He died of a heart attack at the age of 45.
Berger first became known to the French public in the 1960s as singer of hit song Salut les copains, after which he became record producer and songwriter for EMI and where he wrote amongst others Les Girafes for Bourvil in 1967. In the early 1970s, he moved to Warner Music where he produced the early albums of Véronique Sanson, and Allah once again in 1989. In 1973, he was responsible for producing the album Message personnel, the title track of which relaunched the career of Françoise Hardy. He also produced the single Je suis moi for Hardy.
Berger started writing for France Gall in 1974, produced all her albums from 1975, and married her on 22 June 1976.
In 1985, he produced Johnny Hallyday's album Rock'n'Roll Attitude and also his stage-show, followed by Le Tour de France 1988 of France Gall in 1987.
In 1978, he composed the musical: Starmania, with lyrics by Luc Plamondon. The musical starred France Gall, Daniel Balavoine, Diane Dufresne, Nanette Workman, Eric Estève and Fabienne Thibeault. It was a big success in France in the 1980s and 1990s. An English version: Tycoon was released in 1991 with lyrics by Tim Rice, but it did not achieve the success the original version had in France.
Partnered by producer Jerome Savary, and by lyricist Luc Plamondon in 1980, he produced the musical La Légende de Jimmy, inspired by the life of James Dean. However, this bombed. Dreams in stone, was conceived as an American musical, co-arranged with Michel Bernholc, recorded in the United States. The show never saw the light of day, but the album was nevertheless released in 1982. The album was a complete flop and is not well-known.
As composer, Berger scored several film projects, which included Mektoub, a 1970 film by Algerian Director Ali Ghalem, Robert Benayoun's Sérieux comme le plaisir in 1975, Jean-Paul Rappeneau's Tout feu, tout flamme in 1982 and Rive droite, rive gauche the 1984 film by Philippe Labro. He is also known for his Orangina advertisement jingle.
Berger was one of a handful of French artists who participated readily and actively in humanitarian acts: in 1985, he worked exclusively for Action Écoles alongside France Gall, Richard Berry and Daniel Balavoine, then later for Ethiopia with Renaud (Chanteurs Sans Frontières) and for Les Restos du cœur with comedian Coluche.
On 2 August 1992, a few weeks after the first album of duets with France Gall came out, Michel Berger died of a heart attack, in the middle of a tennis match. He is buried in the cimetière de Montmartre in Paris. His untimely death came as a shock to many people because he had been one of the most popular French singer-songwriter of the 70's and 80's. Moreover, unlike many pop stars, he came across as a nice and simple man, more interested in music and family life than in rock & roll excesses. As a matter of fact, his marriage with France Gall was remarkably stable.
La groupie du pianiste
Michel Berger Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
À gâcher son bel avenir
La groupie du pianiste
Dieu, que cette fille a l'air triste
Amoureuse d'un égoïste
La groupie du pianiste
Elle fout toute sa vie en l'air
Qu'est-ce qu'elle aurait bien pu faire
À part rêver seule dans son lit
Le soir, entre ses draps roses
Elle passe sa vie à l'attendre
Pour un mot, pour un geste tendre
La groupie du pianiste
Devant l'hôtel dans les coulisses
Elle rêve de la vie d'artiste
La groupie du pianiste
Elle le suivrait jusqu'en enfer
Et même l'enfer, c'est pas grand chose
À côté d'être seule sur terre
Et elle y pense dans son lit
Le soir, entre ses draps roses
Elle l'aime, elle l'adore
Plus que tout, elle l'aime
C'est beau comme elle l'aime
Elle l'aime, elle l'adore
C'est fou comme elle l'aime
C'est beau comme elle l'aime
Il a des droits sur son sourire
Elle a des droits sur ses désirs
La groupie du pianiste
Elle sait rester là, sans rien dire
Pendant que lui, joue ses délires
La groupie du pianiste
Quand le concert est terminé
Elle met ses mains sur le clavier
En rêvant qu'il va l'emmener
Passer le reste de sa vie
Tout simplement à l'écouter
Elle sait comprendre sa musique
Elle sait oublier qu'elle existe
La groupie du pianiste
Mais Dieu, que cette fille prend des risques
Amoureuse d'un égoïste
La groupie du pianiste
Elle fout toute sa vie en l'air
Et toute sa vie, c'est pas grand chose
Qu'est-ce qu'elle aurait bien pu faire
À part rêver, seule dans son lit
Le soir, entre ses draps roses
Elle l'aime, elle l'adore
Plus que tout, elle l'aime
C'est beau comme elle l'aime
Elle l'aime, elle l'adore
C'est fou comme elle l'aime
C'est beau comme elle l'aime
(La groupie du pianiste)
(La groupie du pianiste)
(La groupie du pianiste)
(La groupie du pianiste)
The lyrics of Michel Berger's song "La Groupie Du Pianiste" depict the story of a woman, who is deeply in love with a self-absorbed pianist. The woman spends her nights awake, ruining her own future, and daydreaming about being with the pianist. Her life revolves around waiting for him, hoping for even the slightest bit of affection from him. The lyrics indicate that the woman keeps putting her life on hold for a man who does not reciprocate her love. The lyrics also reveal that the woman is aware of the consequences of her obsessive behavior but cannot help herself and continues to waste her life chasing after the pianist.
The song highlights the woman's devotion and desperation, painting a picture of a woman who is so in love that she is willing to sacrifice everything, including her own happiness, for her obsession. The song's chorus emphasizes the extent of her love, with the repetition of "elle l'aime, elle l'adore, c'est fou comme elle l'aime" ("she loves him, she adores him, it's crazy how she loves him").
Overall, "La Groupie Du Pianiste" is a melancholic and melancholy song that portrays the all-consuming nature of love, and the cost of loving someone who does not feel the same way.
Line by Line Meaning
Elle passe ses nuits sans dormir
She spends her nights without sleeping
À gâcher son bel avenir
Wasting away her bright future
La groupie du pianiste
The pianist's groupie
Dieu, que cette fille a l'air triste
God, this girl looks sad
Amoureuse d'un égoïste
In love with a selfish man
Elle fout toute sa vie en l'air
She ruins her whole life
Et toute sa vie c'est pas grand chose
And her whole life is not much
Qu'est-ce qu'elle aurait bien pu faire
What else could she have done
À part rêver seule dans son lit
Besides dreaming alone in her bed
Le soir entre ses draps roses
At night between her pink sheets
Elle passe sa vie à l'attendre
She spends her life waiting for him
Pour un mot, pour un geste tendre
For a kind word or a tender gesture
Devant l'hôtel dans les coulisses
In front of the hotel, backstage
Elle rêve de la vie d'artiste
She dreams of the artist's life
Elle le suivrait jusqu'en enfer
She would follow him to hell
Et même l'enfer c'est pas grand chose
And even hell is not much
À côté d'être seule sur terre
Compared to being alone on earth
Et elle y pense dans son lit
And she thinks about it in her bed
Le soir entre ses draps roses
At night between her pink sheets
Elle l'aime, elle l'adore
She loves him, she adores him
Plus que tout, elle l'aime, c'est beau comme elle l'aime
More than anything, she loves him, it's beautiful how she loves him
Il a des droits sur son sourire
He has rights to her smile
Elle a des droits sur ses désirs
She has rights to her desires
Elle sait rester là sans rien dire
She knows how to stay there without saying anything
Pendant que lui joue ses délires
While he plays his delusions
Quand le concert est terminé
When the concert is over
Elle met ses mains sur le clavier
She puts her hands on the keyboard
En rêvant qu'il va l'emmener
Dreaming that he will take her
Passer le reste de sa vie
To spend the rest of her life
Tout simplement à l'écouter
Simply listening to him
Elle sait comprendre sa musique
She understands his music
Elle sait oublier qu'elle existe
She knows how to forget that she exists
Mais Dieu que cette fille prend des risques
But God, this girl takes risks
Elle fout toute sa vie en l'air
She ruins her whole life
Et toute sa vie c'est pas grand chose
And her whole life is not much
Qu'est-ce qu'elle aurait bien pu faire
What else could she have done
À part rêver seule dans son lit
Besides dreaming alone in her bed
Le soir entre ses draps roses
At night between her pink sheets
Elle l'aime, elle l'adore
She loves him, she adores him
Plus que tout elle l'aime, c'est beau comme elle l'aime
More than anything, she loves him, it's beautiful how she loves him
(La groupie du pianiste)
(La groupie du pianiste)
(La groupie du pianiste)
(La groupie du pianiste)
(La groupie du pianiste)
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: Michel Berger
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind