Georges Moustaki facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Georges Moustaki
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At the Grand Gala du Disque Populaire, 1974
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Giuseppe Mustacchi |
| Born | 3 May 1934 Alexandria, Egypt |
| Died | 23 May 2013 (aged 79) Nice, France |
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Georges Moustaki (born Giuseppe Mustacchi; May 3, 1934 – May 23, 2013) was a famous singer and songwriter from Egypt and France. He was known for writing around 300 songs for many popular French singers, like Édith Piaf and Dalida. He also sang his own songs.
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Early Life in Egypt
Georges Moustaki was born Giuseppe Mustacchi in Alexandria, Egypt, on May 3, 1934. His parents, Sarah and Nessim Mustacchi, were Greek Jews from the island of Corfu. They loved French culture and moved to Egypt, where Giuseppe was born.
His family owned a bookshop called Cité du Livre in Alexandria, a city where many different cultures lived together. Giuseppe's father spoke five languages, and his mother spoke six! At home, Giuseppe and his two older sisters spoke Italian. In the streets, they spoke Arabic. Their parents sent them to a French school, which is where they learned French.
Life in France and Music Career
When Georges was 17, he visited Paris for a summer holiday. He loved it so much that his father let him move there. He started by selling poetry books door-to-door. Soon, he began playing the piano and singing in Paris nightclubs. This is where he met many famous performers of that time.
His music career really took off when a young singer-songwriter named Georges Brassens helped him. Brassens introduced him to other artists and thinkers in Paris. Georges Moustaki admired Brassens so much that he decided to use "Georges" as his first name, in honor of the only musician he called his "master."
Moustaki said he loved music because he grew up listening to many French singers, including Édith Piaf and Yves Montand.
Meeting Édith Piaf
In the late 1950s, Moustaki met Édith Piaf, who was a huge star. A friend praised Moustaki's songwriting so much that Piaf, who was at the top of her fame, asked to hear his songs. Moustaki later said, "I picked up a guitar and I was terrible. But something must have touched her." She invited him to her show and asked him to show her his songs again later.
He soon started writing songs for Piaf. One of their most famous songs together was "Milord." It's about a working-class girl who falls in love with a rich British traveler. This song became a number one hit in Germany in 1960 and was also popular in the UK. Many artists, like Bobby Darin and Cher, have sung it since then.
Piaf loved Moustaki's music because it had a mix of jazz and other styles from outside France.
Becoming a Performer
After writing songs for famous singers for ten years, Moustaki started a successful career as a performer himself. He sang in many languages, including French, Italian, English, Greek, Portuguese, Arabic, and Spanish.
His songwriting was most popular in the 1960s and 1970s. He wrote songs like "Sarah" for Serge Reggiani and "La Longue Dame brune" for the singer Barbara.
In 1969, Moustaki wrote the song "Le Métèque." The word 'métèque' was a rude term for an immigrant from the Mediterranean. In the song, he described himself as a "wandering Jew" and a "Greek shepherd." Record companies didn't want to produce it, so Moustaki sang it himself on a small record. It became a huge hit in France, staying at number one for six weeks! Moustaki said the song became "a hymn of anti-racism and the right to be different."
He also adapted songs by other artists. In 1971, he changed the song "Here's to You" by Ennio Morricone and Joan Baez into "Marche de Sacco et Vanzetti" for his album "Il y avait un jardin" (meaning "There was a garden"). In 1972, he helped make two songs by Mikis Theodorakis popular in French.
Moustaki's ideas about life were shown in his 1973 song "Déclaration" (meaning "Declaration"). He sang, "I declare a permanent state of happiness and the right of everyone to every privilege. I say that suffering is a sacrilege when there are roses and white bread for everyone."
He became a French citizen in 1985.
In 2008, after 50 years of performing all over the world, Moustaki recorded his last album, Solitaire.
In 2009, during a concert in Barcelona, he told the audience that it would be his last public performance. He explained that he could no longer sing because of a serious lung illness.
Moustaki married Annick "Yannick" Cozannec when he was 20. Their daughter, Pia, was born the next year. They lived in Paris for many years, but his lung illness later made him move to the French Riviera for warmer, cleaner air.
In his last interview in February 2013, Moustaki said, "I regret not being able to sing in my bathroom. But singing in public, no. I've done it all.... I've witnessed magical moments."
Death and Tributes
Georges Moustaki passed away on May 23, 2013, in a hospital in Nice, France. He had been battling a lung disease called emphysema for a long time.
Many important people shared their sadness and respect for him. The French president, François Hollande, called Moustaki a "hugely talented artist whose popular and committed songs have marked generations of French people." The French Culture Minister, Aurélie Filippetti, praised him as "an artist with convictions who conveyed humanist values... and a great poet." The Mayor of Paris, Bertrand Delanoë, remembered Moustaki as "a citizen of the world who was in love with liberty, a true rebel until his last days."
Moustaki's funeral was held on May 27, 2013. His wife Annick and daughter Pia were there, along with the French Culture Minister and many famous people from the entertainment world.
Georges Moustaki was buried in Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris, following Jewish traditions. His grave is just a few meters from where his former friend and singing partner, Édith Piaf, is buried.
Discography (Selected Albums)
Studio Albums
- 1969 : Le Métèque
- 1971 : Il y avait un jardin
- 1973 : Déclaration
- 1974 : Les Amis de Georges
- 2008 : Solitaire
Concert Albums
- 1970 : Bobino 70 – Le temps de vivre
- 2001 : Olympia 2000
Filmography (Selected)
Cinema
- 1972 : Mendiants et Orgueilleux directed by Jacques Poitrenaud : as "Hadjis"
Television
- 1998 : Le Comte de Monte-Cristo, a TV mini-series : as "Father Faria"
See also
In Spanish: Georges Moustaki para niños
