Jean Constantin (songwriter)

For other uses, see Constantin and Jean Constantin.

Jean Constantin
Photo of Jean Constantin with his handsome characteristic moustache
Jean Constantin
Background information
Born(1923-02-09)9 February 1923
Paris, France
Died30 January 1997(1997-01-30) (aged 73)
Créteil, Val-de-Marne, France
GenresFilm scores, songs
OccupationsComposer, singer
InstrumentsPiano, voice

Jean Constantin (9 February 1923 – 30 January 1997) was a French singer, songwriter and composer.

Playing piano and singing his own songs, he was viewed as a good performer and entertainer, being however more famous for the songs he wrote for others.[1]

He wrote several songs that became hits like Mon manège à moi sung by Édith Piaf[2] and Mon truc en plumes sung by Zizi Jeanmaire.[3]

He also wrote several movie scores, most notably the soundtrack of the film classic The 400 Blows (1959).[3]

Singer-songwriter

Jean Constantin is the composer of one of Édith Piaf's greatest hits, "Mon manège à moi" (1952), with music by Norbert Glanzberg. In 1955, Annie Cordy recorded his song "Jolie fleur de papillon." That same year, "Ne joue pas avec mon cœur" was performed by Colette Deréal, then by Dalida and Lucienne Delyle.

He composed the music for Zizi Jeanmaire's most popular song: "Mon truc en plumes," with lyrics by Bernard Dimey (1956). He wrote the songs "Ma gigolette" (1960) and "Pianola" (1963) for Yves Montand, songs which also became classics of French music thanks to Montand.

After composing the music for the film "Bonjour sourire" (1956), he wrote the score for one of the emblematic films of the French New Wave in 1959: François Truffaut's "Les Quatre Cents Coups." Juliette Gréco recorded a sung version of the film's main theme, "Comment voulez-vous?" (lyrics by Jean Constantin). This was followed by, among others, "La Française et l'Amour" (1960) and "Le Caïd de Champignol" (1966).[4]

References

  1. ^ Hazera, Hélène (1 February 1997). "Mort de Jean Constantin, chanteur-compositeur". Libération (in French). Retrieved 11 September 2020.
  2. ^ Bertrand Dicale (22 June 2011). Les chansons qui ont tout changé (in French). Fayard. p. 154. ISBN 978-2-213-66536-8. Retrieved 11 September 2020.
  3. ^ a b Duteurtre, Benoît (17 January 2015). "François Constantin présente... Jean Constantin". France Musique (in French).
  4. ^ "Encyclopédisque - Discographie : Jean CONSTANTIN (In French)". www.encyclopedisque.fr. 10 February 2026. Retrieved 10 February 2026.


allikas: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean_Constantin_(songwriter)