Maxime Le Forestier

Biography

Maxime Le Forestier (French: [maksim lə fɔʁɛstje]; born 10 February 1949 as Bruno Jean Bernard Le Forestier) is a French singer-songwriter.

Life and career

Bruno Le Forestier was born on 10 February 1949 in Paris to Robert Le Forestier and Genevieve (née Lili 1917–2010), who had lived in England. He had two older sisters, Annette (born 1943) and Catherine (born 1946).
His musical training started on the violin. He attended the Lycée Condorcet, where he studied literature.
In 1965, he formed a duo (Cat et Maxime) with his sister Catherine. Playing at cabaret venues on Paris' Left Bank, the pair met and formed a friendship with Georges Moustaki. They were amongst the first artists to cover a number of songs by Moustaki – including Ma Liberté and Ma Solitude. In 1968, Catherine joined Moustaki as a backing singer. Le Forestier began to focus on songwriting and composed Ballade pour un traître which was recorded and released by the French/Italian singer and actor, Serge Reggiani.
Le Forestier continued as part-time singer/songwriter during his military service (beginning 1969) with a parachute regiment (the inspiration for the song Parachutiste). He recorded two songs: Cœur de Pierre, Face de Lune, and La Petite Fugue.
His military service ending September 1970, Le Forestier refocused on his musical career. He developed a folksy style which was enormously popular in the 1970s and 1980s. He and his sister spent the summer of 1971 living in the Castro District of San Francisco at the invitation of his friend, Luc Alexandre. The experience, and meeting Allen Ginsberg, was the inspiration of a popular song, San Francisco.
His first album Mon Frère, released in 1973, contains several pieces that have entered French folklore, including the title song Mon frère, San Francisco, Comme un arbre and Education sentimentale. He toured extensively, both in France and abroad. In 1976, he toured in 14 cities in the USSR. He has also released several albums covering songs by Georges Brassens.

In popular culture

"San Francisco", one of his best known songs, begins with the line: "C'est une maison bleue adossée à la colline" (meaning "It's a blue house with its back to the hill"). In 1971, a young Le Forestier was living in a hippie commune, called "Hunga Dunga", in a blue house situated at 3841 18th Street in San Francisco. The anthemic song was written as a fond tribute to Le Forestier's housemates and hippie friends, and the names mentioned in the song refer to real people. These include Phil Polizatto, who recalls with great affection Le Forestier's stay in the blue house, in a critically acclaimed book entitled "Hunga Dunga: Confessions of an Unapologetic Hippie". In the summer of 2011, the house was repainted from light green to its original blue, and a plaque dedicated to Le Forestier was unveiled by the French Consul, pointing to the cultural importance of the song in French popular culture.

Philanthropy

Maxime Le Forestier has participated in Les Enfoirés, the annual concert to raise money for the charity Restaurants du Cœur, since 1995.

Albums

1970: Maxime Le Forestier
1972: Mon frère
1973: Le Steak
1974: Enregistrement public (live)
1975: Saltimbanque
1976: Hymne à Sept Temps
1979: Chante Brassens
1980: Les rendez-vous manqués
1978: N° 5
1981: Dans ces histoires...
1983: Les jours meilleurs
1986: After shave
1988: Né quelque part
1989: Bataclan 1989 (live)
1991: Sagesse du fou
1995: Passer ma route
1996: Chienne de route (live)
1996: 12 nouvelles de Brassens (Petits bonheurs posthumes (2 cd)
1998: Le cahier (4 cd, live)
2000: L'écho des étoiles
2002: Plutôt guitare (2 cd, live)
2008: Restons amants
2013: Le cadeau
2014: Olympia 2014 (live)
2019: Paraître ou ne pas être

Selected songs

1972: "Mon frère"
1972: "San Francisco"
1972: "Éducation sentimentale"
1972: "Parachutiste"
1972: "Comme un arbre"
1973: "Dialogue"
1973: "Entre 14 et 40 ans, février de cette année-là"
1975: "Saltimbanque×Saltimbanque1975 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 10 tracksA1Saltimbanque3:11A2La Poupée4:14A3L’Irresponsable4:57A4Caricature3:35A5Voyage au moyen‐âge3:42B1Petit Robot3:41B2La Vie d’un homme4:43B3Les Lettres7:37B4Notre vie en rose1:57B5L’Auto‐stop2:27"
1978: "Je veux quitter ce monde heureux"
1980: "Approximative"
1983: "Les jours meilleurs×Les Jours meilleurs1998 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 8 tracks1Les Jours meilleurs5:142Les Images4:203Coïncidences3:024Shéhérazade et sa sœur4:395La Salle des pas perdus5:176Cap’tain Black3:527Patineuse5:008Qui c’est l’type en noir ?2:56"
1983: "La salle des pas perdus"
1987: "Né quelque part×Né quelque part1988 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 10 tracks1Né quelque part3:592Les Deux Mains prises3:033Une cousine3:484Si je te perds3:335La Visite4:016Frissons d'avril3:487Les Mots et les Gestes3:198Ambalaba3:489Les Nuits douces3:2510Cool heure3:57"
1988: "Ambalaba×Ambalaba1988 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 2 tracksAAmbalaba3:47BCool heure3:57"
1991: "Bille de verre"
1995: "Passer ma route×Passer ma route1994 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 12 tracks1Inutile4:122Cicatrices3:273Chienne d'idée3:514Le Code3:405Raymonde4:176Choisissez-moi3:147Photo-finish3:018Tu peux partir3:079La Tache sur la robe4:1110Passer ma route8:0811Marin du cap4:4212La Petite Fugue2:05"
1995: "Chienne d'idée×Chienne d'idée1996 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 2 tracks1Chienne d'idée3:492Inutile4:11"
2000: "L'Homme au bouquet de fleurs"
2008: "Restons amants×Restons amants19 May 2008 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 12 tracks1L’Ère étrange3:042Grain d’sel2:563Restons amants2:394Tuer l’temps3:255Histoire grise3:346Là‐bas la Terre3:367Le Juge et la Blonde2:278Sur deux tons2:389La Meute et le Troupeau4:2210Tell’ment je m’aime2:5911Empreintes3:0512Hymne à la soie3:02"
2008: "Grain d'sel"
2013: "Mon frère"
2013: "Le p'tit air"
Selected collaborations and guest appearances
1980: Enregistrement public au Palais des sports (live double album w/ Graeme Allwright)
2009: Les Enfoirés 2009 - Les Enfoirés font leur cinéma ("Toi + moi", sung by Maurane, Le Forestier, Keim, Darmon, Zenatti, De Palmas, Foly, Leroy, Les Enfoirés)