Je suis tombé du ciel - David Alexandre Winter

The lack of subtlety in David Alexandre Winter's voice is something I already remarked on when I posted the single of 'Je suis tombé du ciel' last month. As if to prove this point, the two songs on that single are included on this EP with two more songs with equally overwhelming vocals. At least the sleeve looks a lot better, because it is in colour.

I didn't exactly need to have this EP, but it appeared alongside a few singles I wanted to order and so I included it anyway. Sometimes owning different versions of a Eurovision single can be interesting, because especially in the Sixties and Seventies record companies would really push their artists' releases. 

My collection: 7" single no. 6603
Found: Discogs.com, received 17 January 2022
Cost: €3
Tracks: 'Plus jolie qu'une rose', 'Isabelle mon amour' / 'Je suis tombé du ciel', 'Maria'

Dès que le printemps revient - Hugues Aufray

Hugues Jean Marie Aufray was born on 18 August 1929. He started his career in music initially as a songwriter, but after finishing second in a singing competition he signed a record deal with Barclay records. While supporting Peter, Paul and Mary in New York in 1962, he struck up a friendship with Bob Dylan. Aufray translated a lot of his songs into French. In 1965, he released the album 'Aufray chante Dylan'. 

The year before, in 1964, Aufray represented Luxembourg at the Eurovision Song Contest with 'Dès que le printemps revient'. At the close of voting, it had received 14 points, placing 4th in a field of 16 competitors. No video from his Eurovision performance has survived. A persistent myth, even repeated on the official Eurovision site, is that the tape was destroyed in a fire in the Seventies. More recent interviews with DR, however, state that the broadcast was never recorded in the first place, allegedly due to no tape machines being available at the studio.

My collection: 7" single no. 6608
Found: Ebay, received 19 January 2022
Cost: €4
Tracks: 'Dès que le printemps revient' / 'Allez, allez mon troupeau'

Merci Chérie (en Français) - Udo Jürgens

Udo Jürgens won the Eurovision Song Contest in 1966 with 'Merci, Chérie', a single that I bought, and featured on this blog, back in June 2009. At that time I wasn't aware that Udo had recorded the song in various different languages. 

This here is the French version of 'Merci, Chérie', and since he was recording in French, Udo also added three other songs in that language on this EP. When you look at the titles on this sleeve you can easily see that the translations were not literal: 'So wie eine Rose' became 'Je t'attends a Vienne', 'Das ist nicht gut für mich' became 'Ça ne vaut pas l'amour' and 'Siebzehn Jahr, blondes Haar' was shortened to 'Si'. It's a bit of a miracle that the title 'Merci, Chérie' survived.

My collection: 7" single no. 6602
Found: Discogs.com, received 17 January 2022
Cost: €4
Tracks: 'Merci, Chérie', 'Ça ne vaut pas l'amour' / 'Je t'attends a Vienne', 'Si'

Il doit faire beau la-bas - Noëlle Cordier

Noëlle Cordier was born on 7 April 1944 in Paris. She started her musical career around 1965, but she was still virtually unknown when she was selected to represent France in the Eurovision Song Contest in 1967. The song ´Il doit faire beau la-bas' was written by Pierre Delanoë and composed by Hubert Giraud. The song finished in third place in a field of 17 competitors. 

After the release of some singles and an album in 1970, she participated in the rock opera La Révolution Française by Claude-Michel Schönberg and Alain Boublil in 1973 in which she played one of the main roles with Jean-Pierre Savelli, Gérard Blanc and Alain Bashung. As a performer, she achieved enormous success by singing the song 'Tu t'en vas' in 1974 with Alain Barrière. 

My collection: 7" single no. 6601
Found: Discogs.com, received 17 January 2022
Cost: €4
Tracks: 'Il doit faire beau la-bas', 'Cheese' / 'Ce garçon', 'La petite geisha'

Lui - Gigliola Cinquetti

Gigliola Cinquetti's song 'Si' has been translated into many other languages besides the original Italian. On this blog, we've already had 'Ja' (German) and 'Go' (English); today I am adding the French version, 'Lui'. It's a pity this title breaks the two-letter rule, but then that would be hard in French anyway. 

Of all the versions, this one sounds probably the most natural. By that I mean it could easily have been an original French chanson, performed by a French lady. In other words: Gigliola does a beautiful job on this single, and I really like this version a lot. The fact that I could buy it for almost nothing makes this a great acquisition. 

My collection: 7" single no. 6599
Found: Discogs.com, received 15 January 2022
Cost: €0,99
Tracks: 'Lui' / 'Le tandem'

Un premier amour - Frida Boccara

Frida Boccara represented France at the Eurovision Song Contest in 1969, and she actually became one of the four winners that year with her moving ballad 'Un jour, un enfant'. However, as I found out, she had a link to the Contest many years before that.

In 1962, Isabelle Aubret won the Eurovision Song Contest with 'Un premier amour'. Boccara was quick to record a cover version of this song, which appears on this EP. There's three more songs on this disc, all with that unique voice of Frida, who tragically died on 1 August 1996.

My collection: 7" single no. 6598
Found: Discogs.com, received 15 January 2022
Cost: €3
Tracks: 'Cherbourg avait raison', 'Donna' / 'Un premier amour', 'Le ciel du port'

Halleluja - Jan Malmsjö

Those who love the Eurovision Song Contest would have been very pleased with this single, featuring three cover versions of the 1979 edition. Jan Malmsjö took it upon himself to perform that year's top three and stick them on this 7" single.

Jan Wilhelm Malmsjö was born on 29 May 1932 and trained at the prestigious Royal Dramatic Training Academy. He became a highly acclaimed stage actor and musical star, but also recorded many albums and singles, especially during the Sixties and Seventies. This EP features Swedish versions of 'Hallelujah', 'Su canción' and 'Mary Ann'.

My collection: 7" single no. 6595
Found: Discogs.com, received 14 January 2022
Cost: €3.50
Tracks: 'Halleluja' / 'Hela världen behöver ha en sång', 'Mary-Ann'