The French composer Eddy Marnay, has died at the age of 82. He had written more than 4000 songs for many worldwide artists, including three songs which featured in the Eurovision Song Contest.

Eddy Marnay was the man behind Un Jour, Un Enfant (One day, one child) in collaboration with his friend Émile Stern, they won the Eurovision Song Contest in 1969 with this song performed by Frida Boccara. He also wrote two other Eurovision songs, in 1970 for Luxembourg Je suis tombé du ciel (I fell from heaven) and in 1979 for France Je suis l’enfant soleil (I’m the sun child).

He also wrote songs for many artists like Yves Montant, Marie Laforêt, Henri Salvador, Bourvil and Nana Mouskouri. He became the regular composer of Michel Legrand in the 60’s.

In the early 80’s he met a young Céline Dion. He wrote the songs for her first albums and helped to launch her career in the French speaking world. ”Eddy Marnay was the guardian angel of the first steps of my childhood, of my life, he wrote more than 60 songs for me. My five first albums, he wrote,” Céline Dion claimed Friday on a press conference. ”He was my father in the show business, he always knew how to protect me, he was a great friend, with a wonderful sense of humour, he had an answer for everything. I had never met somebody like him, the singer said. Eddy Marnay usually called Céline Dion ”La voix du bon dieu” (The voice of God).