Françoise Hardy (January 17th 1944) is a french Chanson Singer-Songwriter who remains known for her work during the yé-yé years.
She instantly became famous in France for her first songs "Tous les Garçons et les Filles" and "Le Temps de l'Amour" which were released during the early sixties and also became a model thanks to her collaboration with photographer Jean-Marie Périer. Following from that, her music acquired maturity near the end of that decade and she would hit a milestone with the creation of her own production companies at a time where she wanted to detach herself from the "Teen Pop" image which defined her early career. After winning a court case which allowed her more artistic freedom in the making of her music, Françoise came up with some of the most renowned songs in her repertoire thanks to collaborations with artists such as Michel Berger or Serge Gainsbourg.
Outside of music, she also has a passion for astrology and has written novels.
Discography:
- 1962 - Tous les Garçons et les Filles
- 1963 - Le Premier Bonheur du Jour
- 1963 - Françoise Hardy Canta per Voi in Italiano
- 1964 - Mon Amie la Rose
- 1965 - L'Amitié
- 1965 - In Deutschland
- 1966 - In English
- 1966 - La Maison où J'ai Grandi
- 1967 - Ma Jeunesse Fout le Camp
- 1968 - En Anglais
- 1969 - One-Nine-Seven-Zero
- 1970 - Träume
- 1970 - Soleil
- 1971 - La Question
- 1972 - If You Listen
- 1972 - Et si je m'en Vais Avant Toi
- 1973 - Message Personnel
- 1974 - "Entr'acte"
- 1977 - Star
- 1978 - Musique Saoule
- 1980 - Gin Tonic
- 1981 - A Suivre
- 1982 - Quelqu'un Qui S'en Va
- 1988 - Décalages
- 1996 - Le Danger
- 2000 - Clair-Obscur
- 2004 - Tant de Belles Choses
- 2006 - (Parenthèses...)
- 2010 - La Pluie Sans Parapluie
- 2012 - L'amour Fou
- 2018 - Personne d'Autre
Tropes & Trivia in her works:
- Bossa Nova: The main genre on her album La Question
- Break Up Song: While she wrote many songs of that kind during her early career, she later separated with French singer-songwriter by covering the song "Puisque vous Partez en Voyage"note with him (however, they didn't divorce and remain married since).
- Chanson: The definitive sound for most of her career. More precisely, she started with a yé-yé sound and grew into Bob Dylan-inspired Folk Music.
- Cover Version : She covered Ricky Nelson "Lonesome Town" and Leonard Cohen's "Suzanne" on her English albums (and she would later cover it in French).
-
Creator Couple: Her first relationship with photographer Jean-Marie Périer has lead to her success as a fashion icon, but Françoise is mostly known for having been with other French singer-songwriter Jacques Dutronc. Starting their engagement in the late sixties, the tumultuous part of their relationship was an inspiration for La Question. They've covered the song "Puisque vous Partez en Voyage"note when they separated in 1988. - Omniglot: She sings and writes songs in French, English, German, Italian and Spanish.
- Psychedelic Rock: Prominently featured on her third English album One-Nine-Seven-Zero.
- Scatting: She has a distinctive humming which can be heard on her early songs.
- Self-Titled Album: Many of her first albums don't have a title on their front cover and were retroactively titled after the lead single of each album.
- Silly Love Songs: Quite a lot, to the point that you could make a drinking game for any time love is mentionned in any of her first albums.
- Translated Cover Version: Her cover of Leonard Cohen's "Suzanne" and Ricky Nelson "Lonesome Town" are in French.
