Nougayork - Music

Claude Nougaro September 9 1929 Toulouse – March 4 2004 Paris Was A French Songwriter And Singer. Son Of An Opera Singer And An Italian Piano Teacher Liette He Was Raised By His Grandparents In Toulouse Where He Heard Glenn Miller Édith Piaf And Louis Armstrong Among Others On The Radio. In 1947 He Failed His Baccalaureat And Commenced A Career In Journalism Writing For Various Journals Including Le Journal Des Curistes At Vichy And L'Echo D'Alger. At The Same Time He Wrote Songs For Marcel Amont Le Barbier De Belleville Le Balayeur Du Roi And Philippe Clay Joseph La Sentinelle . He Met Georges Brassens Who Became His Friend And Mentor. In 1949 He Performed His Military Service In The Foreign Legion At Rabat Morocco. He Sent His Lyrics To Marguerite Monnot Édith Piaf's Songwriter Who Put Them To Music. Méphisto Le Sentier De La Guerre . He Started To Sing For A Livelihood In 1959 In A Parisian Cabaret In Montmartre Le Lapin Agile. In 1962 He Decided To Sing His Works Himself Une Petite Fille And Cécile Ma Fille Dedicated To His Daughter Born In 1962 To His Wife Sylvie Whom He Met At Le Lapin Agile . These Songs Made Him Immediately Known To The Larger Public Which He Had Already Started To Penetrate By Participating In The Concerts Of Dalida. A Car Accident Immobilised Him For Several Months In 1963. The Following Year He Travelled To Brazil And Sang In Prestigious Halls In Paris The Olympia The Palais The Théâtre De La Ville. Following The Death Of His Friend Jacques Audiberti In 1965 He Wrote In Homage The Song Chanson Pour Le Maçon. The Events Of May 1968 Inspired Him To The Torrential Paris Mai A Plea For Life Which Would Be Banned From The Airwaves. The Same Year He Recorded His First Live Album At The Olympia Une Soirée Avec Claude Nougaro. His Career Continued Normally Punctuated With Success Le Jazz Et La Java Tu Verras Île De Ré Armstrong Toulouse Petit Taureau. But In 1984 His Recording Company Did Not Renew His Contract. Nougaro Left For New York Seeking Inspiration And While There Wrote And Recorded A Self-Financed Disc Nougayork Whose Resounding Success Was A Surprise. In 1988 Victoires De La Musique Rewarded Him With Best Album And Best Artist And Between 1993 And 1997 He Released Three New Albums. His Health Deteriorated After 1995 When He Underwent A Heart Operation. In 2003 His Condition Left Him Unable To Appear At The Festival Du Verbe At Toulouse. From 1998 To 2004 He Devoted Himself More To Concerts And Festivals Apart From An Album In Aid Of Children Suffering From AIDS. Having Undergone Further Surgery In Early 2004 He Died Of Cancer In March 74 Years Old. His Music Drew Inspiration Among Other Sources From American Jazz From Which He Borrowed Heavily Charles Mingus Louis Armstrong Dave Brubeck Sonny Rollins But Also From Brazilian Music Antonio Carlos Jobim Baden Powell De Aquino Chico Buarque . read less