5 cult moments in Serge Gainsbourg's career The french artist would have turned 97 today
From his iconic songs to his relationship with Jane Birkin, not to mention his faithful pair of white Repetto shoes and cigarette in hand, Serge Gainsbourg undoubtedly left a mark not only on the Francophone music scene of his time but also on French culture as a whole. It's no secret that the singer is associated with many actions, statements, and projects that today could be classified as problematic. Between his relationship with a married Brigitte Bardot, his conceptual album 'Histoire de Melody Nelson' about falling in love with a teenager when he was 43, his other conceptual album on Nazi Germany 'Nazi Rock', his duet with his daughter Charlotte called 'Lemon Incest', and his film 'Charlotte Forever', which mixes incest, alcoholism, and suicidal tendencies, the list goes on. But Serge Gainsbourg was also a complete artist, authentic, and crucial in the history of French music, who would have celebrated his 97th birthday today if his hedonistic lifestyle full of cigarettes and alcohol hadn't led to his death from a heart attack 34 years ago. So let's take advantage of this birthday he will never celebrate to take a step back and reflect on 5 iconic moments that not only marked his career but also the musical and popular culture of France and beyond.
His unrepressed tears in front of an army of mini Serge paying tribute to him
@milalillies Serge Gainsbourg était un maître de l'alchimie musicale, mélangeant jazz, pop et reggae en un son évocateur qui lui était propre. Ses paroles, enveloppées de controverse, reflétaient la complexité de son caractère : audacieux mais profondément sensible. Bien plus qu'un provocateur, Gainsbourg avait un cœur aussi grand que son art, capturant l'essence de la vie parisienne avec sa romance et sa mélancolie. Son héritage reste une exploration poignante de l'émotion humaine, transcendant le temps et les genres. #sergegainsbourg #france #art #fyp original sound - milalillies
Recently unearthed thanks to a meme that quickly spread across social networks, this sequence, which is quite funny with hindsight, was one of the most touching moments of Gainsbourg's career. On a completely ordinary Saturday evening on the set of 'Sébastien, c’est fou!', host Patrick Sébastien surprises Gainsbourg by bringing in the Petits Chanteurs d’Asnières choir. Composed of a bunch of young boys, probably around ten years old, all made up with fake beards, black glasses on their noses, whisky in one hand and cigarette in the other, they perform “I Came to Tell You That I'm Leaving”, one of the singer's most famous and touching songs, by revisiting the lyrics in a poignant tribute to Gainsbourg, who can't hold back his tears. This is understandable, given that the song, based on Paul Verlaine's poem Chanson d’automne, was written by Gainsbourg after his hospitalization following a heart attack from which he barely survived.
His press conference from a hospital bed
This hospital stay not only gave birth to this song, but it also generated another iconic moment in Gainsbourg’s career: a press conference given directly from his bed, in a white hospital gown. While hospitalized, the lack of public attention that the singer was used to began to take its toll. To remedy this, he invited the press to the hospital where he was recovering, during a conference in which he stated that he planned to reduce the risk of a second heart attack by "increasing his consumption of alcohol and cigarettes". Upon his departure, various medication bottles filled with cigarette butts from his hidden smoking during his rest period were found in the back of his hospital room.
The time he burned a 500 franc note live on TV
@allison_jungling_ En mars 1984, Serfe Gainsbourg brulait un billet de 500 francs en direct à la télévision. Une image qui m’a toujours marqué. Est-ce que toi aussi cet épisode t’a marqué ? #gainsbourg #impots #vivredelimmobilier #motivation son original - Allison Jungling
But beyond his various health issues, his addiction to alcohol and cigarettes, which he smoked everywhere and all the time, what we mainly remember are his many TV appearances, which were often quite eventful. One of the most memorable of these appearances was probably when he burned a 500 franc note live on TV. It was March 11, 1984, Serge Gainsbourg was on the set of TF1 and was not happy about the tax rate imposed on him. Always accompanied by his suitcase containing his beloved cigarettes as well as 500 franc bills - which he could use as tips for a waiter or give to his daughter as pocket money, as she later explained - he decided to burn one in an act of rebellion. Although punishable by law, this action had no consequences for the singer, but it did for his daughter, whose classmates burned her homework as a punishment for her father’s contempt for money.
The time he hit on Whitney Houston, live on TV
@paloulou293522 # Serge Gainsbourg #Whitney Houston #tele #momentcultes son original - Palou29
Another TV set, another scandal: in addition to setting money on fire, Serge Gainsbourg is also remembered for his lack of tact and restraint in his words, not even (perhaps even less) in front of a camera or a famous guest. This is the case when he very explicitly shared with Whitney Houston his attraction to her. One evening in 1986, after performing on Michel Drucker's show, the singer found himself sitting next to Gainsbourg. He wasted no time when he told her in the clearest of terms (in borderline English made even shakier by alcohol) "I want to fuck with you". Six words that neither French TV nor Houston are likely to forget.
His reggae version of the French national anthem
@sergegainsbourg_and_co Serge Gainsbourg -Aux Armes et caetera -Le Zénith de Gainsbourg 1988 #sergegainsbourg #gainsbourg #live #paris #chansonfrancaise #artist Aux armes et caetera - Live au Théatre Le Palace / 1979 / Remastered - Serge Gainsbourg
This last iconic action does not involve a hospital bed, a TV set, or even a punishable act, though it was not well received by some very patriotic French people. In 1979, Gainsbourg was in Jamaica recording ‘Aux Armes Et Caetera’, a reggae-inspired album resulting from a collaboration with reggae legends Sly & Robbie, who accompanied Gainsbourg on his tour. While the album contains 12 tracks, one in particular quickly became iconic: the cover of La Marseillaise. Staying true to his provocative style, Gainsbourg skillfully turned the controversy in his favor, which helped propel the album into one of his biggest successes. Aux Armes Et Caetera sold over 600,000 copies in France and is now considered one of the first albums to have popularized reggae to the general public.
