France: a biography of André Claveau

by Yann Messina 1,006 views

A few weeks ago, a biography on André Claveau, the very first French Eurovision Song Contest winner in 1958, was published. 

A true French crooner, André Claveau was a very popular singer back in the 1940s and 1950s, counting more than 1,500 songs including massive hits such as Domino and Bon anniversaire. Charlie Chaplin himself would compare him to famous American singer and actor Bing Crosby. And it was with no surprise to many that André Claveau went on to win the Eurovision Song Contest held in Hilversum in 1958 with the song Dors, mon amour, becoming the very first man to win the contest and giving France a first victory on the European stage.

André Claveau, known as the “Prince of the Chanson”, was also a very well known actor and radio presenter on Radio Luxembourg. With the growing popularity of rock’n’roll music in France, André Claveau decided to put an end to his artistic career at the end of the 1960s and enjoyed a very peaceful life till his death in 2003 aged 91.

For the very first time, thanks to the work of young journalist Pierre-Yves Paris, a book tells everything about the life and the career of  André Claveau. Titled André Claveau, ne m’oubliez pas, this very well documented biography pays a very nice tribute to this exceptional artist, including plenty of anecdotes about the early years of the Eurovision Song Contest.