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http://accordions.com/news.aspx?d=09-Nov-2018&lang=en&s=14883
http://accordions.com/news.aspx?d=09-Nov-2018&lang=en&s=14883
09-Nov-2018
Francis Lai (1932-2018), Paris – Franceby Rob Howard |
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| French composer, accordionist and pianist Francis Lai died on November 7th at the age of 86. He specialised in composing film music and popular songs, and had a long and successful career in cinema, recording studios, and also French television. His notable movie credits include ‘A Man and a Woman’ and ‘Love Story’, and for the latter he received both an Oscar and a Golden Globe award for the best film music in 1970. Other films include ‘Hannibal Brooks’, ‘Edith et Marcel’, ‘International Velvet’, ‘La Belle Histoire’, ‘Passion Flower Hotel’, and many more. Lai was born in Nice, played accordion and piano, and while he was still in his 20s, settled in the Montmartre district of Paris. He soon became accompanist to the legendary chanteuse Edith Piaf. He began writing songs for her as well, and his total song output exceeded 600. His composition ‘Aujourd'hui C'est Toi’ (Today It's You) is probably best known in the UK as the theme music for the long-running BBC TV current affairs documentary series ‘Panorama’. Francis Lai worked with many show business names in an exceptionally prolific career both as a writer and as a musician, including Edith Piaf, Yves Montand, Alain Delon, Petula Clark, Mireille Mathieu, Johnny Hallyday, Charles Aznavour, Nana Mouskouri, Françoise Hardy, Jean-Paul Belmondo, Andy Williams, Elton John, Ella Fitzgerald, Engelbert Humperdinck, Carly Simon, and many more. He is survived by his wife and three children. Picture below: Francis Lia with Nicole Croisille. |
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