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.
J'y pense et puis j'oublie
Claude François Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Et si je pense encore à toi
Ils me demandent de parler de mon cœur
C'est triste depuis de long mois.
Je mens un petit peu, et je dis fièrement,
Cette histoire est finie
Mais je dois avouer que certains soirs peut-être
Parfois j'ypense et puis j'oublie
J'y pense et puis j'oublie,
J'y pense surtout quand je suis seul la nuit,
Et quand ton souvenir
Revient me faire souffrir
Très vite j'y pense et puis j'oublie.
Tout le monde me demande si j'ai pleuré,
Et si je pleure encore pour toi,
Mais s'ils me le demandent
C'est tout simplement pour pouvoir rire de moi
Si je mens un petit peu et que je dis fièrement
Je n'ai jamais pleuré de ma vie
C'est tout juste si mes yeux me picotent un peu
Lorsque j'y pense et puis j'oublie
[Refrain]
J'y pense et puis j'oublie
Mais j'y pense beaucoup plus que je n'oublie,
Car tout au fond de moi,
Je sens que cet amour,
J'y pense j'y penserai toujours x2
The lyrics of Claude François's song "J'y Pense Et Puis J'Oublie" speaks about the aftermath of a failed love affair. The singer is asked about his feelings for his ex-partner, and he claims that the relationship is over and done with. However, he admits that there are moments when he thinks about her and feels sad, and yet he manages to forget her quickly. He comforts himself by saying that he has never cried over her, but he senses that he will always think about her.
The first verse sets the tone for the song as we see the singer being repeatedly asked about his ex-partner. He is tired of being constantly questioned; therefore, he lies about his feelings and says that he has moved on. However, the chorus reveals the truth that the singer still thinks about his ex-partner even though he tries to forget her. The second verse reveals that people ask if he has cried over her, and he lies again, saying he has never cried over anyone. This brings out a sense of pride as the singer attempts to appear strong and unmoved by the relationship.
Overall, "J'y Pense Et Puis J'Oublie" portrays a poignant message about heartbreak and the struggle to move on. It touches on the idea of how hard it can be to let go of someone we care about and how we try to convince ourselves and others that we have overcome our heartbreak.
Line by Line Meaning
Tout le monde me demande si je t'aime encore
Everyone asks me if I still love you
Et si je pense encore à toi
And if I still think of you
Ils me demandent de parler de mon cœur
They ask me to speak from my heart
C'est triste depuis de long mois
It's been sad for many months now
Je mens un petit peu, et je dis fièrement,
I lie a little and say proudly,
Cette histoire est finie
This story is over
Mais je dois avouer que certains soirs peut-être
But I must confess that on some evenings maybe
Parfois j'ypense et puis j'oublie
Sometimes I think of you and then forget it
[Refrain]:
[Chorus]:
J'y pense et puis j'oublie,
I think of you and then forget it,
J'y pense surtout quand je suis seul la nuit,
I think of you especially when I'm alone at night,
Et quand ton souvenir
And when your memory
Revient me faire souffrir
Returns to make me suffer
Très vite j'y pense et puis j'oublie.
Very quickly I think of you and then forget it.
Tout le monde me demande si j'ai pleuré,
Everyone asks me if I have cried
Et si je pleure encore pour toi,
And if I still cry for you
Mais s'ils me le demandent
But if they ask me
C'est tout simplement pour pouvoir rire de moi
It's just to make fun of me
Si je mens un petit peu et que je dis fièrement
If I lie a little and say proudly
Je n'ai jamais pleuré de ma vie
I have never cried in my life
C'est tout juste si mes yeux me picotent un peu
It's just that my eyes sting a little
Lorsque j'y pense et puis j'oublie
When I think of you and then forget it
[Refrain]
[Chorus]
J'y pense et puis j'oublie
I think of you and then forget it
Mais j'y pense beaucoup plus que je n'oublie,
But I think of you much more than I forget it,
Car tout au fond de moi,
Because deep down within me,
Je sens que cet amour,
I feel that this love,
J'y pense j'y penserai toujours x2
I think of you, I'll always think of you x2
Writer(s): b.j. anderson, bill anderson
Contributed by Alice Y. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@helenemone7317
Bonsoir un grand chanteur Claude François j'étais fans de lui il est irremplaçable on ne l'oublieras jamais je l'écoute encore aujourd'hui ❤️❤️
@corneliacring
Merci, Claude...je ne peux pas oublier tes belles chansons!
❤❤❤
@michelvermelle
Malgré les années j'aime beaucoup cette chanson elle inoubliable ❤❤❤
@rose.diggory
Claude je pensserai toujours a toi jamais je t'oublierai mon idol 😢
@jeanpierremartinez9808
On ne peut oublier lorsque l'on y pense tous les jours ; tout comme "Le téléphone pleure " les chansons de Cloclo je ne les ai jamais oubliées et pourtant je serai octogénaire sous peu ! Tu as marqué notre jeunesse Claude , merci encore !
@razanajatoihary294
Chacun a son grand amour qu'on oublierait jamais!
@ablmpa6
J'y pense et puis j'oublie, j'y pense surtout quand je suis seul la Nuit, et quand ton souvenir revient me faire souffrir, j'y pense beaucoup plus que j'oublie, j'y penserai toujours, quelle chanson de CLOCO
@mariechristinesauzet8025
Trop bellete chanson
Jy pense et je noublie souvenir de richard tbeaus souvenirs de mon premier et dernier grand amour merci
@clocloclaudeayme3968
"J'Y PENSE ET PUIS J'OUBLIE", Nous pensons toujours beaucoup à Claude 🏆 et jamais nous ne l oublierons😍 Claude Aymé
@momomomo7746
Les années 60 /70 la plus belle période de ma vie