Claude Nougaro was born in Toulouse in the South of France on 9 September 1929. Young Claude grew up in a highly creative musical environment as his father, Pierre, was a renowned baritone while his mother, Liette, was a talented pianist and teacher. Both his parents spent a great deal of time away on tour and Claude was often left with his grand-parents. During his childhood the young boy discovered the lively working-class district of Les Minimes where he would sit and listen to the stories recounted by exiles who had settled in the South of France after fleeing from the Spanish war. When Claude was aged just 10, the young boy would live through his own wartime experiences when the Second World War broke out in 1939.

Claude was a passionate music fan from an early age. The young boy would spend all his free time with his ear glued to the TSF, discovering Glenn Miller's swing jazz and Bessie Smith's blues as well as listening to the songs of French music-hall stars Edith Piaf and Charles Trenet. Claude's parents also played a role in his musical education, introducing their son to their own favourite classical composers (Massenet, Rossini, Verdi and Bizet).

Claude's teenage years proved to be a troubled period. Claude was an unsettled pupil, frequently running away from school and getting expelled for bad behaviour. Claude's chaotic schooling finally resulted in him failing his 'baccalauréat' and leaving school without any qualifications.

In 1947 Claude decided he would go into journalism and began writing odd articles for the "Journal des Curistes" in Vichy and writing for the Algerian newspaper "l'Echo d'Alger". After completing his national service, Claude moved to Paris where his parents had recently bought a house. Yet, Claude felt lonely and isolated in the capital, and his only social life consisted of sitting at home writing poetry.

Things began looking up in 1952, however, when Claude got the chance to meet the famous poet Audiberti (who would become a lifelong friend). Around this period Claude was only introduced to two legendary French music-hall stars, Brassens et Mouloudji. Inspired by these encounters, Claude turned his hand to songwriting, penning lyrics for Marcel Amont ("Le Balayeur du roi") and Philippe Clay ("Joseph"). 

Claude Nougaro would soon manage to overcome his natural timidity and in 1955 he began performing his own songs at the famous Parisian cabaret "Le Lapin agile", in the heart of Bohemian Montmartre. It was at "Le Lapin agile" in 1958 that Nougaro first performed "Il y avait une ville", a song which would feature on the singer's début album, recorded the following year. Nougaro's first album of nine songs failed to make any major impact on the French music scene, but in spite of this the young singer was still beginning to make something of a name for himself. Indeed in 1959 he would support the French diva Dalida on her national tour.  

Shortly after this another important encounter was to change the course of Nougaro's career. The singer began working with a talented young pianist and composer by the name of Michel Legrand. Sharing a mutual passion for jazz, the pair struck up a close friendship and soon went into the studio together to begin work on Nougaro's next album. Released on the Philips label in 1962, Nougaro's second album "Une petite fille", proved to be a huge hit with the public and French music critics showered it with rave reviews.

Later that same year Nougaro enjoyed another happy event in his personal life, marrying a woman called Sylvie whom he had met at "Le Lapin Agile". Sylvie would give birth to the couple's first child, a daughter called Cécile, shortly afterwards. In 1962 Nougaro also enjoyed a memorable encounter with Edith Piaf (he would later pay tribute to the star writing "Comme une Piaf", a song specially dedicated to her).

By 1963 Nougaro had started to make a real name for himself on the French music scene. His new single "Cécile ma fille", released in April of that year, rocketed to the top of the charts and was soon to be heard on radios and jukeboxes all over the country. Unfortunately, just as his career was really taking off in style, Nougaro was injured in a car crash and the singer was forced to spend several months convalescing. When he finally got to perform at the legendary Olympia in Paris, Nougaro hopped onto stage on crutches, greeted by rapturous applause from the huge audience which had turned out to see him.

In 1964 strong Brazilian influences began to creep into Nougaro's work. After meeting the famous Brazilian guitarist Baden Powell, Nougaro went on to write the song "Bidonville" (Shanty Town) setting his lyrics to the tune of "Berimbau". In 1975 Nougaro would use Brazilian rhythms once again on "Brésilien" and score a huge hit in 1978 with "Tu verras" , Nougaro's brilliant cover version of a song made famous by the Brazilian star Chico Buarque.

But while Brazilian rhythms would weave in and out of his work, Nougaro's passion for jazz would prove a constant influence on everything he wrote. Nougaro's jazz influences were much in evidence, for example, on his 1965 hit "A bout de souffle", a song inspired by Dave Brubeck's famous "Blue rondo à la turk". It was also around 1965 that Nougaro began working with his loyal musical 'family' (made up of the organ-player Eddy Louiss and pianist Maurice Vander, two musicians who would continue to accompany the singer throughout the rest of his career).

In July 1965 Nougaro was in the midst of performing a series of concerts on the Côte d'Azur, when he received a message informing him that his old friend Audiberti had just died. The singer, who had invited Audiberti to live with him for a year, was devastated to learn of his death. Nougaro would commemorate his old friend in a special tribute song, "Chanson pour le maçon", which he recorded later that year.

Nougaro, an extremely popular figure on the French music scene by this point, went on to have a whole string of hits including Armstrong" (featuring musical arrangements by Maurice Vander) and "Sing Sing Song" (based on an old Nat Adderley song). In 1966 Nougaro scored another hit with "L'Amour sorcier", and the following year "Toulouse" followed hot on the heels of this success. In 1968 Claude Nougaro's "Paris Mai" (a song about the student revolution and general strike of May 1968) became a classic of its time. Following this success Nougaro would achieve the ultimate consecration, performing at the legendary Olympia for two weeks in May of that year. (The ambience of these exceptional concerts was captured on Nougaro's very first live album, entitled "Une soirée avec Claude Nougaro").

The highlight of Nougaro's career in 1971 was his three-week run at the Bobino, tickets for which were sold out months in advance. Nougaro repeated this phenomenal success at the Théâtre de la Ville in 1973, performing to capacity crowds. During this period Nougaro also concentrated his efforts on his songwriting, penning some of his most famous songs including "Soeur âme", "Locomotive d'or", and the classic "Victor" (a song which was accompanied by a superb audiovisual montage). "Montparis", a famous song about Paris politics, was also written around this time.  

In 1974 Nougaro set up his own record production company, Chiffre Neuf, thereby gaining complete copyright control over all his material. In the autumn of 74 Nougaro returned to the Olympia for a five-week run with the Brazilian guitarist Baden Powell. He would embark upon an extensive tour with Baden Powell in 1975, then perform a series of concerts with another Brazilian star, Tania Maria, the following year.

After signing a new recording deal with the Barclay label, Nougaro went back into the studio in 1976 to set to work on his next album "Femmes et famine". In February 1977 the singer returned to the Olympia, accompanied by his loyal pianist Maurice Vander and a small group of musicians. Nougaro's show, which included two brand new songs "Victor" and "Plume d'Ange", also featured a superb visual display, slides of paintings by the young artist Daniel Estrade (who had been Nougaro's protégé since 1972) projected onto the back of the stage.  

After winning the prestigious "Prix Spécial de la chanson française de l'Académie du disque" in 1978 for his song "Tu verras", Nougaro triumphed at the Olympia once again in 1979. The indefatigable performer then set off on another tour, releasing a brand new album, "Assez", later that year. In 1980 Maurice Vander, Nougaro's loyal pianist who has accompanied him for many long years, decided to go off and form his own group (as Nougaro's other long-term music partner Eddy Louiss had done before him). Nougaro went on to recruit another talented group of musicians from the jazz scene, including the star accordion-player Richard Galliano and Italian drummer Aldo Romano.

In 1981 Claude Nougaro was back at the forefront of the French music scene with a new album entitled "Chansons nettes". At the start of the following year the singer decided to try out a new venue for his concerts, choosing to perform at the legendary Paris jazz club "Le New Morning". Nougaro then set off on a mammoth three-year tour, one of the highlights of which was a 10-day run at the Palais des Sports in Paris 1983. (Needless to say, tickets for Nougaro's Paris concerts were sold out months in advance).

In the spring of 1984 Nougaro decided to go back to working with a smaller group based around more acoustic instruments. Nougaro's old friend and loyal pianist, Maurice Vander, came back to work with him and the singer recruited two new musicians (Pierre Michelot on double bass and Bernard Lubat on drums). Later that year Nougaro would meet his third and last wife Hélène.

Nougaro and his new trio went into the studio to record two albums "Bleu Blanc Blues" (in 1985) and "Nougaro sur scène" (in 1986), then went on to perform over 300 concerts together. In spite of Nougaro's continuing popularity with the French public, the singer's record label considered that his album sales were not up to expectation and promptly terminated his contract.  

This unexpected blow would turn Nougaro's life upside down. The singer was immediately galvanised into action, putting his Paris apartment up for sale and flying off to New York in search of new musical inspiration. It did not take him long to find it. Nougaro soon teamed up with the young keyboard whizzkid Philippe Saisse, and returned to the studio to set to work on his next album. This new album, humorously entitled "Nougayork", marked a veritable turning-point in the singer's career. Leaving his jazz era behind, Nougaro began to broaden his musical horizons, experimenting with a modern fusion of funk and rock.

"Nougayork" was to prove a phenomenal hit. Indeed, the album went gold even before its official release date, record stores placing advance orders for over 100,000 copies. Released as a single, the title track "Nougayork" soon rocketed to the top of the charts, attracting a whole generation of younger fans. Following hot on the heels of this success came Nougaro's second American album "Pacifique", which while it may not have been as finely crafted as "Nougayork", did spawn the hit single "Vive l'Alexandrin".

Nougaro's hugely successful comeback led to the singer carrying off two awards at the 1988 "Victoires de la Musique" awards (one for "Best Artist of the Year", the other for "Best Album"). Nougaro went on to triumph at the Olympia in February 1989. After performing at Le Zénith in April to an audience of 6,000 fans, the singer set off on tour with an American group.

After this Nougaro changed musical direction once again, returning to the simple musical arrangements of his early days, just himself singing and Maurice Vander on the piano. In 1991 Nougaro released a new album on the Philips label entitled "Une voix Dix doigts" (One Voice Ten Fingers). The following year he returned to the Olympia to perform three weeks of concerts, before embarking upon another extensive tour of 220 dates.

In 1993 Nougaro moved away from the intimate ambience of "Une voix dix doigts" and went back to working with a large group of musicians. His 1993 album "Chansongs" featured a veritable treasure trove of talent (including Maurice Vander, of course, jazz accordionist Richard Galliano, violinist Didier Lockwood and the famous Zairian musician Ray Lema). "Chansongs" found Nougaro experimenting with his most ambitious fusion yet, mixing elements of rap and jazz with Irish melodies and tango.

1994 proved to be another highly successful year for Nougaro. In April the singer married his third wife, Hélène, then in November triumphed at the Olympia once again.

After undergoing a serious heart operation in April 95, Nougaro enjoyed a long period of convalescence in his home in the South of France. The indefatigable performer made yet another comeback in 1997 however, releasing a new single "L'Enfant phare". With this new single Nougaro proved that his sound was as energetic as ever and his lyrics just as fascinating. Indeed, Nougaro's clever wordplay and his incredible ability to juggle with language are doubtless his most outstanding contribution to the French music scene.

At the end of the summer of 98 Claude Nougaro appeared at the famous Ramatuelle Festival (in the South of France), where he performed the new songs he had recorded live in concert just a few weeks earlier in Toulouse. A live album featuring extracts from this concert was released on September 21^st. Nougaro continued his tour through until January '99 and delighted fans with a series of heavily jazz-influenced concerts at the "Palais des Congrès" in Paris in October.

After completing this series of concerts, Nougaro was introduced to Yvan Cassar, one of the most sought-after young arrangers on the French music scene. Locking themselves away in a home studio over the next six months, the pair set to work on Nougaro's new album, "Embarquement immédiat". This new album fused a whole mix of musical influences, ranging from jazz (c.f. the big band on the track "Jet Set") to Celtic and African sounds (c.f. "Bozambo"). As far as the lyrics were concerned, Nougaro mixed lightweight, upbeat songs such as "les Bas" with darker, moodier numbers such as "la Vie en noir", announcing that these would be the last new songs of his career.

Nougaro and Cassar embarked on an extensive national tour in 2001, touring the length and breadth of France with a group of backing musicians. This ambitious tour included a concert at the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées in Paris in June 2001 and an appearance at the "Vieilles Charrues" festival in July. In 2002, Nougaro temporarily abandoned singing to give a "spoken" performance of his work, reciting his texts in a show called "Les Fables de ma Fontaine." (A live version of the show was recorded as a DVD at the "Bouffes du Nord" in Paris in May of that year). Nougaro was invited to perform at the "Festival du Verbe," organised in the Toulouse region by Dick Annegarn in June 2003, but the singer’s declining health forced him to turn down the request. However, Nougaro’s website still insisted that a new album was due out in March 2004 (on the prestigious Blue Note label). Nougaro actually began recording the album with his friend, the drummer André Ceccarelli, but heath problems soon put a stop to the studio sessions.

Blue(s)

Nougaro was taken to a Paris hospital at the beginning of 2004, but the singer insisted on returning home to his own bed, where he finally passed away on 4 March 2004. The news of his death caused a public outbreak of emotion in Toulouse. And tributes soon began pouring in from the music world and French president Jacques Chirac. A mass was held for Nougaro at Notre-Dame cathedral in Paris on 8 March 2004. And two days later the singer’s funeral was organised in Toulouse, the town that will forever remain a symbol of his life and work.

At the end of 2004, Nougaro enjoyed posthumous success with the album "La Note bleue" (released on the legendary American label Blue Note). The album, which has a strong jazz bent, features the singer’s final recordings and was completed by his musicians after his death. The release of “La Note bleue” coincided with the appearance of "L'Intégrale studio," a boxed set of 14 CDs (239 songs) which retraced the Toulousan star’s career from his earliest recordings in 1959 to the final reworkings of his classics.

December 2004