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.
Terry
Claude François Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Elle m'avait dis je t'aimerais toute la vie
Il est trop tard je ne la reverrais plus c'est fini
Attend moi aux portes du paradis Terry
Elle m'avait dis on s'aimera toute l'éternité
Elle a pleuré, désespérée quand je l'ai quitté
Je ne savais pas alors que moi je l'aimais aussi
Attend moi aux portes du paradis Terry
En sanglotant elle me cria
Tu n' me reverras plus
Jamais plus jamais plus jamais plus
Elle m'avait dis, je n'pourrais pas vivre sans toi
Moi je disais tu es très jeune, tu m'oublieras
Mais saura-t-elle jamais combien j'ai pleuré depuis
Attend moi aux portes du paradis Terry
Quand je l'ai vu s'enfuir
Je ne croyais pas cette fois là
Que je n'là verrais plus
Jamais plus, jamais plus jamais plus
Elle m'avait dis je veux rester toujours prés de toi
Elle m'avait dis je t'aimerais toute la vie
Il est trop tard maintenant mais moi je t'en supplie
Attend moi aux portes du paradis Terry
Terry
The lyrics of Claude François's song "Terry" expresses the sorrow and regret that the singer feels about breaking up with his lover, who he later realized that he loves deeply. The song begins with the singer recalling the promises that his lover made to him, to always stay by his side and love him forever. He then sings about how they will never see each other again as it is already too late. The chorus repeatedly asks Terry to wait for him at the gates of heaven, where they will be reunited.
The second verse of the song reveals the singer's regret for not realizing his feelings earlier. He remembers how his lover cried when he left her and later ran out into the night, shouting that he would never see her again. However, he still thought that she would forget about him and move on with her life. The singer then reflects on his own sadness, saying that his lover will never know how much he has cried since the breakup.
The song's final verse is a plea to Terry to wait for him at the gates of heaven, even though it is too late for them to be together in this life. The singer acknowledges that he should have realized his love for her earlier and asks for forgiveness. The song ends with the repetition of Terry's name and a final plea for her to wait for him.
Line by Line Meaning
Elle m'avait dis je veux rester toujours prés de toi
She told me she wanted to always stay close to me.
Elle m'avait dis je t'aimerais toute la vie
She told me she would love me for life.
Il est trop tard je ne la reverrais plus c'est fini
It's too late, I won't see her again, it's over.
Attend moi aux portes du paradis Terry
Wait for me at the gates of paradise, Terry.
Elle m'avait dis on s'aimera toute l'éternité
She told me we would love each other for eternity.
Elle a pleuré, désespérée quand je l'ai quitté
She cried, desperate when I left her.
Je ne savais pas alors que moi je l'aimais aussi
I didn't know at the time that I loved her too.
Elle courue dans la nuit
She ran into the night.
En sanglotant elle me cria
Sobbing, she shouted at me.
Tu n' me reverras plus
You won't see me again.
Jamais plus jamais plus jamais plus
Never again, never again, never again.
Elle m'avait dis, je n'pourrais pas vivre sans toi
She told me she couldn't live without me.
Moi je disais tu es très jeune, tu m'oublieras
I said to her, you're very young, you'll forget me.
Mais saura-t-elle jamais combien j'ai pleuré depuis
But will she ever know how much I've cried since then.
Attend moi aux portes du paradis Terry
Wait for me at the gates of paradise, Terry.
Quand je l'ai vu s'enfuir
When I saw her run away.
Je ne croyais pas cette fois là
I didn't believe it that time.
Que je n'là verrais plus
That I wouldn't see her again.
Jamais plus, jamais plus jamais plus
Never again, never again, never again.
Elle m'avait dis je veux rester toujours prés de toi
She told me she wanted to always stay close to me.
Elle m'avait dis je t'aimerais toute la vie
She told me she would love me for life.
Il est trop tard maintenant mais moi je t'en supplie
It's too late now, but I beg you for it.
Attend moi aux portes du paradis Terry
Wait for me at the gates of paradise, Terry.
Terry
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: Wilson Lynn Annette
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@mailyz3806
J’ai 70 ans et je suis toujours fans. J’adore ❤ma jeunesse
@jeandevauchelle8174
Merveilleuse chanson❤❤❤ claude François n'est pas seulement le disco...mais beaucoup de tres belles chansons de ce genre!😢❤❤❤❤
@mailyz3806
J’adore je suis fan et j’ai 70 ans c’est toute ma jeunesse. J’oublierai jamais ❤️💙💛😘♥️💜💝💕🥰🥰😘🥰
@claudineramelot918
Je ne le laisse jamais de cette chanson . Cloclo, savait chanter , aussi bien une chanson triste, que joyeuses
@martinedemoustier908
chanson très peu passée en radio c est une chanson très sensible merci à CloClo ♥️reposez en paix
@VERMALA
: Jamais entendue en radio ... je l'ai découverte dernièrement sur YouTube !
@ginettetersigni5146
il est trop trop beau❤
@MrPeclo
Mon Claude François préféré, celui des débuts !
@georgeslesage6422
Que des reprises de succès Anglo saxons rrrrrrr
@karineklein7028
Oui très belle chanson prenante surtout quand on connais l'histoire et le pourquoi que claude a fais cette chanson 💖😢