Charles Trenet (1913-2001) was born and spent much of his early life in southwestern France (“Occitanie”) around places like Narbonne, Béziers, Perpignan and the Mediterranean coast. He had a lengthy career of more than 60 years but a challenging childhood. In 2015, his father shipped off to the war, returning a changed man. His parents divorced in 1920 when he was 7, sending young Charles to boarding school in Béziers but quickly back home with typhoid fever. During his convalescence, he studied music and the arts of painting and writing. He proved particularly adept at verbal improvisation. As early as 1926, contact with the Catalan poet Albert Bausil encouraged him to write poetry and songs and introduced him to emerging figures in the French literary scene. He accompanied the “Catalan Renoir” André Fons-Godail on painting excursions to the countryside, supplementing his poetic verbal strengths with a painter’s eye. His geographic and cultural roots in the Occitane region were influences that carried strongly into his arts.
In 1928 he joined his mother and stepfather (set-designer Benno Vigny) in Berlin where he studied art. Back in Paris, his first recording was in 1932 and he teamed up with Swiss pianist Johnny Hess to form the "Charles and Johnny" cabaret show from 1933-36. Much of their material was lighthearted swing and comic. In 1937 following military service he began his solo career decked out in a stage outfit of double-breasted suit, dark shirt and light tie, with a narrow-brimmed crumpled felt hat perched on the back of his head.
In 1928 he joined his mother and stepfather (set-designer Benno Vigny) in Berlin where he studied art. Back in Paris, his first recording was in 1932 and he teamed up with Swiss pianist Johnny Hess to form the "Charles and Johnny" cabaret show from 1933-36. Much of their material was lighthearted swing and comic. In 1937 following military service he began his solo career decked out in a stage outfit of double-breasted suit, dark shirt and light tie, with a narrow-brimmed crumpled felt hat perched on the back of his head.
Trenet’s nickname “Le Fou Chantant” (“The Singing Madman”) reflected his exuberant presentations and unusual antics on stage that served as counterpoint to his clear, baritone voice. Charles Aznavour said about Mr. Trenet: “Thanks to him, the public discovered surrealism in song” while Jacques Brel once commented: “Without Trenet, we would all be accountants.” Aznavour was referring to the eccentric, even absurdist, qualities of some Trenet songs, with unconventional imagery that bordered on the surreal. The song "Y'A D'La Joie," for example, evokes "joy" through disconnected (vaguely phallic) images, including a subway car shooting out of a tunnel into the air, the Eiffel Tower crossing the street and a baker making excellent bread. The lovers dancing a minuet in "La Polka Du Roi" turn out to be "no longer human" (because they are made of wax and trapped in the Musée Grévin). Indeed, the surrealist poet Max Jacob was Trenet’s literary mentor and surrealist poet Jacques Prévert was a pal. Trenet's affection for American jazz and swing crept into his songs. Aznavour commented: “He knew how to swing immediately because he was familiar with jazz.”
The wartime years during Nazi occupation were among his most productive, spent catering to the German occupiers and addressing innocuous but patriotic and nostalgic themes in songs like “La Douce France,” “La Joie” and “La Mer.” After WWII, he moved to the US and spent 6 years there, returning to Paris in 1951. In 1963, he spent a month in prison for “corrupting the morals of young men.” When a reporter asked why there were so many men’s bicycles parked outside his house, Trenet replied: “Well, I can’t buy them all motorcycles.”
He never really retired despite announcing his retirement in 1975 and he continued his energetic performances until the year 2000. One of his favorite quips was: “Je suis né poète, je mourrai athlete” (“I was born a poet, I will die an athlete”). During his long career, he composed both the music and lyrics to nearly 1000 songs, many of which achieved international recognition and inspired many other artists. Besides “La Mer,” another of Trenet’s songs to be successfully laundered into English was “Que Reste-t-il de nos Amours?” (“I Wish You Love”).
Charles Trenet Songs
La Mer (The Sea)
Que Reste-t-il de nos amours? (What Remains of Our Loves?)
The wartime years during Nazi occupation were among his most productive, spent catering to the German occupiers and addressing innocuous but patriotic and nostalgic themes in songs like “La Douce France,” “La Joie” and “La Mer.” After WWII, he moved to the US and spent 6 years there, returning to Paris in 1951. In 1963, he spent a month in prison for “corrupting the morals of young men.” When a reporter asked why there were so many men’s bicycles parked outside his house, Trenet replied: “Well, I can’t buy them all motorcycles.”
He never really retired despite announcing his retirement in 1975 and he continued his energetic performances until the year 2000. One of his favorite quips was: “Je suis né poète, je mourrai athlete” (“I was born a poet, I will die an athlete”). During his long career, he composed both the music and lyrics to nearly 1000 songs, many of which achieved international recognition and inspired many other artists. Besides “La Mer,” another of Trenet’s songs to be successfully laundered into English was “Que Reste-t-il de nos Amours?” (“I Wish You Love”).
Charles Trenet Songs
La Mer (The Sea)
Que Reste-t-il de nos amours? (What Remains of Our Loves?)