Pierre Perret was born in Castelsarrazin, southwest France, on July 9th, 1934. The second son of Maurice and Claudia Perret, his spent a good deal of his childhood in his father's café and restaurant, the Café du pont, on the banks of the Garonne River. It is there that he became familiar with people speaking vivid, slangy language, ranging from the boatmen to the local workmen. He thus developed an amazing knowledge of the French language and its innumerable offspring. 

Pierre practised music assiduously until 1953, and won a prize for saxophone. But he spent most of his time on the stage. In the Grenier de Toulouse troupe, he played the classics, from Molière to Shakespeare. He also won a merit for acting at the conservatoire. Finally, he also used his time in Toulouse to complete his literary education in the bookstores. 

1953 saw Perret conscripted into the army music corps for three years. At twenty, he was thus able to follow the courses at the Paris conservatoire. During this period he began writing his first songs, among which was "Rosette". He continued to spend many evenings in nightclubs and regularly saw Brassens, who encouraged him in his writing, which was already original and poetic.

He was also able to add to his literary and linguistic culture by assiduous visits to the writer Paul Léautaud, who lived a hermit's life. This did not stop young Perret from besieging him until his death in 1956. 

Thus, in 1957, Pierre Perret suddenly stepped from anonymity to fame as a singer, even if he had to wait many years before gaining true popular recognition. He was signed up in many Parisian night clubs, but it was more especially at the Colombe on the Ile de la Cité that he really learned his job. He brought out his first single, "Moi j'attends Adèle", and appeared at the Olympia for several editions of the radio programme Musicora, broadcast by the Europe 1 radio station to huge numbers of listeners. In December, he sang in Brussels.

It was at Barclay that he made the acquaintance of Simone Mazaltarim who became his partner, and whom he re-named Rebecca. Their first two children, the twins Alain and Anne, were born in 1957 too. 

However, he did not sell many records, and Barclay ended his contract for purely commercial reasons.

His youngest daughter, Julie, was born in September 1963. Perret's world was by then a happy one. The successes followed in quick succession: "Trop contente" in 64, "La Corrida" in 65, "les Jolies colonies de vacances" in 66 (the big hit that summer), and "Tonton Cristobal" in 67, were some of the most impressive ones. More than this, the radios and TV played his songs constantly. In 1963 he hired Lucien Morisse as his impresario, and thus found himself frequently on stage, especially in the first halves of concerts by artists as diverse as Nana Mouskouri or the … Rolling Stones ! 

In fact it was the lyrics which made him famous. Incisive, slangy, sometimes erotic, often playful and always poetic, Pierre Perret's words are his hallmark. He is often taken for a funny, entertaining fellow, but later he would prove his ability to evoke much more serious subjects.

At the end of the sixties, he appeared in Claude Autant-Lara's film "Patates", for which he also wrote the music. But the apprentice actor of Toulouse went no further in his acting career. 

In October 1970 he made a triumphant return to the Paris stage with a concert at Bobino. The following year, he signed another of his most famous songs, "La cage aux oiseaux", a sweet song sung by all the children. But it was in 1974 that he made his greatest hit, "Le Zizi" ("The willie") which is certainly one of the best known songs in French since the war. The album sold one million copies, plus the 5 million copies of the single since 1974, receiving no less than 16 golden discs!

During the seventies, Pierre Perret began to write lyrics more centred on problems of society, although they remained humorous. In 1977 he touched on racism in the superb "Lily" (Prix de la Ligue Contre le Racisme et l'Antisémitisme, Award of the League against racism and antisemitism). He regularly wrote about subjects such as the suburbs ("Y'a des gosses dans l'escalier", "There's kids in the stairs" in 81), abortion ("Elle attend son petit", "she's expecting a little 'un" in 81) or famine ("Riz pilé","mashed rice", in 89). He also delved into his memory for the lyrics of "Adieu Mr. Léautaud" on his friendship with the writer. 

The tours were never ending and sometimes in this period there were over 200 a year. This overfull timetable did not prevent him from travelling with the family, particularly between 75 and 78. It is true that he found his inspiration in them, not only for songs. In 1979 he published his second work, "Pensées". The years which followed were as busy with records as with the many books Pierre Perret published. The common denominator was the French language, which he explored in many ways. 

In 1979 he also brought out the album "Mon p'tit Loup", a still more tender theme. He returned to Bobino and sang before 200,000 people at the Fête de l'Huma, the huge annual French Communist Party meeting. He again appeared at Bobino in 1980, before going on a long tour. 

In the early nineties, he re-wrote the Fables of La Fontaine in slang. The three volumes of the work were hugely successful and used even in classrooms. 

It was only in 1992 that a new album came out, "Bercy Madeleine", followed in 1993 by a compendium of 250 songs from his repertoire, "Chansons de toute une vie" (songs from a whole life). Pierre Perret, the great defender of French song, was now one of its most famous names. As a friend of Georges Brassens he never ceased to combat what he viewed as a lack of interest showed to true authors by the media.

During the winter of 1993 he performed at the Casino de Paris for three weeks (January 26 - February 14) which were immediately sold out. But his literary and linguistic work continued. In 1995, he became interested in the vast repertoire of erotic poetry, of which he published an anthology. At the same time, he published an "Anthologie de la chanson érotique" ("Anthology of erotic song"), which sold over 300,000 copies. 

Although it was studded with successes, 1995 was nevertheless a sombre year for Pierre and Rebecca Perret, for their daughter, Julie, died in July. 

The same year, the singer, who owns a cellar of 20,000 bottles of the best wines, naturally published a new book on the art of eating, "La cuisine de ma femme" (my wife's cooking). He also brought out a new album on the inexhaustible theme of eroticism, "Chansons éroticocoquines".

The Casino de Paris 96 Live album came out in 1997.

Perret made a dramatic return to the French music scene in the winter of 98 with a hard-hitting and very serious new album entitled "La Bête est revenue" (The Beast Has Returned).The songs on this new album evoke a painful subject - the rise of the far-right in France - and Perret's frank lyrics do not beat about the bush. Indeed, the singer attacks the French National Front and its supporters in three very direct songs. Less light-hearted and humorous than Perret's previous work, this new album proves how deeply committed the singer is to addressing the social and political problems of the day.

At the end of October 2002, Pierre Perret brought out a new album entitled "Çui- Là." Darker than his usual material, the fourteen songs on it tackled topical social issues ranging from drugs and smoking to the problems of globalisation and international terrorism. The lyrics, written in Perret's inimitably crafted prose, integrated colourful street language and slang expressions. Meanwhile, Perret continued to indulge his obsession with the quirkier workings of the French language, publishing a book entitled "Le parler des métiers", in which he explored the vocabulary associated with 145 different professions.  

2005 proved to be a busy year for the man with the mischievous twinkle in his eye. On 1 January, Pierre Perret released a children’s album entitled "Chante et dessine avec Pierrot!" (Sing and Draw with Pierrot). The two-CD set, featuring vocal accompaniment by children from the Pierre-Perret nursery school in Valence d'Agen, included cute kiddie versions of the singer’s greatest hits accompanied by a colouring book and a special "karaoke" option which allowed Perret wannabes to sing along.

On 15 November 2005, Pierre Perret re-emerged on the music scene with "Le Monde de Pierrot", a double album featuring live versions of his old favourites. This was intended to keep fans happy as they waited for the release of his next album (scheduled for release in the spring of 2006 and on which he promised a return to classic 70s-style variété). Meanwhile, Pierre Perret was busy penning his autobiography "Le Café du Pont", published on 27 April 2006. This was a major turning-point in his career as the notoriously secretive Perret had never revealed much about his childhood before. "Le Café du Pont" retraced the singer’s life story in depth, going from his birth in Castelsarrasin, through the war years and various family anecdotes to his rise to fame. The autobiography was touching, sensitive and intelligently written in Perret’s own quirky style.

After four years’ intensive work on his new album, Perret made a comeback on the recording front on 18 April 2006 with the release of "Mélangez-vous" (Mix Yourselves!) Returning to the era of Brel, Brassens and Moustaki, Pierre Perret used his perfect mastery of the French language and his famously irreverent humour in songs that proved to be a lot more socially and politically committed than was his wont. "Mélangez-vous" tackled a range of topical issues including immigration. As the title suggests, the over-riding message of Perret’s new album urged a fusion of nationalities and ideas. This new-style Perret proved to be a big hit with fans, out-selling albums by the French music scene’s big hitters released around the same time.

Meanwhile, Perret committed himself to a new cause, campaigning against the French government’s project to change copyright laws and meeting Jean-Louis Debré, the president of the Assemblée Nationale, to present his case. Perret still found time to rehearse for a new French tour that kicked off on 21 September 2006 – and is due to last through until  April 2007.

The tour finally kicked off on 21 September 2007 and included a special appearance at the Olympia in October, celebrating the 50th anniversary of Perret’s career. Sprightly and as full of life as ever at the age of 72, the singer performed a series of songs written at different stages of his career. As usual, the veteran showman delighted his audience with his exceptional mixture of tenderness and humour.

Perret’s "Mélangez-vous" tour continued until May 2007. Then, in the autumn of that year, Perret made a major impact in the book world, publishing a book about photography ("Les petits métiers, d'Atget à Willy Ronis") and another about gastronomy ("Le Perret Gourmand.")

On 20 November, Pierre Perret made a welcome comeback on the recording front, releasing a new album entitled "Le Plaisir des dieux" on the Naïve label. The album revolved around a selection of bawdy popular songs which Perret claimed he had been dreaming of committing to disc for thirty years. Perret put his own mark on popular classics such as "Les Filles de Camaret", "Les Trois Orfèvres", "Le Plaisir des dieux", "Le Père Dupanloup", "Ô ma mère" and "Les poils du cul" (most of which had originally been written around 1870), freely adding, cutting and rearranging the lyrics as he went.

December 2007