Biography

Belgian singer/songwriter Jacques Brel created and performed a catalog of literate, thoughtful, and theatrical songs that brought him a large, devoted following in France. His audience eventually extended internationally, making him a major influence on English-speaking writers and performers including Leonard Cohen and David Bowie, while translations of his songs were recorded by a wide range of performers. His lyrics, delving into personal, dark, and adult subjects, are in keeping with the trend toward frankness and seriousness of popular songwriting from Bob Dylan on and even anticipate that trend. His work, as translated into often bowdlerized English, has extended his influence as a songwriter across genres. ~ William Ruhlmann

Top Tracks

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• Amsterdam

• Au Suivant (next)

• Bruxelles

• C'est Comme Ça

• J'arrive

• Jaurès

• Je Suis Un Soir D'Été

• Jef

• Knokke-le-zoute Tango

• L' Aventure

• La Bastille

• La Bière

• La Bourrée Du Célibataire

• La Chanson De Jacky

• La Chanson Des Vieux Amants

• La Haine

• La Statue

• La Valse A Mille Temps

• La Valse À Mille Temps

• Le Diable (Ça Va)

• Le Lion

• Le Moribond

• Le Plat Pays

• Le Tango Funèbre

• Le Troubadour

• Les Biches

• Les Bigotes

• Les Bonbons

• Les Bourgeois

• Les Bourgeois (the Middle Class)

• Les Désespérés

• Les E...

• Les Flamandes

• Les Marquises

• Madeleine

• Mathilde

• Ne Me Quitte Pas

• Ne Me Quitte Pas (don't Leave Me)

• Plat Pays

Discography

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• Brel

  Barclay/Polygram

  1977

• Pierre et le Loup/L'Histoire de Babar

  Polygram

  1969

• Jacques Brel 6: J'Arrive

  Barclay

  1968

• Encore

  Reprise

  1966

• Jacques Brel [Reprise]

  Reprise

  1965

• Olympia 64

  Barclay

  1964

• Jacques Brel 6

  Barclay

  1964

• Jacques Brel Accompagne Pas François Rauber et Son Orchestra

  Barclay

  1963

• American Début

  Sony Music Distribution

  1959

• Jacques Brel 4

  Philips

  1959

• Jacques Brel 3

  Philips

  1958

• Jacques Brel 2

  Philips

  1957

• Jacques Brel et Ses Chansons

  Philips

  1955