Lucienne Boyer

Biography

Lucienne Boyer (18 August 1901 – 6 December 1983) was a French entertainer and musician, best known for her song "Parlez-moi d'amour×Parlez-moi d'amourJuly 1957 · EPSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 4 tracksA1Parlez-moi d'amour2:59A2Nostalgie3:06B1Le Doux Caboulot2:40B2Moi j'aime ça3:03". Her impresario was Bruno Coquatrix. According to The New York Times, she "reigned as queen of Paris nightlife during the 1930s".

Early career

She was born Émilienne-Henriette Boyer in Montparnasse, Paris, France. Her melodious voice gave her the chance to begin singing in cabarets at age 16, while also working as a part-time model. An office position at a prominent Parisian theater opened the door for her and within a few years, under the name Lucienne Boyer, she began singing in major Parisian music halls.

Popular success

In 1927, Boyer sang at a concert featuring Félix Mayol, where she was seen by the American impresario Lee Shubert, who immediately offered her a contract to work on Broadway. Boyer spent nine months in New York City, returning to perform there and to South America numerous times throughout the 1930s.
By 1933, she had made a large number of recordings for Columbia Records of France, including her signature song, "Parlez-moi d'amour×Parlez-moi d'amourJuly 1957 · EPSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 4 tracksA1Parlez-moi d'amour2:59A2Nostalgie3:06B1Le Doux Caboulot2:40B2Moi j'aime ça3:03" (Speak to Me of Love). Written by Jean Lenoir, the song won the first-ever Grand Prix du Disque of the Charles Cros Academy.

Personal life

Boyer's father died while he served as a soldier in World War I. Due to the loss, she worked in a munitions factory to provide for her family.
In 1939, she married the cabaret singer Jacques Pills of the musical duo Pills et Tabet. Their daughter, Jacqueline, was born on 23 April 1941. Following in their footsteps, Jacqueline became a singer who went on to win the Eurovision Song Contest in 1960.
Throughout World War II, Boyer continued to perform in France, but for her Jewish husband, it was a very difficult time. Following the Allied Forces liberation of France, her cabaret career flourished and for another thirty years, she maintained a loyal following. At the age of 73, she sang with her daughter at the famous Paris Olympia and appeared on several French television shows.

Death

In 1983, Boyer died in Paris and was interred in the Cimetière de Bagneux in Montrouge.