Pierre Vassiliu (23 October 1937 – 17 August 2014) was a French singer, songwriter and actor.[1]
Pierre Vassiliu | |
|---|---|
 Pierre Vassiliu performing at a concert in Cambieure in 2004. | |
| Background information | |
| Born | 23 October 1937 Villecresnes, Seine-et-Oise, France |
| Died | 17 August 2014 (aged 76) Sète, Hérault, France |
| Occupations | Musician, songwriter, actor |
| Labels | Decca Barclay RCA |
His first record, "Armand", co-written with his brother Michel, appeared in 1962. It was an enormous success, selling 150,000 copies.[citation needed] This opened the doors of the Olympia in Paris to him, where he opened for the Beatles in 1964.[2] He went on to a two-month stand with Françoise Hardy, Jacques Dutronc, and Johnny Hallyday. He had a string of hits, including "Charlotte", "Ivanhoe", and "La femme du sergent", censored because of the Algerian War.
His 1973 song "Qui c'est celui-là?" was a cover of the 1972 song Partido Alto by Chico Buarque.[3] It sold more than 300,000 copies and secured for him a place in the memories of the teenagers of the time.[4]
With his vocal trio, he resurrected the old French song "Belle qui tiens ma vie", sung a cappella.
In 2002, he covered Boby Lapointe's "L'Été, où est-il ?" with Thallia on the album Boby Tutti-Frutti – L'hommage délicieux à Boby Lapointe by Lilicub.
In 2003, he made a CD with Senegalese griots of the Kalone Orchestra of Casamance. Vassiliu lived a part of his life in the Casamance, the region of Senegal lying to the south of the Gambia.
He died in his sleep in 2014, after years of battling Parkinson's.[4]
References
edit- ^ "Le chanteur Pierre Vassiliu est mort". Le Monde.fr (in French). Lemonde.fr. 17 August 2014. Retrieved 18 August 2014.
- ^ Popular music - The Beatles Julian
- ^ "Pierre Vassiliu cover of Chico Buarque's 'Partido Alto' | WhoSampled"
- ^ a b "Pierre Vassiliu, il a eu une drôle de vie, ce type-là – Libération"
External links
edit- Website
- Pierre Vassiliu at IMDb
- Pierre Vassiliu at Discogs.com