The anecdote, which entered the legend of Edith Piaf – and consequently in the history of French song – will constitute one of the most shocking scenes of the boy (2007), the biographical film of Olivier Dahan. On October 5, 1960, lyricist Michel Vaucaire (1904-1980) and his fellow composer Charles Dumont gained an unexpected audience at the singer’s Parisian home, which was in very poor condition. They appear at 67, boulevard Lannes, at 16my neighborhood, with a title that was tailored four years earlier. However, Piaf has already rejected it three times because she finds it self-caricatured. And he has no desire to see again this Dumont whom he previously unceremoniously fired.
After waiting for a long time, the two men were finally welcomed. At age 31, Dumont tried his hand at playing the piano for the last time. No, I don’t regret anything.. Dramatic twist. This time, the broken bird hears the song that will bring him back to the stage. He will be at the Olimpia starting December 29, 1960, with morphine to relieve the pain. And Piaf will offer other songs by the Vaucaire-Dumont tandem in her recital, such as My God EITHER The Flonflons of the ball.
This is how the career of Charles Dumont began, who died on Monday, November 18 in Paris, at the age of 95. With an immense task, since dubbing designated him successor to the great Marguerite Monnot (1903-1961) whom Piaf had just fired without prior notice. For his client, Dumont will sign around thirty pieces of music, such as that of lovers (performed as a duet with lyrics by Piaf) or that of I trust youfrom a text by Jacques Brel. Unfortunately, “La Môme” did not have time to record the latter, as he died on October 10, 1963. Dumont accepted the challenge and was able to fully launch himself as a performer with his first album published in 1964.
trumpet and organ
Born on March 26, 1929 in Cahors, the musician first thought about dedicating himself to jazz since he was overwhelmed by the genius of Louis Armstrong (1901-1971). Logically, the teenager took up the trumpet, which he studied at the Toulouse conservatory, and set out to attack the capital with the idea of joining the Republican Guard orchestra. His ambitions are ruined by tonsil surgery. Playing the instrument causes bleeding and he must abandon it.
But not to music: he converted by learning the organ taught to him by Paul-Silva Hérard (1883-1961), director of the church of Saint-Ambroise, in the 11th century.my Parisian district. Harmony enriches his palette and Dumont turns to composition, placing the music next to Dalida, Gloria Lasso, Lucienne Delyle or Cora Vaucaire, the wife of his lyricist friend.
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