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 8 April 1929 (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 1 June 1950 and 9 October 1978 (28 years and 4 months)
- Domestic partnership with Maddly Bamy until 9 October 1978
parent of
died on 9 October 1978 (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:
- Far West
- Franz
films directed:
- Far West
- Franz
official website: www.jacquesbrel.be

Music

"Jacques Brel" is a musical album of Jacques Brel.

released in 1990 (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.