Initially, Pourcel studied classical violin at the Paris Conservatoire, but he found the allure of jazz irresistible. In particular, he was an idol of Stephane Grappelli. Following his studies, he joined a number of jazz combos, which led him to his role as the leader of the French Fiddlers, who he joined in the late '40s. The French Fiddlers were a group of violinists that performed jazzy versions of classical numbers or classical arrangements of pop and jazz tunes. They signed to Pathe-Marconi and continued to refine their sound so they could reach a broader audience. The group earned their first hit in 1952 with a version of "Blue Tango."
In 1959, the French Fiddlers had a hit with an easy listening version of the Platters' "Only You" that featured a prominent beat; appropriately, it was credited to Franck Pourcel and His Rockin' Strings. It was a sound that became quite popular during the '60s, though frequently other musicians were more successful with it than Pourcel. Indeed, "Only You" was his only U.S. Top Ten hit. Nevertheless, he and the Fiddlers — who recorded under a variety of names — sold over 15 million records internationally by the early '70s. Pourcel continued to record easy listening albums and compose film scores throughout the '70s and into the '80s.
In 1958, he recorded an LP with the Viennese’s Waltzes, and then decided to lead his « Variety » public to the discovery and appreciation of popular classical pieces.
With his « Pages Celebres » he leds the sale of EMI Classics, but he felt no special vanity from this, for he considered himself in the service of music. He will record 17 LPs with the most famous classical orchestras like the London Symphony Orchestra, The London Philharmonic, The Lamoureux Orchestra, The BBC Orchestra…..
In 1979, following the evolution of the recording techniques, the series came to be called Classics in Digital.
« Adapting pop songs or classical pieces is a very delicate work because you have to dose the effects. I studied classics, and I am persuaded that if Mozart or Beethoven were here today they would wrote their music in a different arrangement. For them or the Variety, I write a kind of translation, according to my style, I think I am not betraying them. I often compare music with cooking. For the same recipe a chef can do something personal, the name of the dish remains the same, but the taste is different. Same thing with a score…. I was lucky in my life to be able to succeed in interpreting, my way, some music composed by others. I arrange it (or disarrange), and the original composers are happy ».
« Franck has the talent to ennoble the most simple melodies…..entering his music was and still is like entering the Pantheon » said Salvatore Adamo
A few of his musicians started a career on their own: » Michel Legrand was playing piano, when he was young. In my orchestra I had Raymond Lefevre, Paul Mauriat and Jean-Claude Casadessus, at that time playing percussions in my classical recordings ».
Between 1956 and 1972 he was the regular conductor for France at the Eurovision song contest, and he toured a lot in Japan, USA, South America, and appears on TV -show specials, all around the world.
A very discreet man, he never played up his personal or professional life. His record company has always had difficulty to write a biography mentioning how many records he sold (the sales if they were to be piled, one on top of the other, would represent 20 times the high of the Eiffel Tower), or how many gold records he got throughout the 58 countries where his albums were released. He was proud of his trophies, but didn’t talk about them. He smashed all sales records for the Europeans orchestras without fanfare or boosting.
He rather preferred to show his back directing the orchestra than his face to a camera. He rarely put his picture on the front of a cover « to recognize someone you have to appear on TV or movies. The public knows my name, I was the first one to do this kind of music in Europe ».
Nevertheless I watched him in 1984, during the pageant of Miss Mexico. He was President of the jury, and all the beautiful girls wanted to sit on his laps. He did not look unhappy!!!
His records have been exported to 58 countries; »I am going to surprise some people, but I have been the number 1 in the exportation of French records for 20 years (in 1982). Music is easier to export than songs with lyrics. When a record is produced in France it can be released the morning after in Yokohama or Los Angeles: there is no local version «
I remember that in 1975 Franck was asked by Air France to compose the Anthem for the new supersonic Concorde, because he was considered one of the 3 most exported French product with Brigitte Bardot and Air France.
He has composed some songs that he recorded, but rarely, because he did not liked his own compositions.
The most famous, « Chariot », started like a joke. It was composed with his friends Paul Mauriat and Raymond Lefevre , with lyrics by Jacques Plante. At that time, in 1962, everything coming from the US was striking gold, so they invented a story that the song was the soundtrack of a new western movie produced by the 20th century Fox »You’ll never See It ». Petula Clark sung the song and had a hit. In the USA the song was recorded as « I will Follow Him » by Little Peggy March., a fifteen years old singer, became number 1 in the Billboard charts all categories for 3 weeks, and in 1992 the song became the main theme for « Sister Act » 1 and 2, with Whoopie Goldberg. More recently, Eminem included some bars in his song « Guilty Conscience ».
From 1968, Franck worked with Claude-Michel Schonberg then artistic director at Pathe-marconi EMI records. A personal and professional relationship started and Franck produced Claude-Michel’s big hit « le Premier Pas’ and the following albums.
A show-biz star, against all odds, concerts all over the world, around 200 LPs recorded, more than 3000 titles in his repertoire, this was Franck Pourcel, my father. Five years after his death, thousands of faithful fans around the world send me messages, and these 4 Cds with some 100 titles from his catalogue, are dedicated to them.
« Hearing this heavenly fiddler, I now understand why instrument makers call the body of a violin its soul »
These words are from the French poet Jean Cocteau : the fiddler was Franck Pourcel.
Eleanor Rigby
Franck Pourcel Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Ah look at all the lonely people
Eleanor Rigby, picks up the rice
In the church where a wedding has been
Lives in a dream
Waits at the window, wearing the face
That she keeps in a jar by the door
All the lonely people
Where do they all come from?
All the lonely people
Where do they all belong?
Father McKenzie, writing the words
Of a sermon that no one will hear
No one comes near
Look at him working, darning his socks
In the night when there's nobody there
What does he care
All the lonely people
Where do they all come from?
All the lonely people
Where do they all belong?
Ah look at all the lonely people
Ah look at all the lonely people
Eleanor Rigby, died in the church
And was buried along with her name
Nobody came
Father McKenzie, wiping the dirt
From his hands as he walks from the grave
No one was saved
All the lonely people
Where do they all come from?
All the lonely people
Where do they all belong?
The song "Eleanor Rigby" by Franck Pourcel is a poignant commentary on loneliness and the human isolation that often accompanies this emotional state. The lyrics speak to two characters: Eleanor Rigby and Father McKenzie. Eleanor Rigby is a woman who lives in a dream, where she waits for someone to notice her. She picks up the rice from a recent wedding, but no one sees her. She wears a "face" in a jar by the door, indicating that she keeps her emotions locked away. The question "Who is it for?" indicates that she doesn't know who she's waiting for or who she's trying to impress.
Father McKenzie is a man who writes sermons that no one hears. He darns his socks in the night when there's nobody there. He is also a lonely figure; no one comes near him. The song suggests that the two characters could have found each other and shared their loneliness, but instead, they die alone. The song ends with the refrain "All the lonely people, where do they all come from? All the lonely people, where do they all belong?" suggesting a universal feeling of loneliness experienced by many.
Line by Line Meaning
Ah look at all the lonely people
Observing the isolation that afflicts many individuals in society
Eleanor Rigby, picks up the rice
Eleanor Rigby performs menial tasks in the church as an attempt to give meaning to her life
In the church where a wedding has been
Reflecting that the happiness of others, like at a wedding, makes Eleanor even more aware of her own loneliness
Lives in a dream
Eleanor is unable to escape the fantasy world she has created for herself to cope with her loneliness
Waits at the window, wearing the face That she keeps in a jar by the door
Eleanor waits by the window for someone to bring her the happiness she desires and the face in the jar represents her façade, concealing her true emotions from others
Who is it for
Eleanor questions the purpose of her façade and the meaning behind her actions
Father McKenzie, writing the words
Father McKenzie is attempting to fulfill his purpose as a religious figure by writing a sermon
Of a sermon that no one will hear
Despite his efforts, nobody will listen to his message
No one comes near
Father McKenzie is unable to connect with the congregation, increasing his own sense of loneliness
Look at him working, darning his socks
Father McKenzie is a lonely character who has to resort to mundane activities to pass the time
In the night when there's nobody there
Father McKenzie is left alone at night, increasing his already profound sense of isolation
What does he care
Father McKenzie begins to question if his work is worth doing if nobody recognizes it
Eleanor Rigby, died in the church
Eleanor's story ends in tragedy, as she dies in the same place she went looking for an escape from her loneliness
And was buried along with her name
Eleanor's death is a symbol of how her identity was lost and forgotten throughout her lonely life
Nobody came
Nobody attended Eleanor's funeral or cared about her death, demonstrating how lonely she truly was
Father McKenzie, wiping the dirt
Father McKenzie is seen as the only person who mourns Eleanor's death
From his hands as he walks from the grave
Father McKenzie is alone once again after performing the ceremony, highlighting the cyclical nature of loneliness in life
No one was saved
The final words emphasize that the isolation experienced by these characters is a fundamental human condition that is seemingly impossible to escape
All the lonely people
The repetition of this line reinforces the central theme of loneliness in the song
Where do they all come from?
This rhetorical question challenges listeners to think about the root causes of loneliness and how it affects people from all walks of life
Where do they all belong?
This line asks a thought-provoking question about the human need for belonging and how society can better support people who may be experiencing loneliness
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: John Lennon, Paul McCartney
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Richard Carpio
Frank Pourcel inolvidable, su música me vuelve a mi juventud!.
Sandra Cuevas
Sin duda alguna es una gran combinación Franck Pourcel y Beatles es simplemente maravilloso
Javier Augusto de la Fuente Iturrizaga
Que lindo estilo de interpretarla. Melancolico y sublime. Me encanta el toque de violines al mefio de la cancion. Es magistral!!. Me gusta mas que la de P.Mauriat que le pone un ritmo muy ruidoso.
Ivan Mario Castelo
Monumental interpretación y arreglos de un Genio y Maestro de la Música Universal.
Señor Franck Pourcel, POR SIEMPRE!!
Y nada menos que Interpretando a Los Beatles!
Es un Long Play de Oro 24 Quilates (como todo el Fabuloso Legado Musical de éste Inimitable y Sublime Artista).
Más de 2.000 Melodías en más de 250 Álbumes están Siempre esperando a todo quien quiera ingresar y ser parte de el Fantástico y Fascinante "UNIVERSO POURCEL".
Muchas Gracias por Compartir y Difundir su Invalorable Acervo.
🎼🎵❤️🎶🌎🎶🌍🎶🌏🎶
(Mi.06.Abril.2022)
Lotnik Bojowy
Gracias por su conmensurable comentario en favor de este maestro de la musica, en efecto Franck Pourcel dejo una obra musical digna de ser valorada y siempre recordada.
Homero Nambo López
Eleanor Rigby
Una composición Hermosísima de Paul McCartney.
Rene Maldonado
Bella interpretación 🎭
Jorge Luiz Vieira
Frank poucel grandes mestres
Javier Beltrán
Muy bonita aver si puedes subir la de zorba el griego por favor
Juan Antonio Vives
Per a recordar totes les persones treballadores humils i bones que no protesten guanyant poc i se'n van d'aquesta vida sense algarades.Per a totes les Elionors Rigby d'aquest món. J.A.Vives. 19-10-2019.