Serge Gainsbourg

Serge Gainsbourg was the dirty old bastard of popular music; a French musician with an insatiable appetite for vice (specifically, alcohol, cigarettes, and women) and provocateur whose lewd musical output made him legendary in his native France.

He was born Lucien Ginzburg in Paris, France on April 2, 1928. His parents were Russian Jews who fled their native Russia in 1917 during the Bolshevik Revolution and settled in France. Young Lucien expressed early interests in art and in music, studying the guitar and piano. After time spent teaching, he turned to painting as a pastime. He never stayed with art and destroyed all of his creations in 1958.

In the forties, Lucien's father Joseph (himself a major figure on the scene) helped him get a job on the local cabaret circuit as a bar pianist, and Lucien began to gain an interest in jazz music. He found time to marry during this time, and married Elisabeth Levitsky in 1951. He then left his job as a bar pianist and went back to the world of art, for a brief time.

In 1954, Lucien began to try his hand at songwriting, submitting six compositions, two of which survive today ("Défense d’Afficher" by Pia Colombo and "Les Amours Perdues", which he gave to Juliette Gréco). He spent 1954-1957 working as a songwriter for the legendary transvestite cabaret "Chez Madame Arthur" and he worked on and off as a pianist.

1958 was a landmark year for Lucien, as he changed his name to Serge Gainsbourg, something a little more French, in his eyes. After destroying all of his artwork, he began to work hard at pursuing a music career, working as a pianist/guitarist in the "Milord l’Arsouille" cabaret. Around this time, he met the legendary songwriter and author Boris Vlan, who encouraged Serge to write his own material and perform it.

Early Gainsbourg performances were exercises in patience, his audiences either hated or loved him. Denis Bourgeois spotted the young Gainsbourg's talent and offered to record a demo for Serge. A few days afterwards, he signed to Philips (where he stayed for his whole career).

Upon hooking up with Boris Vlan's arranger Alain Goraguer (with whom he would work until 1964), Serge recorded his first album, "Du Chant a la Une" The album was met with total hostility by more than one French critic, but went on to win the Grand Prix de l’Académie Charles Cros in 1959. This album featured the tracks "Le Poinçonneur des Lilas" and "Ce Mortel Ennui".

Serge's songwriting took center stage with his work, and he became an in-demand songwriter throughout the sixties. He was praised in the French press for his originality and his creativity.

In 1959, Gainsbourg took another job in the film business, performing in 1959's "Voulez-vous Danser avec Moi?", where he met legendary French sex symbol Brigitte Bardot (who will factor in later). He also pursued a side career of composing music for films, his first being "L'eau À La Bouche" in 1959. His second album, "No. 2", came out this year, which was another collection of cabaret-inflected jazz, with standouts being "Adieu Créature" and "Jeunes Femmes Et Vieux Messieurs".

In 1961, Serge delivered his third album, "L'Etonnant Serge Gainsbourg" (aka "No. 3"), which put his love for literature at the forefront, with two songs as tributes to famous authors (Victor Hugo and Jacques Prévert). This album added pop influences to Gainsbourg's jazzier material ("Le Sonnet d'Arvers"), which made it the best album of his career to that point.

In 1962, Serge released "No. 4", one of his finest jazz albums, which featured the classics "Intoxicated Man" and "Black Trombone". Around this time, he began expressing distaste with the French recording process, and began to seek out other venues for recording. He finally settled on England, venturing out in 1963 to record a 4-track single ("Villaines Filles, Mauvais Garçons", "L'Appareil A Sous", "La Javanaise", "Un Violon, Un Jambon") and his fifth album, "Confidentiel", which featured the tracks "Chez Les Ye-Ye" and "La Fille Au Rasoir".

Early in 1964, Serge married Françoise-Antoinette Pancrazzi (until 1966, then they split up only to reform again and have another child, Paul, in 1967), who bore him his first daughter Natacha (August 8). 1964 also brought forth Gainsbourg's most eclectic collection yet, "Gainsbourg Percussions", his final album with arranger Alain Gorauger. A legendary jazz album, it was one of the first albums to highlight the use of African and third-world percussion colors among the jazz textures. The chosen single was "New York-USA".

Throughout 1965-67, Serge spent his time writing for other artists, notably Juliette Gréco, Petula Clark, France Gall (for whom he wrote "Les Sucettes", a fairly suggestive tune about fellatio), and Anna Karina (for whom he composed a musical) and composing for films. His songs became a hot commodity, and actresses and singers alike were clamoring to record them. He crossed paths with Brigitte Bardot again, writing a four-track single for her.

By 1967, a revolution was taking place in French popular music. Rock 'n roll had hit the French shores in 1964 with local hero Johnny Hallyday's French-language covers of American rock 'n roll songs. Serge, always hip to a new trend, embraced the new, radical sounds that engulfed the cultural landscape of Paris.

In the fall of 1968, Serge met up with Brigitte Bardot yet again and fell madly in love with her. Around the same time, his music suddenly became deliciously erotic and delirious. The pair would record a few songs together ("Bonnie and Clyde", "Comic Strip"). The album "Initials BB" came out at the end of 1968, which featured Serge's new rock material.

One track in particular did not sit well with Bardot. "Je T'Aime...Moi Non Plus" was written by Gainsbourg as the "penultimate love song", and Bardot found the track to be too controversial and asked Serge not to release it (he didn't, it never came out until 1986).

Serge had no problem finding someone else to record the song with him, and he found that person in Jane Birkin, who had recently made headlines in her native England in Antonioni's classic "Blow-Up" (which featured, for the time, some racy nudity from her). Serge and Jane had met on the set of the movie "Slogan", and after falling madly in love, the pair went back to "Je T'Aime...Moi Non Plus" (and other tracks). Released in late 1969, the track became a monster hit, rocketing to the top of the charts throughout Europe (it hit, ironically, #69 in America). Many radio programmers found Birkin's moaning during the track to be offensive, and the song was pulled from many markets. Serge decided to leave the track off of the album "Jane Birkin et Serge Gainsbourg". This album featured Jane's initial four-track single mixed up with a few Gainsbourg tracks, many of them re-recordings of songs written for other artists ("Sous Le Soleil Exactement", "Les Sucettes").

Serge devoted less and less of his time to songwriting and performing, preferring to follow his new wife around on her movie assignments. He did, however, return to performing and writing in 1971, with the concept album "Histoire De Melody Nelson". Best described as the dirty old man's attempt at his own R&B record, edging Marvin Gaye by a few years, "Histoire De Melody Nelson" was a song-cycle about Gainsbourg's love for a 15 year old girl. Not a huge hit at the time, the album grew in posture to become a landmark in French popular music. Jane Birkin also gave birth to Serge's second daughter Charlotte on July 21, 1971. The single "La Décadanse" followed at the end of the year, and the same critics who praised "Histoire De Melody Nelson" slammed the single, calling it a work of very poor taste.

Serge spent most of 1972 writing for other artists, including France Gall (who had forgiven him for "Les Sucettes") and Jacques Dutronc. In 1973 (after suffering a heart attack), Gainsbourg went to work on his next album, "Vu de l'Exterieur", another song-cycle displaying Serge's love for sex (the title track) and the noisier bodily functions ("Des Vents, des Pets, des Poums").

1975 brought Serge's next concept album, "Rock Around The Bunker". Scathing in tone and texture, the album was a pointed attack on the same Nazis who had made one-time Lucien Ginzburg wear the Star of David during the German occupation of France in World War II. It also featured one of Gainsbourg's precious few English performances, a cover of "Smoke Gets In Your Eyes".

In late 1975, Serge added another job to his resume - director. Taking Jane Birkin to the south of France, they filmed "Je T'Aime...Moi Non Plus", the story of a man's love for a young girl. The 1976 release of the film saw it torn to pieces.

In 1976, Serge delivered his final concept album, "L'Homme À Tête de Chou". Arguably his most shocking concept album, this one dealt with the exploits of a serial killer. It also introduced what would become a prevalent theme later in his career - reggae.

In 1979, Gainsbourg ventured to Jamaica to record his next album, "Aux Armes et Cætera", which displayed Gainsbourg on the rocksteady tip, with legendary reggae maestros Sly and Robbie, and several members of Bob Marley's backing band (including wife Rita - according to legend, Bob Marley was quite unhappy that Serge made his wife sing sexual lyrics). On this album, Serge shocked French audiences with his reggae reworking of the sacred "La Marseillaise", which led to absolute discontent in France.

Late in 1979, Gainsbourg went out on the road as a touring artist (his earlier excursions were extremely unpopular) and was hailed as a hero in his homeland.

1980 brought the biggest turning point of Gainsbourg's life. Jane Birkin had enough of Serge's drunken behavior and took daughter Charlotte and left him, leaving Serge brutally depressed. Around this time, he created a new character for himself in "Gainsbarre", an alcoholic suffering from depression (which was precisely Gainsbourg's case).

"Mauvaises Nouvelles des Etoiles" followed in 1981. Another reggae album, this was the lesser of his two reggae collections, but still featured the contributions of many of the players of Aux Armes et Cætera. The track "Evguenie Sokolov" featured, of all things, fart noises (presumably provided by Gainsbourg). This same year, he met and fell in love with Eurasian singer Bambou (who would bear him son Lucien in 1986 and scream for him on the track "Love On The Beat").

1983 brought Serge's next directorial work, "Equateur", which was an absolute disaster for all parties involved. Released later that year, the movie was a complete and utter flop.

Venturing to America in 1984, Serge worked with producer Billy Rush in New Jersey on a new album, "Love On The Beat". Experimenting with synth funk this time around, Serge's new album proved to be his most controversial recording (and his best seller). The single "Lemon Incest" provoked the ire of the French people, with a video that was truly suggestive (Gainsbourg and daughter Charlotte perform the song on a bed, both scantily clad). No low was too low for Gainsbourg in 1984; he went on French television for an appearance and told the other guest, Whitney Houston, that he wanted to foda her.

Serge returned to live performance in 1985, bringing the house down at a legendary performance at the Casino de Paris. Serge spent 1986 writing a film and album for his daughter Charlotte, entitled "Charlotte For Ever".

In 1987, Serge delivered what turned out to be his final album, "You're Under Arrest". Working again with Billy Rush in New Jersey, Serge's new album featured an anti-drug song ("Aux Enfants de la Chance", ironically for Gainsbourg) and a rap version of Edith Plaf's "Mon Légionnaire".

1988 saw Serge return to live performance, with similar results as in 1985, but the shows (some of them filmed) displayed a then-60 year old alcoholic who was teetering on the brink of death. In 1989 he was rushed to the hospital for an operation on his liver and told to cease his drinking, that it was a case of life or death.

Serge spent 1989 and 1990 writing albums for Bambou and his ex-wife Jane Birkin (for whom he had written three others in the 70s and 80s). He had become increasingly reclusive near the end of his life, the fans' messages piling up outside his Parisian home.

On March 2, 1991, Bambou found Gainsbourg dead on the living room floor of their house, this time from a fatal heart attack. The outpouring of grief surrounding his death was huge in his native France, with even the French president praising him and his work.

Serge grew to be a near-mythical figure in France and around the world, with a legion of musicians discovering him and his work. Long gone, his music still provokes and unsettles, and his legacy lives on.

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