Reprinted in part from "SHOWBIZ, PIONEERS, BEST SINGERS, ENTERTAINERS AND MUSICIANS FROM 1606 TO THE PRESENT", Volume IV of the WORLD WHO'S WHO IN JAZZ, CABARET, MUSIC AND ENTERTAINMENT", published by TimesSquarePress and the Federation of American Musicians, Singers and Performing Artists (FAMSPA). Pages 1920-1940. Author of the book: Maximillien de Lafayette
Photo: Marlene Dietrich.
For instance, to learn about Bouzouki, you don’t have to read about it in the music section of The New York Times or research it at the Library of Congress. You just live it. You experience it. A Greek Bouzouki player in Crete, Phyrea or La Plaka cannot be copied or duplicated on Broadway. French cabaret chanteuses feel the same way about “Le Cabaret.”
Your accent is primordial. Please madame, learn how to pronounce “e” in French. “E” is pronounced “eu”, not eh or ee! By birth, Paris-born chanteuses inherited a pure French cabaret accent, and this is a privileged advantage. The history of French cabaret told us alarming and entertaining stories about French singers who came to Paris to work as chanteuses in Parisian cabarets, and were rejected, simply because they did not have a good Parisian accent! One of them was the legendary Mistinguett, who, years later, became the undisputed queen of the world of Parisian cabarets. Mistinguett came to Paris from la campagne “countryside”. Her campagne accent was considered vulgar by Parisian standards. She had to learn how speak French with a Parisian accent. In other words, she had to learn French, the Parisian way! It seems ridiculous, mais c’est la vie! So, my advice to non French-speaking singers who aspire to sing in French is to acquire a Parisian accent or at least a proper French accent. It breaks my heart to hear some superstars and cabaret divas in America who still pronounce the French “E”, EH. For God’s sake, Madame, E in French is Eu, very sweet Eu, and not EH or EY! It is not impossible to acquire a good Parisian cabaret accent. Johanne Blouin, Deborah Boily, Debbie de Coudreaus, Anna Bergman, Suzanne Petri, Barb Jungr, Amanda McBroom, Andrea Marcovicci and Carol Welsman –to name a few– sing perfectly in French.
Perfect your craft. Be as authentic as possible:
If you are not a French-born singer, and you want to sing in French, please observe the following: 1-Jacques Brel and Edith Piaf are NOT your only source of French cabaret material. Please try to understand, Brel and Piaf were never considered cabaret singers in France! Explore and use the repertoire of other formidable and authentic French cabaret singers, like Mistinguett, Josephine Baker, Line Renaud, Patachou, Catherine Sauvage, Barbara, and Zizi Jeanmaire. 2-Perfect your French accent. Bad pronunciation of intimate and romantic French words will kill your cabaret act. 3-Avoid cliché and over-exposed, over-used, over-consumed French cabaret songs, like “Les Feuilles Mortes” and “La Vie en Rose”! 4-Learn “new” old songs of the golden era of Parisian cabaret. Songs like: “Tout fout l’camp”, “La guinguette” by Damia. 5-Search and research, update and revive your repertoire. Get music sheets of Lucienne Boyer, Zizi Jeanmaire, Yvonne Printemps, Catherine Sauvage, Jean Constantin, Charles Dumont, Damia, Bourvil, Dalida, Lucienne Boyer, Barbara, Gribouille, Aragon, Prevert, Fréhel, Maurice Chevalier, Sacha Guitry, Jean Cocteau, Yves Montand. 6-Never wear boots and extremely high heels on stage. Many American singers and particularly New Yorkers tend to do that! 7-Always, wear a black dress, simple but classy and stylish. 8-Avoid slang and borrowed jokes, while performing on stage. 9-Don’t ever tell the audience that you have studied 5 years of French in school but you forgot all of it. 10-Always, and always and always, incorporate soft, slow and up beat French songs in your repertoire. For instance, if you like very much “L’Hymne a L’Amour”, add songs like “Mon Manege a Moi C’est Toi”, or “Paris Canaille”, or “Padam Padam”. And if you like the genre of “Ne Me quittes Pas”, add songs like “La Foule”, “D’Aventures en Aventures”, “Elsa”, “Les Deux Guitares”, “La Bohème”. This should do it for now.