Item 1132 - La roulotte des gitans

Fernand Bonifay was one of the most important French songwriters of the 1950s and 1960s. He had Provençale forbearers but was born in the Paris in the 13th arrondissement. Drawn to art, he nevertheless studied the violin and drama. His first success in songwriting came in 1953, with “Les Carabiniers de Castille,” sung by Line Margy. That same year he wrote “Petit fleur,” a song put to the music of jazzman Sidney Bechet; this song has been interpreted by dozens of singing stars. Throughout the decade his songs were sung by Tino Rossi, Gilbert Bécaud, and Petula Clark and others. In 1957 his operetta, “Coquin de Printemps” ran for a year in Paris. In the 60s his success continued as he revised his style toward more exotic melodies of the “Yé-yé” period, as he wrote for singers like Dalida, Sacha Distel, Richard Anthony, and Johnny Halliday. In the IMDb he is credited for the lyrics of songs in the soundtracks of 21 films. During the 60s seven of his songs were among the top 15 in the French equivalent of the hit parade. He wrote around 2,500 songs in 30 years. During the 70s he was producer and host of television shows such as “Les Moineaux de Paris” and “Club des Jumeaux.” In 2013, for the 20th anniversary of his death, his cousin, Andrée Bonifay, had the idea of making a CD of his songs sung by young singers from the Var region where he spent his last years.