Paul Mauriat Biography
4 March 1925, Marseille, France, d. 3 November 2006, Perpignan, France. A conductor, arranger and composer, descended from generations of classical musicians, Mauriat began to study music at the age of four, and continued his studies at the Conservatoire in Paris when his family moved there in 1935. His initial ambition to become classical pianist gave way to an interest in popular music and jazz. When he was 17, Mauriet formed his own orchestra and, for several years, toured concert halls and theatres in Europe. His big break came when he began arranging and conducting for recordings by Charles Aznavour, a relationship which endured, and led to him working with other French artists. In the 60s his distinctive, melodic, arrangements on his own instrumental albums with a contemporary beat, gained him a substantial following. In 1962, under the pseudonym Del Roma, Mauriat co-wrote "Chariot", which, sung in French, became a big Continental hit for Petula Clark. In the following year, with an alternative lyric by Norman Gimbel and Arthur Altman, the song was re-titled "I Will Follow Him", and was taken to the top of the US chart by Little Peggy March.
Mauriat's own success in America was sparked off in 1968, when his enormous international hit version of "L'Amour Est Bleu" ("Love Is Blue"), Luxembourg's entry in the 1963 Eurovision Song contest, spent five weeks in the US number 1 spot. He repeated the feat with Blooming Hits, a collection of 60s favourites, including Eurovision winner "Puppet On A String" and John Lennon/Paul McCartney's "Penny Lane", which is reputed to have sold well over two million copies. This all led to major television appearances and tours throughout the USA and Mexico, Latin America, Japan, and many other countries. Mauriat had two other minor US hit singles, "Love In Every Room" and "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang", but his albums continued to sell in large quantities. He toured around the world with his orchestra before finally retiring in 1998. The Paul Mauriat Orchestra continued under the leadership of Gilles Gambus.
Source: The Encyclopedia of Popular Music by Colin Larkin. Licensed from Muze.
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