Stamp of the Month: October 2021

Georges Brassens
The French poet, writer and chansonnier Georges Brassens was born in Sète on October 22, 1921. He died on October 29, 1981 in Saint-Gély-du-Fesc near Montpellier. October 2021 will mark the 100th anniversary of his birthday and the 40th anniversary of his death.
 
George Brassens began writing chansons at the age of 14. In 1942 he published his first poems. The well-known chanteuse Patachou was the first to perform Brassen’s chansons at the beginning of the 1950s and who enabled him to make his first public appearances in her Parisian cabaret.

France 16.6.1990

The first recordings soon followed. Although Brassens became one of the most popular and influential representatives of French chanson during the 1950s and 1960s, he lived a rather secluded life without any starry hype. In addition to his own texts, he also set numerous poems by French authors from several centuries to music. His simple presentation and the sparse instrumentation (mostly just guitar and double bass) created a feeling of intimacy and authenticity in the audience.
To date, more than 30 million CDs and LPs of his chansons have been sold. In 1967 he was awarded the Grand Prix de Poésie by the Académie française.
 

The video shows Georges Brassens with his chanson “La complainte des filles de joie”
(The lament of the maidens ) from 1961.