance dialect continuum, Monégasque shares many features with the variety of Ligurian spoken in Genoa, but differs from its neighboring dialects Intemelio and Mentonasc. It...
entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 1978
Eurovision Song Contest 1978
The Eurovision Song Contest 1978 was the 23rd of its kind, and was held on 22 April 1978 in Paris. With Denise Fabre and Léon Zitrone as the presenters - the first time more than one presenter hosted the contest - the contest was won by Izhar Cohen & the Alphabeta who represented Israel, with their...
, and performing the duet Les jardins de Monaco
Les Jardins De Monaco
"Les jardins de Monaco" was the Monegasque entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 1978, performed in French by French duo Caline & Olivier Toussaint....
(The Gardens of Monaco) with the female singer "Caline". It was succeeded as Monegasque representative at the 1979 Contest by Laurent Vaguener with Notre Vie C'Est La Musique
Notre Vie C'Est La Musique
"Notre vie c'est la musique" was the Monegasque entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 1979, performed in French by French singer Laurent Vaguener.The song was composed by Paul de Senneville and one Jean Baudlot...
.
In 1983, with the song "Eden is a magic world" (composed by Paul de Senneville), Olivier Toussaint got No.1 in the charts in France, Switzerland and Belgium.
Since then, Olivier Toussaint has been the main manager to Delphine company, looking after over 40 employees and artists. Delphine company is nowadays several groups representing 15 companies dealing with various activities. Besides producing and recording music for several international instrumentalists such as Richard Clayderman
Richard Clayderman
Richard Clayderman is a French pianist who has released numerous albums including the compositions of Paul de Senneville and Olivier Toussaint, instrumental renditions of popular music, rearrangements of movie soundtracks, ethnic music, and easy-listening arrangements of most popular works of...
, Nicolas de Angelis
Nicolas de Angelis
-Early years:Born in Saint-Cloud, a west Parisian suburb along the shores of the Seine River, de Angelis studied guitar at the Paris Academy from the age of ten....
, and Ocarina group, Delphine activities is in instrumental an advertising film and clip production.
Olivier Toussaint is still passionately involved with Richard Clayderman's career; managing his worldwide tours, producing his albums, etc.
Discography
- 1974 - Electric Arena
- 1975 - Pop concerto orchestra
- 1975 - Anarchic system
- 1976 - Chérie Sha la la
- 1976 - Generation
- 1977 - She wears a Rainbow
- 1978 - I made up my mind to make love
- 1978 - Les jardins de Monaco (ESC 1978 for Monaco)
- 1982 - Eden is a magic world
Filmography
- Baby Cat (1983)
- Nuit de l'été, La (1979) (TV)
- Une femme spéciale (1979)
- Et vive la liberté! (1978)
- Molly (1977)
- Un amour de sable (1977)
- Bel Ami (1976)
- Porn's Girl (1976)
- Hard Core Story (1975)
- Pleins feux sur un voyeur (1975)
- Un linceul n'a pas de poches (1974)
- Célestine, bonne à tout faire (1974)
- Par ici la monnaie (1974)
- Convoi de femmes (1974)
- Il était une fois, la chatte mouillée (1974)
- Règlements de femmes OQ Corral (1974)
- Casablanca Driver (2004) ("Pop Concerto Show")
- Un linceul n'a pas de poches (1974) (writer: "Dolannes Melodie")
- The Eurovision Song Contest (1978) (TV)
See also
- Richard ClaydermanRichard ClaydermanRichard Clayderman is a French pianist who has released numerous albums including the compositions of Paul de Senneville and Olivier Toussaint, instrumental renditions of popular music, rearrangements of movie soundtracks, ethnic music, and easy-listening arrangements of most popular works of...
- Jean-Claude BorellyJean-Claude Borelly-Background:At the age of seven he developed a passion for the trumpet after discovering Louis Armstrong on television.He met a prominent trumpeter of the Paris Opera who touched by his fascination for the trumpet, introduced him to the instrument and accompanies all during his studies at the...
- Les jardins de MonacoLes Jardins De Monaco"Les jardins de Monaco" was the Monegasque entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 1978, performed in French by French duo Caline & Olivier Toussaint....
- Eurovision Song Contest 1978Eurovision Song Contest 1978The Eurovision Song Contest 1978 was the 23rd of its kind, and was held on 22 April 1978 in Paris. With Denise Fabre and Léon Zitrone as the presenters - the first time more than one presenter hosted the contest - the contest was won by Izhar Cohen & the Alphabeta who represented Israel, with their...