france-gall

'60s French pop icon France Gall, RIP

France Gall, the French singer who was one of the icons of the ’60s Yé-yé scene, has died. She had been battling cancer for two years and was taken to the hospital near Paris last month for a severe infection. She was 70.

The daughter of lyricist Robert Gal (who wrote for Edith Piaf and others), France released her first single “Ne sois pas si bête” on her sixteenth birthday. Her second single “N’écoute pas les idoles” (written by Serge Gainsbourg) went to #1 on the French pop charts.

Gainbourg was also the writer of “Poupee De Cire, Pou”pee De Son” (“Wax Doll, Rag Doll”), which won the 1965 Eurovision song contest and brought her fame outside her home country. He also wrote her hit “Les Sucettes,” which Gall later admitted she didn’t understand the double-entendre lyrics when she recorded it, and vowed never to work with him again (or sing “Les Sucettes”) after.

Gall had a resurgence in 1987 with her Ella Fitzgerald tribute “Ella, Elle l’a.” After retiring from music in the mid-’90s, Gall devoted her post-music life to humanitarian efforts. French President Emmanuel Macron said in tribute, “She leaves behind songs that everyone in France knows and set an example of a life devoted to others.”

France Gall, you will be missed. Rest in peace. Watch some clips below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=en2sDJQmtnA