Jacques Brel is a chansonnier born in 1929 in Brussels. His work has greatly influenced other Belgian and French artists, as well as international pop stars like David Bowie, Marc Almond and Gavin Friday. Some of Brel's chansons are better known in their translations, including those by Herman van Veen and Rod McKuen. Jacques Brel passed away in 1978.
Biography
Jacques Brel's musical career really took off when he moved from Brussels to Paris. In France, his songs and performances quickly gained popularity. His career entered international waters when the American poet, singer and composer Rod McKuen began translating his lyrics. McKuen's version of Ne Me Quitte Pas, now sung by Damita Jo DuBlanc, reached the American charts in 1965 under the title If You Go Away. Terry Jacks' rendition was a top 10 hit in the Netherlands in 1974, following Seasons In The Sun, a translation of another Brel song, Le Moribond.
Brel on Broadway and in the cinema
In the late sixties, the revue Jacques Brel Is Alive And Well And Living In Paris was performed off-Broadway for a long time; an album and a film were made of it. Dionne Warwick recorded Brel's song If We Only Have Love in 1972. David Bowie did the same with Amsterdam in 1973. Meanwhile, Jacques Brel also shone on the big screen, including in Mon Oncle Benjamin (1969), L'Aventure C'est L'Aventure (1972) and L'Emmerdeur (1973). Moreover, he directed two films in which he played the lead role himself: Franz (1972) and Le Far West (1973).
Lung cancer
After an extensive sailing trip around the world's seas, Brel lived on the island of Hiva Oa in the South Pacific. After a long time, he released an album again in 1977, simply called Brel. The lung cancer that had been diagnosed ten years earlier eventually proved fatal. Brel died in 1978 at the age of 49 in a hospital in Paris. He left behind famous songs such as Ne Me Quitte Pas (1959), Les Flamandes (1959), Marieke (1961), Le Moribond (1961), Le Plat Pays (1962), Amsterdam (1964), Chanson Des Vieux Amants (1967), Voir Un Ami Pleurer (1977) and Bruxelles (1963).
Top 2000
Brel has two songs in the Top 2000 of 2020. "Mijn Vlakke Land" is at number 1532 and "Ne me quitte pas" is at number 390.
Sunday Morning Classic: La Valse À Mille Temps
Ne me quitte pas is the song that firmly established Brel on the musical map once and for all. The song dates from 1959. He wrote it following his breakup (or rather her breakup) in the relationship with Suzanne Gabriello (Zizou), although she is not mentioned anywhere in the song. According to Brel himself, the song was not about being left, but more about his own cowardice in that relationship. The original appeared on his EP La valse à mille temps, the Sunday Morning Classic of 17 October 2021.
The song has been sung by many other artists (Frank Sinatra, Shirley Bassey). In Dutch, the title was translated as Laat me niet alleen by Ernst van Altena, with the best-known interpretation by Liesbeth List.
source: NPO photo: Jack de Nijs for Anefo and Madelgarius
