Franck Pourcel
Franck Pourcel (born August 14, 1913 in Marseille , † November 12, 2000 in Neuilly-sur-Seine ) was a French band leader , composer and violinist . Along with Raymond Lefèvre and Paul Mauriat , he and his orchestra were among the leading easy-listening musicians in France.
According to Wayne Jancik's Billboard Book of One-Hit-Wonders (1998), he sold over 15 million records worldwide. He owed his entry in the book to his only (instrumental) hit in the US charts: Only You - number 9 in 1959. The song had already been a global hit in 1955 for the most successful vocal group of the 1950s, The Platters .
In addition to classical subjects, Pourcel's repertoire also included pop music . He recorded entire albums with music by the Beatles or ABBA . Even pop , country or film music for him was not an obstacle. Two of his most famous compositions became evergreens by other performers. Although it was claimed that he was supposed to have written Blue Tango in 1952 , this title was composed by Leroy Anderson in 1951 and published in 1952 - Pourcel (with orchestra) was thus only an interpreter of this composition, like others. Pourcel's title Chariot , composed under the pseudonym JW Stole , has been successfully recorded by Petula Clark , Peggy March ( I Will Follow Him , also number one in the USA) and Whoopie Goldberg (in the film Sister Act ).
For many years Pourcel was orchestra leader of numerous contributions to the Eurovision Song Contest . From 1956 to 1972 he conducted a total of 22 songs from France, Germany , Monaco , Austria , Sweden and Switzerland .
Web links
- Frank Pourcel (official website, English)
- Discography as an interpreter
- Discography as a composer
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Pourcel, Franck |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | French band leader, composer and violinist |
| DATE OF BIRTH | August 14, 1913 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Marseille |
| DATE OF DEATH | November 12, 2000 |
| Place of death | Neuilly-sur-Seine |