I always love a good family connection and Michel Legrand comes from a very musical family. His father Raymond Legrand was also a bandleader (but without much of a recorded footprint for a Tour stop) and his mother was the sister of a famous conductor, Jacques Hélian. Christiane Legrand, Michel's sister, was a popular singer who first started her career as a member of various vocal groups. The first vocal group she was a part of was Les Blue Stars and known in English-speaking markets as The Blue Stars of France. They released their first album Les Blue Stars in 1954.
Here is the (probably incomplete) discography surrounding Les Blue Stars:
Les Blue Stars
Lullaby of Birdland (1955 single)
Les Blue Stars (1956 EP)
Lullaby of Birdland and Other Hits by The Blue Stars of France (1956 compilation album as The Blue Stars of France)
Some of the songs on Catherine Sauvage's debut album were arranged by composer Michel Legrand. More famous now for his film scores, Michel Legrand broke out as a popular band leader and arranger for popular singers. He and his orchestra's debut album I Love Paris saw release in 1954 and became a hit on both sides of the Atlantic.
Here is the discography surrounding Michel Legrand's debut album:
I Love Paris
"Mademoiselle de Paris" by Michel Legrand et son orchestre
"Under the Bridges of Paris" by Michel Legrand et son orchestre
"Johnny, tu n'es pas un ange" by Catherine Sauvage
Léo Ferré struggled peddling his songs for years without much success until he made the acquaintance of cabaret singer Catherine Sauvage. An immediate champion of his work, she sang Ferré's now classic Paris Canaille. She made the song an instant hit and both the singer's and the songwriter's careers, interwoven, took off. Although Sauvage's early discography details are foggy, her debut album Catherine Sauvage chante ses derniers succès released in 1954.
Here is the (probably incomplete) discography surrounding Catherine Sauvage's debut album:
Johnny, tu n'es pas un ange (1954 single) Catherine Sauvage Chante Ses Derniers Succès
1 (1954 EP)
2 (1954 EP)
Jean Gabin had another narrator role in a radio play, De sacs et de cordes, written and orchestrated in 1951 by a young, unproven songwriter named Léo Ferré. It took another two years of song-peddling before Ferré secured a recording contract with Odeon. His debut album Léo Ferré released in 1953 and the single Paris Canaillehelped him break out as one of France's leading songwriters of chansons.
Here is the discography surrounding Léo Ferré's debut album:
Le Chanson du scaphandrier (1950 single)
Le Bateau espagnol (1950 single)
Monsieur Tout-Blanc (1950 single)
Le Flamenco de Paris (1950 single)
L'Inconnue de Londres (1950 single)
L'Esprit de famille (1950 single)
Monsieur William (1950 single)
De sacs et de cordes (1951 radio play) Léo Ferré
Martha la mule (1953 single)
Paris Canaille (1953 single)
When Josephine Baker moved to France, her sudden fame opened a world of opportunities for her. Besides performing on stage, she was able to star as a leading lady in a couple of films. In one of her best films Zouzou, her co-star was the French icon Jean Gabin. The son of a turn-of-the-century chansonier, Gabin's early ambition was to follow in his father's footsteps before the cinema took him. He still had the occasional opportunity to sing in movies and on record though he never released a proper album. However, he is credited as the lead artist on a French audio version of Disney's 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (Vingt Mille Lieues Sous Les Mers) on which he plays the character Captain Nemo. That album came out in 1955 and several compilations of his songs exist (of which I list the most comprehensive).
Here is Jean Gabin's (mostly) complete discography:
Vingt Mille Lieues Sous Les Mers
Maintenant je sais (1974 single)
Quand on se promène au bord de l'eau (1974 single)
But Now I Know (1975 single)
Étoiles de la chanson (1999 compilation album)
Sissle & Blake's stagework led to breakthroughs for a variety of black performers including Josephine Baker. Known primarily as a stage performer (singer/dancer/actress/comedienne), Baker had a fairly respectable recording career both in the United States and France. Like a lot of artists from the first half of the 20th century, her discography (here and elsewhere) is incomplete and her recording career was mostly over by the time albums came into vogue. Her first album here, Chansons Américaines released in 1951, is a compilation of a handful of her French singles from the 30s and 40s.
Here is the discography surrounding Josephine Baker's "debut" album:
I Wonder Where My Baby Is Tonight (1925 single)
Sleepy Time Gal (1925 single)
Who? (1925 single)
Feeling Kind of Blue (1926 single)
That Certain Feeling (1926 single)
Dinah (1926 single)
Bam Bam Bamy Shore (1926 single)
I Want to Yodel (1926 single)
You're the Only One for Me (1926 single)
I've Found a New Baby (1926 single)
Always (1926 single)
Skeedle Um (1926 single)
Breezing Along with the Breeze (1927 single)
Where'd You Get Those Eyes? (1927 single)
Then I'll Be Happy (1927 single)
Hello Bluebird (1927 single)
Blue Skies (1927 single)
He's the Last Word (1927 single)
Bye Bye Blackbird (1927 single)
The Loveliness of You (1927 single)
I Love Dancing (1927 single)
La petite tonkinoise (1930 single)
Pardon si je t'importune (1930 single)
Confessin' (1930 single)
Pretty Little Baby (1930 single)
You're Driving Me Crazy (1930 single)
Aux iles Hawaii (1930 single)
Voulez-vous de la canne a sucre? (1930 single)
Suppose! (1930 single)
Love Is a Dreamer (1931 single)
King for a Day (1931 single)
Sans amour (1932 single)
Si j'étais blanches (1932 single)
Madiana (1933 single)
Madiana (1933 single)
Haiti (1934 single)
Rêves (1935 single)
Sous le ciel d'afrique (1935 single)
Mayari (1936 single)
Nuits de Miami (1936 single)
Partir sur un bateau tout blanc (1936 single)
C'est un nid marchand (1937 single)
Afraid to Dream (1937 single)
I'm Feelin' Like a Million (1937 single)
Vous faites partie de moi (1937 single)
J'ai peur de rêver (1937 single)
Message for the Man in the Moon (1937 single)
J'ai un message pour toi (1937 single)
J'attends votre retour (1937 single)
Nuit d'alger (1937 single)
Sur deux notes (1939 single)
O mon Tommy (1940 single)
Brazil (1944 single)
L'amour est un jeu (1944 single)
Paris Chérie (1944 single)
Pardon si je t'importune (1944 single)
Paris, Paris (1949 single)
Minuit (1949 single)
Boneca de pixe (1949 single)
Y a pas trois moyens (1951 single) Chansons Américaines
Complete Recorded Works 1926-1927 (compilation album)
Clip from the film Zouzou starring Josephine Baker
"I'm Just Wild About Harry" by Noble Sissle & Eubie Blake
"Love Will Find A Way" by Noble Sissle & Eubie Blake
One of Adelaide Hall's earliest roles was in the 1921 all-black musical Shuffle Along as Jazz Jasmine. No complete cast recording has yet to be released but a couple of compilations of demos and singles have been released over the years. Fun Fact: The lasting hit from the musical "I'm Just Wild About Harry" was used as the campaign song for Harry Truman.
Here is the an incomplete discography of Sissle & Blake recordings and shows:
Broadway Blues (1920 single)
Crazy Blues (1920 single)
Arkansas Blues (1921 single)
Great Camp Meetin' Day (1921 single)
I've Got the Blues (1921 single) Shuffle Along
Ukulele Baby (1922 single)
If You've Never Been Vamped by a Brown Skin Gal (1922 single)
I've Got the Red, White, and Blues (1922 single)
I'm a Dog Gone Struttin' Fool (1922 single)
I'm Craving for that Kind of Love (1922 single)
Bandana Days (1922 single)
Boo Hoo Hoo (1922 single)
Down Hearted Blues (1923 single)
Waiting on the Evenin' Mail (Sittin' on the Inside, Lookin' at the Outside) (1923 single)
Elsie (1923 musical)
Old Fashioned Love (1924 single)
Sweet Henry (Pride of Tennessee) (1924 single)
Manda (1924 single)
The Chocolate Dandies (1924 musical)
Dixie Moon (1924 single)
Why? (1925 single)
You Ought to Know (1925 single)
Pickaninny Shoes (1925 single)
I Wonder Where My Sweetie Can Be? (1925 single)
A Jockey's Life for Mine (1925 single)
There's One Lane That Has No Turning (1925 single)
Ukulele Lullaby (1925 single)
Oh, Boy! What a Girl (1925 single)
Broken Busted Blues (1925 single)
Dinah (1925 single)
'Deed I Do (1927 single)
Slow River (1927 single)
Everything Made for Love (1927 single)
Hallelujah! (1927 single)
Sometimes I'm Happy (1927 single)
Home, Cradle of Happiness (1927 single)
Harlem Cavalcade (1942 musical)
