Yodelin' Slim Clark born 11 December 1917

Raymond LeRoy Clark (December 11, 1917 - July 5, 2000) known professionally as Yodelin' Slim Clark was an American musician known for his yodeling.

He was born in Springfield, Massachusetts, the son of Mr. and Mrs. Charles Clark. Two of the biggest influences on Slim's music and career were Jimmie Rodgers and Wilf Carter (Montana Slim). 

Around 1930, after hearing a Montana Slim national radio broadcast, he decided to become a cowboy singer. "A cowboy," he said, "is anyone who lives that type of life, no matter where he is." 

Slim completed two years of high school, at which time he became a professional musician at the age of 15 in 1932 - however, he was performing at grange halls and fairs as early as 1930.

His early days included performances at WHAI in Greenfield, Massachusetts and WKNE in Keene, New Hampshire. In 1936, he went on the air as "Wyoming Buck" and a few months later the 
radio station manager renamed him "Yodeling Slim Clark" - which was his trademark throughout his career. His performances at WKNE starting in 1938 included a memorable weekly show with legendary Keene announcer Ozzie Wade

In 1945, Slim began spending his summers in Maine, and in 1952 he became a resident there. He was married to Celia Jo Roberson Clark in 1943. He had two children with Celia, Jewel LaVerne 

Clark and Wilf Carter Clark, both of whom have pursued careers in music, including yodeling. (He was divorced from Celia in 1968)

Though primarily known as a single act, Slim's bands included the "Red River Rangers", "The Trailriders" and "The Trailsmen". Country music favourites Kenny Roberts and Dick Curless (The Tumbleweed Kid) were members of the Red River Rangers and the Trailriders, respectively. In 1946, Slim signed with Continental Records in New York City, at the urging of yodeler Elton Britt. He made his first 78 rpm recording that same year.

                            

The songs he recorded at Continental were largely traditional cowboy and folk tunes, along with a few Wilf Carter songs and some originals, often co-written with Pete Roy. Clark stayed with the label until 1957, followed by associations with several 

independent labels. He cut four singles for Doc Williams' Wheeling label in 1953 and later made an album for the Canadian Arc label. In 1965, Clark recorded a few excellent albums for Palomino records.

During his very active career, Slim recorded over 50 78s, 40 45s and over 25 albums. Copies of his old 78s are in the Library at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, and have become collector's items. Slim also appeared coast-to-coast on both the NBC network and the ABC network on different jamborees. He was featured on Folk Music USA. Slim performed western music for 70 years. He gained popularity throughout the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and Europe with only a handful of appearances outside his lifelong New England base. After a partial 

retirement in the early 1970s, he recorded for Palomino Records, and played many festivals during the summertime. He re-married in 1981 to Dr. Kathleen M. Pigeon Clark.

Slim s confidence was challenged when he suffered a heart attack that triggered emergency surgery. He spent more time at home although still performed at the occasional bluegrass or country festival, where he was always surprised at the enthusiastic response of the crowds. In retirement, most of his time was spent painting. He became recognized for his lifelike paintings of outdoors scenes—one of his most popular paintings being that of a Lombard Log hauler.

Slim won the World Yodeling Championship in 1947 and was inducted into the Yodeler's Hall of Fame, along with Jimmie Rodgers, Elton Britt, and Wilf Carter. He was a member of the Western Music Association's Hall of Fame. He is represented in the Walkway of Stars at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum in Nashville. Slim died in St. Albans, Maine on July 5, 2000. Kathleen Clark still resides there.

In November 2000, he was posthumously inducted into the Cowboy Hall of Fame. He was also inducted into the Maine Country Music Hall of Fame, Massachusetts Country Music Hall of Fame and the Rhode Island Country Music Hall of Fame.  (Edited mainly from Wikipedia)

Jessie Hill born 9 December 1932

Jessie Hill (December 9, 1932 – September 17, 1996) was an American R&B and Louisiana blues singer and songwriter, best remembered for the classic song "Ooh Poo Pah Doo".

Hill was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. By his teens he was playing drums in local bands, and in 1951 he formed his own group, the House Rockers. After periods performing as drummer with Professor Longhair and then Huey "Piano" Smith, 
Hill formed a new version of the House Rockers in 1958, which enabled him to focus on singing with the band.

The origins of "Ooh Poo Pah Doo" were apparently created from a tune played by a local pianist, who was known only as Big Four. Hill wrote the lyrics and melody, later expanding the work with an intro taken from Dave Bartholomew. It was further honed on stage, before Hill recorded a demo that he shopped to local record labels, finally recording a session at Cosimo Matassa's studio produced by Allen Toussaint.

                            

Upon its early 1960 release, "Ooh Poo Pah Doo" emerged as a favorite at Mardi Gras, selling 800,000 copie and reaching the Top 5 in the US Billboard R&B chart and a Top 30 slot in the Billboard 

Hot 100 pop chart. There have been over 100 cover versions of "Ooh Poo Pah Doo" recorded and performed live over the years by other popular musicians.

The success of the record enabled Hill to tour the country. "I hit the road," he said. "The Apollo Theatre, man, I went all across the country. I was making more money than I ever saw in my life." But Mr. Hill's subsequent records failed to match the success of "Ooh Poo Pah Doo," although "Whip It on Me" did crack the Billboard Hot 100. He then moved to California to work with fellow New Orleans musicians including Harold Battiste and Mac Rebennack. In this period, he wrote songs recorded by Ike and Tina Turner, Sonny and Cher, and Willie Nelson.

In 1972, he signed to the Blue Thumb label to cut a solo LP, Naturally, an ambitious but deeply flawed effort that sold scant few copies. Despite his success on the West Coast, Hill nevertheless suffered financial difficulties exacerbated by his growing drinking problem. After a disagreement with Battiste he quit his staff songwriting gig, and while serving a stint in Los Angeles County Jail for an accumulation of traffic warrants, his car, which contained all of his songwriting material, was stolen.

Hill ultimately returned to New Orleans in 1977, but after coming home waving his trademark two tambourines, he found little in the way of either live dates or songwriting work, and for a time he drove his own taxi, a black Cadillac dubbed "The Poo Cab." As his drinking and narcotics use escalated, however, he racked up a series of DWI infractions, and in short order lost his license altogether. His occasional live appearances were typically train wrecks, hastily assembled affairs performed with pickup bands, and for a time Hill was homeless. Several benefit gigs were held in his honour, but did little to revive his 

personal or professional fortunes. Hill finally succumbed to heart and kidney failure on September 17, 1996, and his body was laid to rest under a plywood grave marker in New Orleans' Holt Cemetery.

Bernie Cyrus, executive director of the Louisiana Music Commission, said "Whenever I talked about musicians that didn't get what they deserved, Jessie was the first person to come to mind," Cyrus said. Mr. Hill was one of "the R&B stars of New Orleans that had their chance in the sun and didn't get to see their garden continue to grow. Jessie was in a situation where his garden had a lot of weeds in it."

Two of his grandsons are James and Troy "Trombone Shorty" Andrews. The pair performed "Ooh Poo Pah Doo" in Episode 7 of the HBO series Treme. A third grandson, Travis "Trumpet Black" Hill, was a rising New Orleans-based performer. Trumpet Black died from an infection while on tour in Tokyo on May 4, 2015.

(Edited from Wikipedia ,usgwarchives.net & AllMusic)

Floyd Tillman born 8 December 1914

 Floyd Tillman (December 8, 1914 – August 22, 2003) was an American country musician who, in the 1930s and 1940s, helped create the Western swing and honky-tonk genres. Tillman was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1970 and the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1984. Willie Nelson has dubbed him the Original Outlaw for his ability to transcend musical stereotypes and stylistic boundaries.

The son of a sharecropper, Tillman grew up in the cotton mill town

of Post, Texas, and as a young man worked as a Western Union telegraph operator while playing mandolin with his brothers at local dances. In about 1934 he began singing as well, forging a distinctive style that has influenced numerous singers, Willie Nelson being the best known. 

As jazz singers did, he freely interpreted meter and melody, often coming in ahead of or behind the beat; likewise, he often slurred words and bent notes. Later he mastered the resonator guitar, eventually playing jazzy solos on an electrified model, and then played lead electric guitar for Adolph Hofner, a western swing bandleader based in San Antonio. There, listening to other musicians as well as recordings, Tillman absorbed the sounds and styles of numerous pop, jazz, blues, and country musicians.

Tillman’s songwriting, singing, and guitar-playing skills led to jobs with Houston pop bandleader Mack Clark and western swing groups fronted by Leon “Pappy” Selph and Cliff Bruner. Personnel changed frequently in those days, and Tillman worked with many top musicians in these bands, including steel guitarist Ted Daffan and singer-piano player Moon Mullican.

Tillman recorded as a featured vocalist with Selph’s Blue Ridge Playboys in 1938, and, later that same year, Decca recorded him as a solo performer. He scored his first major songwriting hit, "It Makes No Difference Now", giving him his own Decca recording contract. Jimmie Davis purchased the song from Floyd for $300, the rights to which he got back 28 years later. "It Makes No Difference Now" tied with "San Antonio Rose" as the first country-pop crossover hit (Bing Crosby put both songs on the same record)

                           

While his early recordings mainly sought to provide danceable rhythms, songs such as “Daisy May,” recorded in 1940, reveal his trademark half-singing, half-speaking vocals. Tillman's only No. 1 one song as a singer was "They Took the Stars Out of Heaven". It reached the top of the charts in 1944. Previously, he had reached 

No. 2 with "I'm Gonna Change All My Ways". His 1944 hit, "Each Night At Nine", struck a chord with lonely servicemen during World War II. Axis Sally and Tokyo Rose played it heavily to encourage desertion.

Jerry Irby, Floyd Tillman and Hank Williams

A big hit for Tillman and also for Jimmy Wakely was 1948's "I Love You So Much It Hurts". His 1949 "Slippin' Around", one of the first country western "cheating" songs, was a hit for Tillman as well as Ernest Tubb, Texas Jim Robertson and the duo of Margaret Whiting and Jimmy Wakely. Tillman had another successful song with his own answer, "I'll Never Slip Around Again", as did the Whiting-Wakely duo. He slowed down on his performing in the early 1950s, although he appeared on ABC-TV's Jubilee USA in 1958 and 1959.

At the peak of his career the independent-minded musician decided to retire from grinding road work. In truth, however, Tillman never quit music altogether, and he continued to record occasionally and to make infrequent TV appearances until shortly before his death. He also kept writing, eventually counting more than 1,000 songs to his credit. It is estimated that recordings featuring his tunes have sold in excess of 50 million copies combined. Thus, his election to the Songwriters’ Hall of Fame in 1970 and the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1984 were well-deserved.

He returned to work occasionally in the 1970's primarily throughout Texas.  He did enjoy a part in several of the "Legends" or "Pioneer Reunion" shows in Nashville.  Tillman's final album, recorded in 2002–2003 titled The Influence, paired him with country music artists who were influenced by his style and performing: Willie Nelson, Merle Haggard, Leona Williams, Dolly Parton, Justin Trevino, Ray Price, Frankie Miller, Hank Thompson, Connie Smith, Lawton Williams, Mel Tillis, Darrell McCall, Johnny Bush and George Jones.

Floyd continued to work until he reached his 88th birthday, just months before his death. He passed away peacefully at his home in Bacliff, Texas, on August 22, 2003.

(Compiled and edited from Wikipedia & countrymusichalloffame.com)

Louis Prima born 7 December 1910

Louis Prima (December 7, 1910 – August 24, 1978) was an Italian American entertainer, singer, actor, songwriter, and trumpeter. He was referred to as the King of the Swingers.

Prima was born into a musical family in New Orleans. His family emigrated from Sicily, and after a brief stay in Argentina settled in the United States. Prima studied violin for several years as a child. His older brother Leon was a well regarded local bandleader. Prima was proud of his heritage, and made a point of letting the audience know at every performance that he was Italian-American and from New Orleans. His singing and playing showed that he absorbed many of the same influences as his fellow Crescent City musician, Louis Armstrong, particularly in his hoarse voice and scat singing.

In his youth, Prima played trumpet with Irving Fazola, his brother's band, and the pit band of the Saenger Theatre before forming his own group, Louis Prima's New Orleans Gang. At 22, he was spotted performing with Red Nichols by Guy Lombardo who encouraged him to move to New York in 1934 where he was working regularly on 52nd Street with old New Orleans friends like Eddie Miller (tenor sax and clarinet) and George Brunies (trombone), and also new acquaintances like Pee Wee Russell (clarinet). Prima's 1936 composition "Sing Sing Sing" became one of his biggest hits and one of the most covered standards of the swing era; Benny Goodman's performance of the song at Carnegie Hall with a featured performance by Gene Krupa on drums has become iconic.

In 1937, Prima and his smaller gang (Federico, Masinter, Pinero, and Meyer Weinberg on clarinet) returned to the Famous Door in New York to perform. He also appeared at Billy Rose's Casa Mañana club in May 1938. He racked up about a quarter million dollars throughout seven weeks at Casa Mañana. He was booked by William Morris Agency in late 1938. This entailed travelling throughout the east coast. Stops were made in Boston, New York, Baltimore, Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, Miami Beach, New 

Orleans, and St. Louis. These trips were sometimes made in the course of one night of driving. The crew always travelled by car, since it was the cheapest option.

 In 1939, Prima dissolved his Gang in favour of fronting a big band of his own; The Gleeby Rhythm Orchestra. In World War II, Prima was deemed unfit for military service because of a knee injury, so he continued performing. First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt attended his performance in Washington D.C., and formally invited him to President Franklin D. Roosevelt's birthday celebration. He appeared in photographs with the President, which ultimately boosted his publicity.

                           

He moved to Los Angeles where he headlined at the Famous Door nightclub. In 1948, he hired sixteen year old Dorothy Keely Smith, as his singer and their onstage chemistry was immediate. He would make her Mrs. Prima number four in 1952. In 1954, Prima accepted a booking at the Sahara Hotel in Las Vegas and his late 

Prima, Smith and Elvis

show became one of the city’s hottest attractions.

In January 1961, Prima was invited by Frank Sinatra to perform in the inaugural gala for President John F. Kennedy; the two played "Old Black Magic" together. The constant performances and Prima's infidelities were too much for Smith. After finishing up their contract at the Desert Inn, she filed for divorce at the Eighth Judicial Circuit Court of Nevada in Las Vegas. Prima married another singer, Gia Maione, after which he continued to work in Vegas.

In 1967, Disney, in an inspired decision, cast Prima in the animated feature, “The Jungle Book” as the orangutan, King Louis. "I Wanna Be Like You" was a hit song from the movie that led to the recording of two albums with Phil Harris who voiced Baloo the Bear: “The Jungle Book” and “More Jungle Book”, on Disneyland Records. He also appeared on the soundtrack to “The Man Called Flintstone”. Prima's act moved back to New Orleans in the early 1970s.

Prima suffered a heart attack in 1973. Two years later, following headaches and episodes of memory loss, he sought medical attention, and was diagnosed with a brain stem tumour. He suffered a cerebral haemorrhage and went into a coma following surgery. He never recovered, and died three years later, in 1978, having been moved back to New Orleans. He was buried in Metairie Cemetery in a gray marble crypt topped by a figure of Gabriel, the trumpeter-angel, sculpted in 1997 by Russian-born sculptor Alexei Kazantsev. The inscription on the crypt's door quotes the lyrics from one of his hits: "When the end comes, I know, they'll say, 'just a gigolo' as life goes on without me…"

 (Info edited mainly from Wikipedia)

Steve Alaimo born 6 December 1939

Steve Alaimo (born December 6, 1939) is an American singer who was a teen idol in the early 1960s. He later became record producer and label owner, but he is perhaps best known for hosting and co-producing Dick Clark's Where the Action Is in the late 1960s. He had nine singles to chart in the Billboard Hot 100 without once reaching the Top 40 in his career, the most by any artist.

Stephen Charles Alaimo was born in Omaha, Nebraska, and moved to Rochester, New York, at the age of five. He entered the music business during his time as a pre-med student at the University of Miami, joining his cousin's instrumental rock band the Redcoats, becoming the guitarist, and eventually, the singer. The Redcoats consisted of Jim Alaimo on rhythm guitar, Brad Shapiro on bass, and Jim "Chris" Christy on drums.

After playing a Sock hop held by local disc jockey Bob Green and label owner Henry Stone, the band earned a record deal with Stone's Marlin Records. In 1959 "I Want You To Love Me" became
a regional hit for the band. Green became Alaimo's manager, ultimately giving up the role to Stone. That same year, Dick Clark's Caravan of Stars came to Miami needing a band to back up artists, so the Redcoats became that band.

The Redcoats broke up in 1960, and under Stone's tutelage, Alaimo became a "blue-eyed soul singer" with an all African-American back-up band. Alaimo and the group became the house band for a local club known as Edan Roc. Despite his rising local fame, he released two solo albums that didn't earn him the national spotlight. During this time, Stone put Alaimo to work as a promotion man for Stone's Tone Distributors, which acquainted him with the music industry at large.

                             

Through his promotion job, Alaimo landed his first major record deal with Checker Records, a subsidiary of Chess Records, in 1961. There, he struck a minor amount of gold in 1963 with his single "Everyday I Have to Cry Some", peaking at Number 46 on the Billboard Charts. The song was also a top 5 hit in Miami on local 

radio stations. Later that year, Alaimo left Checker for Imperial Records, and ABC Records, but the fame of his recording career would soon be eclipsed.

Remembering the favour the Redcoats had done him, Dick Clark wanted to hire the band again for the music show Where the Action Is, but the Redcoats had broken up. Instead, Clark hired Alaimo as the male host and music director. As music director, Alaimo took the opportunity to promote his own records on air; however, he rarely had time to record new songs. Alaimo would also become co-producer of the show, which lasted from 1965-1967.

Linda Scott with Steve Alaimo

After the show's end, Alaimo signed with Atlantic Records/Atco Records. In the mid-1960s, he began producing music for groups such as Sam & Dave, Harold Melvin & the Bluenotes, and The 31st of February. Alaimo bought partial songwriting credits to some of Gregg Allman's songs recorded with the 31st of February. This became a very fertile period, with Alaimo producing many hit records. He also briefly tried his hand at acting during this time, appearing in four feature films, such as 1967's Wild Rebels and 1970's exploitation crime drama The Naked Zoo, starring Rita Hayworth. Most of his films became forgotten fodder, although Wild Rebels got renewed interest after being featured in an episode of TV's Mystery Science Theatre 3000.

In 1969, Henry Stone reunited with Alaimo, who set up Alston

Records as an outlet for Alaimo's music. Alaimo quit performing to focus on running a record label. In 1972, Timmy Thomas hit with "Why Can't We Live Together" for Stone's Glade Records, which released the single in partnership with Atlantic Records. Stone then consolidated many of his labels under the TK Records umbrella with Alaimo in 1973. Shortly afterward, the business partnership of Casey, Finch, Alaimo and Stone would achieve their greatest commercial success with the heyday of KC & the Sunshine Band.

Alaimo and Stone

TK Records closed in 1981, forcing Henry Stone to seek out Morris Levy for financial relief and forging a new partnership. Alaimo, edged out of the deal, had fallen on hard times. In 1987, Alaimo was back on his feet, forming Vision Records with engineering producers Ron and Howard Albert. Vision specialized in top-notch recordings for stars who had once graced Criteria Studios during the 1970s. The label also dabbled in the production and promotion of Miami Bass records.

Steve and his partners put Vision Records on hiatus around 2000 to concentrate solely on running their recording studio - originally built for in-house use, but later booked out to others. Alaimo still continues in the record business today.    (Edited mainly from Wikipedia)

Luis Arcaraz born 5 December 1910

Luis Arcaráz Torrás  (December 5, 1910, Mexico City, MX - December 15, 1963 near San Luis Potosí, MX ) Luis Arcaráz led the most popular orchestra in Mexico during the 1940s and 1950s. Shying away from Latin rhythms, his playlist consisted mainly of American and Mexican pop favourites. He developed a large following throughout Latin America and in the United States as 

well, where during the late 1940s and early 1950s he consistently ranked number four on the list of all-time favourite bands.

As he was growing-up in Mexico, he had two passions; music and bull fighting. It was said that he was a fine amateur bull-fighter. Both parents had a musical background. His father, a musician recognized his son's talent and encouraged him. His mother wanted him to have a more stable career so he attended school in Spain, studying Engineering and Music. He eventually gave up the engineering to concentrate on music full-time.

Returning to Mexico, his first job was with a radio station XEW in Mexico City where he was paid the equivalent of 36 cents an hour to sing and play the piano. But the exposure nevertheless made Arcaráz a household name, and when his first big band debuted at Tampico's Teatro Palma in 1928, ticket sales were overwhelming.

His talent and reputation for arranging and composing grew quickly and soon he was writing musical scores for motion pictures. In 1951, he was awarded Mexico's Gold Record Award (the U.S. equivalent to a Grammy) for his musical composition, "Quinto Patio". in 1952, his band received a similar award as "Best Orchestra of the Year". By 1963, he had already composed music for 24 films. He also penned some 200 songs during his career, including his theme, "Sombra Verde.”

                            

Throughout the fifties, concurrently with composing, he toured the Mexico with a dance orchestra. His personnel were considered to be the finest musicians in Mexico. His great, long-time trumpet player, Conrad Gozzo was often compared to "a young Harry James." RCA Victor signed the Arcaraz Orchestra to a recording 
contract for their special Latin-American label, but because of his popularity they soon shifted him to their standard label.. By 1949 he had, what was considered to be by critiques, as the best big band in Mexico and consistently finished fourth in polls of the all-time best dance bands ever, behind only Glenn Miller, Tommy Dorsey and Duke Ellington.

While the orchestra was famed for its vast American pop songbook, Arcaráz was a prolific composer in his own right. His orchestra did not feature Latin-American music as one might expect. For shows and dances he played a blend of North American pop-tunes and standards as well as some of Mexico's best pop tunes. During the decade of the fifties, besides playing throughout Mexico, he often toured in the United States, mostly the west coast and mid-west as far north as Chicago. His band consistently drew capacity crowds and was one of the all-time favourites at the Palladium in Los Angeles.

 In the 1960s, he moved to Monterrey where he commuted between there and Mexico City. It was during one of the commutes that he lost his life in a tragic automobile accident near San Luis Potos, on December 5th, 1963.   (info mainly The Big Band Database)

Francois Deguelt born 4 December 1932

François Deguelt (born Louis Deghelt, 4 December 1932 – 22 January 2014) was a French singer, best known for his participation on behalf of Monaco in the Eurovision Song Contests of 1960 and 1962.

Born in Tarbes, in the Hautes-Pyrénées region of France in 1932, François Deguelt was raised by his grandmother in Barbezieux , Charente , where he spent all his youth. He had originally other career aspirations in mind before entering the glamorous world of entertainment.

He was persuaded to give up his philosophy studies in the early fifties, moving to Paris to become a cabaret singer at the Tire Bouchon at Monmartre. In 1952 he composed his first song “Coquette et Vieyday.” In 1953, he started on the radio on the Francis Claude program and then toured with Jean Nohain for the show Reine d'un jour.  It wouldn't take long for

his vocal abilities to receive recognition, already in 1956 he was winner of the prestigious Grand Prix du Disque award. However, duty called in the late fifties and he was obliged to perform his military service in Northern Africa.

After returning to his homeland, he performed on stages such as the Olympia and A.B.C. before being asked to represent Monaco for the first time at the Eurovision Song Contest in 1960.  François jumped at the chance, and so took the song Ce soir-là (That evening) to London and earned Monaco a highly repectable third place.

                          

He went on to record an impressive eighteen more songs before being requested once again to represent the principality, at the 1962 Eurovision Song Contest, this time a little closer to home. The contest took place in Luxemburg and he took Monaco to the dizzying heights of second place with the entry Dis rien (Say nothing). His second and third placings have earnt him entry into a 
rather unique group in Eurovision terms – there are only five other artists who have appeared at the contest and managed the same feat: Cliff Richard, Katja Ebstein, Chiara and Željko Joksimović being the other four.

He continued to record after both appearances and recorded almost a hundred songs throughout the sixties and seventies, scoring major hits in the process with songs such as "Le Ciel, le soleil et la mer" (1965) which sold over 100,000 copies."Le printemps" (1966), "Minuit, le vent, la nuit" (1968) and "La libération" (1968). He married Dora Doll in 1965 but later divorced due to his career.

In the 1970’s he lived on a barge moored at the bridge of Saint-Cloud and composed many songs. During the summer months he sailed in his nine-ton sailing boat called "Nectos III".  He carried on touring and performing throughout the french speaking world enjoying a special appeal to fans of nostalgia right up until as recent as 2006.

He passed away at his long time home of Var on the Côte d’Azur yesterday after a lengthy period of illness aged 81.

(Edited from eurovisionary.com & Wikipedia)