
Jacques Brel
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Person
Who is Jacques Brel?
Jacques Brel: Jacques Romain Georges Brel was a Belgian singer-songwriter who composed and performed literate, thoughtful, and theatrical songs that generated a large, devoted following, initially in Belgium and France, later throughout the world. He was widely considered a master of the modern chanson. Although he recorded most of his songs in French, he became a major influence on English-speaking songwriters and performers such as David Bowie, Alex Harvey, Leonard Cohen, Marc Almond and Rod McKuen. English translations of his songs were recorded by many top performers in the United States, including Ray Charles, Judy Collins, John Denver, the Kingston Trio, Nina Simone, Frank Sinatra, Scott Walker, and Andy Williams. In French-speaking countries, Brel was a successful actor, appearing in ten films. He also directed two films, one of which, Le Far West, was nominated for the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival in 1973. Having sold over 25 million records worldwide, Brel is the third best-selling Belgian recording artist of all time.
- also known as Jaques Brel, Jacques Romain Georges Brel, Abbé Brel
- born on (86 years ago) in Schaerbeek, child of Elisabeth Lambertine Brel and Romain Brel
- ethnicity: Belgians
- nationality: Belgium
- religion: Atheism
- profession: Singer-songwriter, film score composer, actor, screenwriter, film director
- spouses:
- Marriage with Thérèse Michielsen between and (28 years and 4 months)
- Domestic partnership with Maddly Bamy until
- parent of
- died on (37 years ago) in Bobigny of pulmonary embolism
- buried in Calvary Cemetery, Atuona
- genre: Chanson
- albums: "Au printemps", "La valse à mille temps", "Enregistrement Public à l'Olympia 1961", "Les bourgeois", "Les Vieux", "Ces gens-là", "J'arrive", "Ne me quitte pas", "Les Marquises", "De 24 grootste successen", "Jacques Brel, Volume 1", "En Scènes (Enregistrements inedits)", "Amsterdam", "Ballades et mots d'amour" (disc 2), "Infiniment", "Collection" (disc 2), "Enregistrement public à l'Olympia 1964", "Grand Jacques", "Jacques Brel Is Alive and Well and Living in Paris (1968 original off-Broadway cast)", "Jacques Brel Is Alive and Well and Living in Paris (1994 London revival cast)", "Jacques Brel, Volume 2", "Jacques Brel 67", "Knokke", "Les Vieux - 6", "Master Serie, Volume 2", "Quand on n'a que l'amour", "Quinze ans d'amour", "Ses 16 plus belles Chansons", "Greatest Hits", "Le coffret souvenir", "Marieke", "Chansons ou versions inédites de jeunesse", "L'Intégrale", "La Foire / Il y a", "Les 100 Plus Belles Chansons", "C'est comme ça", "Les Bigotes", "Il peut pleuvoir / C'est comme ça", "Mathilde", "Le Moribond", "Les pieds dans le ruisseau / S'il te faut", "N°6: Les Bourgeois", "Enregistrements PHILIPS 1954-1961", "I Am the Shadow of the Songs", "Jacques Brel Is Alive and Well and Living in Paris (2006 off-Broadway cast)", "Master série, Volume 2", "Mijn vlakke land"
- filmography:
- played Le docteur Benjamin Rathery - un libre penseur coureur de jupons in "Mon oncle Benjamin"
- played Jacques in "Far West"
- played Vincent van Horst in "The Bar at the Crossing"
- played Jacques in "L'aventure, c'est l'aventure"
- played Jean Doucet in "Risky Business"
- played Leon in "Franz"
- played Georges Dormond in "Mont-Dragon"
- played François Pignon in "L'emmerdeur"
- played Le juge d'instruction Bernard Level in "Law Breakers"
- films written:
- films directed:
- official website: www.jacquesbrel.be
Music
"Jacques Brel" is a musical album of Jacques Brel.
- released in (25 years ago)
Printed dictionaries and other books with definitions for Jacques Brel
Click on a title to look inside that book (if available):
Tahiti Beyond the Postcard (2011)
Power, Place, and Everyday Life by Miriam Kahn
Jacques Brel is a French singer from Belgium ...
Rough Guides Snapshot Belgium: Brussels (2015)
by Rough Guides
be A fiveminute walk from the GrandPlace, Éditions Jacques Brel is a small but inventive museum ...
Historical Dictionary of Popular Music (2017)
by Norman Abjorensen
Jacques Brel was a Belgian singer, songwriter, poet, and actor whose songs have been translated into multiple languages and recorded by artists as diverse as Joan Baez (“The Dove,” 1967), Frank Sinatra (“If ...
The Encyclopedia of Dead Rock Stars (2012)
Heroin, Handguns, and Ham Sandwiches by Jeremy Simmonds
Jacques Brel: Almost certainly the most interesting musician to emerge from Belgium Big Star – Bell, Stephens, Hummel and Chilton: Should have ...
Continuum Encyclopedia of Popular Music of the World Part 1 Media, Industry, Society (2003)
by John Shepherd, David Horn, Dave Laing, Paul Oliver, Peter Wicke
The great names of chanson frangaise figured in Barclay's catalog: Henri Salvador, Charles Aznavour, Jacques Brel, Léo Ferré, Dalida and Mireille Mathieu. Jazz was still present, but less than before. Barclay continued to record Stéphane ...
Allen's Dictionary of English Phrases (2008)
by Robert Allen
A similar anecdotal extension to the phrase appeared in the title of a revue Jacques Brel is Alive and Well and Living in Paris, which opened at the Village Gate in New York in 1968, with songs by the eponymous Belgian singer and songwriter, ...
Historical Dictionary of Algeria (2006)
by Phillip C. Naylor
James Brown, Umm Kulthum, Edith Piaf, Charles Aznavour, Jacques Brel, Bob Marley, and the Beatles: Khaled's popularity earned him the title “King of Rai.
A Dictionary for the Modern Singer (2014)
by Matthew Hoch
In 1968, an Off-Broadway revue entitled Jacques Brel Is Alive and Well and Living in Paris opened, featuring English translations of some of Brel's most well-known songs.
Online dictionaries and encyclopedias with entries for Jacques Brel
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Photos about Jacques Brel
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Jacques Brel
A Famous Belgian. A great singer. And an example of Smabs Artistry, Ahem.
Photo credit: Smabs Sputzer
Jacques Brel - Disque D'Or, Impact
Photo credit: Piano Piano!
Quai Jacques Brel
Photo credit: villedeverviers
Inside Jacques Brel - BREL
Photo credit: Piano Piano!
'Gedenkplaat Jacques Brel' Visserskaai Oostende
De tekst op deze plaat luidt: "Het water, de zee, de Noordzee, la mer du Nord,
de aarde, het land, de polders, le plat pays
en de haven, de kade als brug, als poort.
Naar een open horizon op de universele klanken
van... "Le Plat Pays", Jacques Brell (1962)".Photo credit: FaceMePLS
Monument en hommage a Jacques Brel
Bruxelles Belgium
Photo credit: charlesnikon
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