Claude François’ mother was very musical and had her son take piano and violin lessons. On his own, the boy learned to play the drums. As a result of the 1956 Suez Crisis, the family returned to live in Monaco, where they struggled financially after Claude’s father fell ill and could not work. A young Claude found a job as a bank clerk and at night earned extra money playing drums with an orchestra at the luxury hotels along the French Riviera. With a good but untested singing voice, he was offered a chance to sing at a hotel in the fashionable Mediterranean resort town of Juan-les-Pins. His show was well received and eventually he began to perform at the glamorous night-clubs along the Côte d’Azur. While working the clubs, he met Janet Woolcoot, an English dancer whom he married in 1960.
Ambitious, Claude François moved to Paris, where there were many more opportunities to pursue his career. At the time, American Rock and Roll was taking hold in France and he took a job as part of a singing group in order to make a living. With the goal of eventually making it as a solo act, he paid the cost to record a 45rpm. Trying to capitalize on the American dance craze « The Twist », Claude François recorded a song titled « Nabout Twist » that proved a resounding failure. Undaunted, in 1962 he recorded a cover version in French of an Everly Brothers song, « Made to Love » (aka Girls Girls Girls). Written by Phil Everly, it had been only a minor hit in America, but Claude François’ rendition titled « Belles Belles Belles » rocked to the top of the French charts, selling close to two million copies and making him an overnight star.
Under a new manager, Claude François’ career continued to blossom. In 1963 he followed the first success with another French adaptation of an American song. This time, doing Trini Lopez’s « If I Had a Hammer » in French as « Si j’avais un marteau ». Claude François met Michel Bourdais who was working for the well-known French magazine “Salut les Copains” in English as « Hi Buddies ». He liked the rigor and the precision of Michel’s drawings and asked him to draw his portrait. This drawing has remained very famous until now. Capitalizing on his blond good looks, he mimicked Elvis Presley’s stage style as well as the slicked-back hair. Performing in sequined suits, François gave high-energy stage performances that had hordes of adoring teenage fans racing to the music shops to purchase his latest record or lining up to buy a ticket for his shows.
In 1964 he headlined at the Paris Olympia, a sign that he had arrived. At the end of that year Claude François created original new dance steps and Michel Bourdais drew them. For the first time, they brought up the idea of setting-up a show with female dancers. In January 1965, while returning from a trip to Las Vegas, Claude Francois fascinated by the American shows decided to take them as a model and eventually the project of performing on the stage with a female dancer band became clear in his mind.
A dedicated professional, Claude François worked hard to achieve success producing a string of massively popular hit songs and touring constantly. With the onslaught of Beatlemania, he covered their hits in French, adjusted the hair style a little and kept his success moving ahead. But his talent extended beyond copying the works others had made famous, and he wrote songs for himself and displayed a melodic voice doing romantic ballads.
In 1966, François created a complete new stage act using four female dancers as backup. Named « Les Clodettes, » the sexy girls danced in the background while François did his own energetic work center stage. In a return to the Paris Olympia he added eight musicians and a full orchestra to his backup dancers, putting on a spectacular show that filled every seat in the large theater and left fans standing in the street for lack of tickets.
Divorced from his wife, in 1967 he began a relationship with France Gall, another famous French singer. Their affair was short lived and he soon met Isabelle Forêt, with whom he had two sons in two years. Flushed with enormous success and confidence, he established his own record company. In 1968, he and Jacques Revaux wrote a song in French called Comme d’habitude, which became a hit in francophone countries. The song was inspired by his recent break-up with France Gall. Canadian singing star Paul Anka reworked it for the English-speaking public into the now legendary hit most famously sung by Elvis Presley and Frank Sinatra as « My Way ». Although Claude François continued his successful formula of adapting English and American rock and roll hits for the French market, by the 1970s the market had changed and the disco craze that swept North America took root in France. For the versatile François, this was not a problem. He simply re-invented himself as the king of French disco, recording « La plus belle des choses, » a French version of a Bee Gees hit record.
He worked non-stop, touring across Europe, Africa and at major venues in Quebec in Canada. However, his workload caught up with him in 1971 when he collapsed on stage from exhaustion. After a brief period off, he returned to the recording studios, releasing several best-selling hits throughout the early 1970s. He expanded from owning his own record company to acquiring a celebrity magazine and a modeling agency. Although driven to achieve financial success, in 1974 he organized a concert to raise funds for a charity for handicapped children and the following year he participated in a Paris concert to raise funds for medical research. By the mid-1970s he was single again, dating several well-known European stars. He continued to perform while overseeing his numerous business interests. In 1975, while in London, he narrowly escaped death when an IRA bomb exploded and two years later a fan tried to shoot him. In 1977 and 1978, more than 15 years after his first hit record, he was still topping the musical charts with multi-million sales from hits such as « Alexandrie Alexandra » and performing to large audiences.
After working in Switzerland, on Saturday, March 11, 1978 he returned to his Paris apartment in order to appear the next day on « Rendez-vous du Dimanche » with TV host Michel Drucker. His demise was caused by his obsession with cleanliness and order. He was accidentally electrocuted when he tried to fix a broken light bulb while standing in a filled bathtub. At only 39 years of age, his early death brought a wave of public sympathy for a national French star.
Claude François owned a home near the village of Dannemois in the Essonne departement about 35 miles south of Paris. It was a place where he liked to escape to relax in the quiet countryside and it was there that he was interred in the local cemetery.
On March 11, 2000, on the 22nd anniversary of his death, Place Claude-François in Paris was named in his memory, right in front of the building where he died.
In 2004 the movie 'Podium' was released. It's a story about a Claude François impersonator (played by Benoît Poelvoorde).
His hits include Alexandrie, Alexandra; Cette Année-la; Je vais à Rio.
Eloise
Claude François Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Elle sait que je suis là
Je suis d'ailleurs toujours là
À l'attendre
(Eloise) est-il possible de tant souffrir
Sans pouvoir en mourir, ni même en rire
Ni même se défendre?
Eloise
Eloise
Tu sais que je suis fou, oui
Je sais je fais pitié
Oh, ça m'est égal, mais réponds-moi
Réponds-moi!
Et je regarde le ciel
Mes yeux mouillés se voilent
Je plonge dans les nuages
Je m'accroche aux étoiles
Et je me perds, je tournoie dans les airs
Et je contourne la lune
Soudain je tombe sur terre
Je suis tout seul, j'ai mal
Je supplie et je crie
Eloise
Eloise
Tu es à moi je sais que tu viendras
Tu viendras
Si Eloise
Pouvait comprendre
Tout ce que j'ai
À lui donner
Mon Eloise
Tu vas m'entendre
Tu vas venir
Tu vas rester
Et pourtant le temps passe
Les nuits deviennent plus froides
L'été devient l'hiver
La vie devient l'enfer
Mon cœur devient tout noir
Et je m'habille de désespoir
Ma tête explose
Ma vie se décompose
M'entendras-tu avant
Que je ne disparaisse vraiment?
Eloise
Eloise
Personne n'a souffert autant que moi
Tu es à moi tu me reviendra
Personne n'a le droit de te garder
Te garder!
Je suis le seul qui peut t'aimer
Qui peut t'aimer
Le seul
Moi, toi, toi, toi, toi, mon Eloise
Oh je t'appelle
Puisque je t'aime
Non, non, non, non, non, mon Eloise
Reviens-moi vite
Il faut que tu reviennes
Non, non, non, non, non
The lyrics of Claude François's song "Eloise" depict an intense sense of adoration for the titular character, as well as a desperation for her presence. The singer remains waiting for Eloise every night, acknowledging his own foolishness for doing so, but unable to stop. He describes the pain he feels, the tears that cloud his vision, and his own surrender to the unexpected intensity of his feelings. The singer's disillusionment about his own sanity becomes apparent, and he pleads for Eloise to answer his calls for her. He seems to feel as though he is losing his grip on reality, as he begins to lose himself in his own imagination, reaching for the stars and turning to an all-consuming blackness of despair. Despite this, he remains convinced that Eloise will eventually come to him, that his love for her is worth everything he is going through.
The lyrics of "Eloise" are strongly emotional, conveying the intensity of the singer’s feelings. They express a deep yearning for companionship, as well as an intense struggle with personal emotions that are so powerful that they are causing him to lose his own sense of self. This leads the singer to resort to full-on unrequited love and obsessive behavior towards Eloise, consuming his thoughts and desires. The lyrics also show a sense of despair and hopelessness as the singer struggles with the idea of being unable to control his own feelings, and being subjected to the whims of his own psyche. Overall, the song serves as a representation of the uncontrollable nature of emotions, and the lengths to which our desires can drive us, whether or not we are willing to admit it.
Line by Line Meaning
Chaque nuit je suis là
Every night I'm here
Elle sait que je suis là
She knows that I'm here
Je suis d'ailleurs toujours là
I'm always here
À l'attendre
Waiting for her
(Eloise) est-il possible de tant souffrir
Is it possible to suffer so much
Sans pouvoir en mourir, ni même en rire
Without being able to die from it, nor even laugh
Ni même se défendre?
Nor even defend myself?
Et chaque nuit j'attends misérablement
And every night I wait miserably
Eloise
Eloise
Eloise
Eloise
Tu sais que je suis fou, oui
You know I'm crazy, yes
Je sais je fais pitié
I know, I'm pathetic
Oh, ça m'est égal, mais réponds-moi
Oh, I don't care, but answer me
Réponds-moi!
Answer me!
Et je regarde le ciel
And I look at the sky
Mes yeux mouillés se voilent
My watery eyes cloud up
Je plonge dans les nuages
I dive into the clouds
Je m'accroche aux étoiles
I cling onto the stars
Et je me perds, je tournoie dans les airs
And I get lost, I twirl in the air
Et je contourne la lune
And I go around the moon
Soudain je tombe sur terre
Suddenly, I fall back to earth
Je suis tout seul, j'ai mal
I'm all alone, I hurt
Je supplie et je crie
I beg and I scream
Eloise
Eloise
Eloise
Eloise
Tu es à moi je sais que tu viendras
You're mine, I know you'll come
Tu viendras
You'll come
Si Eloise
If Eloise
Pouvait comprendre
Could understand
Tout ce que j'ai
All that I have
À lui donner
To give her
Mon Eloise
My Eloise
Tu vas m'entendre
You will hear me
Tu vas venir
You will come
Tu vas rester
You will stay
Et pourtant le temps passe
And yet time passes
Les nuits deviennent plus froides
The nights become colder
L'été devient l'hiver
Summer turns into winter
La vie devient l'enfer
Life becomes hell
Mon cœur devient tout noir
My heart becomes completely black
Et je m'habille de désespoir
And I dress myself in despair
Ma tête explose
My head explodes
Ma vie se décompose
My life falls apart
M'entendras-tu avant
Will you hear me before
Que je ne disparaisse vraiment?
I truly disappear?
Eloise
Eloise
Eloise
Eloise
Personne n'a souffert autant que moi
No one has suffered as much as I have
Tu es à moi tu me reviendra
You're mine, you'll come back to me
Personne n'a le droit de te garder
No one has the right to keep you
Te garder!
Keep you!
Je suis le seul qui peut t'aimer
I'm the only one who can love you
Qui peut t'aimer
Who can love you
Le seul
The only one
Moi, toi, toi, toi, toi, mon Eloise
Me, you, you, you, you, my Eloise
Oh je t'appelle
Oh, I call you
Puisque je t'aime
Because I love you
Non, non, non, non, non, mon Eloise
No, no, no, no, no, my Eloise
Reviens-moi vite
Come back to me quickly
Il faut que tu reviennes
You must come back
Non, non, non, non, non
No, no, no, no, no
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Paul Ryan
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Edgar Martinez
Canta fenomenal, me encanta.
Martine CATOIRE
elle est tellement belle cette chanson
Barthelemi Ferrerie
Chanson éternelle et magnifique ♥️♥️♥️♥️👏👏👏👏
Jean Pierre Nougier
belle reprise, trés bien interprétée !...
Rene Luna Castillo
Viva!!!!! Cloclo gracias!!!! Por esa versión tan excelente.
samy belhora
Je trouve que cette musique est super belle j'adore
claude François (1939-1978)
J'aurais bien aimer connaître cette époque moi qui suis né en 1998
Albert Grosjean
CLAUDE FRANÇOIS L'IDOLE TOUTE GÉNÉRATION
Kazuhiro Kunishi
Trop fort! J'adore!!
samy belhora
Dite moi connaissez vous des chansons asiatiques (chinoise) des années 1960, 1970 et début 1980? car je suis passionner par l'Asie et la Chine en particulier ainsi que par l'histoire et je n'entrouvre pas ?
Sylvie Grandbarbe
Je l aime et l aimerai tjrs
Il est éternel