Photo: Licio D'Aloisio / Reporters Associati & Archivi / Mondadori / Public domain (source: Wikimedia Commons)

Gilbert Bécaud

ジルベール・ベコー　/　じるべーる・べこー

Composer from France

October 24, 1927 – December 18, 2001　・　Toulon, Var, France

Var
composer
pianist
singer

My Take

Gilbert Bécaud is someone I think of as pure French showmanship. Nicknamed Monsieur 100,000 Volts for his electric stage energy, he was a singer, composer and pianist whose songs traveled far beyond France. Et maintenant became What Now My Love in English, and Nathalie remains a classic, so his reach genuinely impresses me. The Legion of Honour and the Arts and Letters honors confirm how seriously his homeland regarded him. He passed in 2001, but to me that catalogue still feels alive. I love that he wasn't just a crooner but a real composer, shaping melodies that other artists kept reinterpreting for decades.

Overview

François Gilbert Léopold Silly (24 October 1927 – 18 December 2001), known professionally as Gilbert Bécaud (French pronunciation: [ʒilbɛʁ beko]), was a French singer, composer, pianist and actor, known as "Monsieur 100,000 Volts" for his energetic performances. His best-known hits are "Nathalie" and "Et maintenant", a 1961 release that became an English language hit as "What Now My Love".

Summary adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

1. Profile

Name (English): Gilbert Bécaud
Name (Japanese): ジルベール・ベコー
Reading: じるべーる・べこー
Born: October 24, 1927 – December 18, 2001
Zodiac / Chinese zodiac: Scorpio / Rabbit
Origin: Toulon, Var, France
Blood type: Private
Height: Private
Agency: Private
Occupation: composer / pianist / singer / actor / singer-songwriter

2. Background

Elementary school: Private
Junior high: Private
High school: Private
University: Private

Awards & achievements

Officer of the Legion of Honour
Knight of the Legion of Honour
Commandeur des Arts et des Lettres‎
1973 Officer's Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany
Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany
Order of La Pléiade

3. Relationships

Spouse: Private
Children: Private
Parents: Private
Siblings: Private

4. Personality

Motto

Private

5. Works & records

Category	Title	Role
Notable work	Roza	—
Notable work	L'important c'est la rose	—
Notable work	What Now My Love	—
Notable work	Nathalie	—
Notable work	Mes mains	—

6. Links

Wikipedia (Japanese)https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%82%B8%E3%83%AB%E3%83%99%E3%83%BC%E3%83%AB%E3%83%BB%E3%83%99%E3%82%B3%E3%83%BC

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