Il pleut sur Bruxelles (It rains on Brussels ) is a 1981 song by Dalida in memory of Belgian singer Jacques Brel, who died three years earlier. The song was featured on her album Olympia 81 and also released as a single, with Et la vie continuera as B-side. [1] The song was written by Jeff Barnel and Michel Jouveaux. [2] [3]
The lyrics make reference to various characters and locations from Brel's songs, particularly Jef, Mathilde , Ces Gens-Là , Amsterdam , Marieke , Les Flamandes , Vésoul, Titine, Madeleine, J'Arrive, Jojo , La Fanette, Fernand and Jacky . [4] [5] The song title refers to Brel's song Bruxelles, but could also be a nod to Il neige sur Liège (It snows on Liège ).
Édith Piaf was a French singer, lyricist and actress. Noted as France's national chanteuse, she was one of the country's most widely known international stars.
Jacques Romain Georges Brel was a Belgian singer and actor who composed and performed theatrical songs. He generated a large, devoted following—initially in Belgium and France, but later throughout the world. He is considered a master of the modern chanson.
Iolanda Cristina Gigliotti, professionally known as Dalida, was an Italian-French singer and actress, born in Egypt. With around 140 million records sold worldwide, she is one of the best-selling music artists to have come from Italy. Her best known songs are "Bambino", "Gondolier", "Les enfants du Pirée", "Le temps des fleurs", "Darla dirladada", "J'attendrai", "Le jour où la pluie viendra", "Gigi l'amoroso", "Salama ya salama", and "Paroles, paroles" featuring spoken word by Alain Delon.
Grand Jacques is the début album by Belgian singer-songwriter Jacques Brel.
Salvatore Adamo is a Belgian-Italian musician, singer and composer, who is known for his romantic ballads. Adamo was born in Comiso, Sicily, Italy, and has lived in Belgium since the age of three, which is why he has dual citizenship.
Jean-Baptiste Madou was a Belgian painter and lithographer.
"Paroles, paroles" is a song by French singer Dalida featuring French actor Alain Delon. It was released on 17 January 1973 as the lead single from her upcoming album Julien (1973). Lyrics describe the conversation of a man offering a woman caramels, bonbons et chocolat followed with shower of compliments, to what she says they mean nothing to her because they are just paroles – empty words. The song achieved big success in France and internationally, especially in Japan and Mexico, becoming one of the most recognizable French songs of all time. The first video clip was released in 2019, over 46 years after the songs's release.
Olympia 81 is a French-language album released in 1981 by French singer Dalida. The album was highly successful and received a gold certification.
Serge Lama is a French singer and songwriter.
Diane Tell is a Canadian musician who was born in Quebec City, Quebec. She entered the Val d’Or conservatory at the age of six. She continued her studies at the Montréal conservatory and then at CEGEP Saint-Laurent and she wrote her first songs at the age of twelve. As one of Québec's pioneering female singer-songwriters, she proposed her personal repertoire over the course of her first four albums. She won six Félix prizes before the age of 25: breakout artist, best artist, best album, best song and, twice, songwriter of the year. Several of her songs have become SOCAN Classics and Si j’étais un homme was inducted in the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2017. She earned a MIDEM Award for her album Chimères and a Victoire Award for her album Faire à nouveau connaissance. In 1990, she was chosen by Plamondon, Berger and Savary to play a leading role in the musical La légende de Jimmy. Following that, she played the lead and composed the score for another musical, Marilyn Montreuil, written and stage directed by Jérôme Savary and the Théâtre National du Chaillot, in Paris. Over 300 performances of both shows were presented in France and Europe. Over the past 25 years, Tell has toured relentlessly, written, composed and recorded in Canada, France, the U.K. and Switzerland. In 2018, she produced her 15th studio album of original material in Montréal. As an independent artist, she owns the phonographic rights of her entire catalogue, manages her own publishing company, and produces and finances her albums herself. Also a photographer, she directs the majority of her music videos. Her YouTube channel gets 400,000 views per month on average. In her blog, Diane Cause Musique, she engages up-and-coming artists by explaining the inner workings of the music industry.
Henri Storck was a Belgian writer, filmmaker and documentarist.
"Ne me quitte pas" is a 1959 song by Belgian singer-songwriter Jacques Brel. It has been covered in the original French by many artists and has also been translated into and performed in many other languages. A well-known adaptation, with English lyrics by Rod McKuen, is "If You Go Away".
Claudine Luypaerts, better known as Maurane, was a Francophone Belgian singer and actress.
Les Compagnons de la chanson were a French harmony vocal group, formed in 1946 from an earlier group founded in Lyon, France in 1941. Their best known song was "Les trois cloches" recorded with Edith Piaf in 1946. They were eight or nine members in the group, and they were popular in France with some success internationally, and they continued to perform until 1985.
François Charles de Velbrück was a German ecclesiastic. He was prince bishop of Liege from 16 February 1772 to 1784.
Philippe-Charles or Philip Carel Schmerling was a Dutch/Belgian prehistorian, pioneer in paleontology, and geologist. He is often considered the founder of paleontology.
Boîte à Bonbons is a 16-CD box set compilation of the recorded songs of Jacques Brel. The limited edition box set was released to mark the 25th anniversary of Jacques Brel's death. The box set includes 15 albums remastered from the original records. CD digipacks are presented in their original sleeve with lyrics. The box set also includes an illustrated booklet with various pictures, a biography, and Brel's citations and testimonies. Also included are five never before released songs from the recording sessions of the album Les Marquises. Included with the booklet is a bonus CD containing 28 titles: 26 songs from Radio Hasselt recorded 14 and 21 August 1953, a recording from the Brel family's private collection, and a 1962 recording from the Dutch television show AVRO. The box set is also available in an alternate velvet box format with CDs in crystal cases.
Il Neige sur Liège is a 1963 song written and performed by Jacques Brel.
