Francesi in Italia 1 playlist

The French in Italy 1

In the 1960s, French songs enjoyed great popularity in our country. Italians listened to both the songs of the chansonniers who spread the fame of French music – Jacques Brel, George Brassens, Léo Ferré, Yves Montand – and the hits of the pop genre, which in France (as in Italy) felt the strong influence of Anglo-American trends. This playlist highlights some of the female singers who left their mark on our contemporary music, whether by participating in the Sanremo Music Festival (Françoise Hardy and Dalida) or by appearing on the television programmes to which they were frequently invited and which in one case – that of Sylvie Vartan – they were asked to conduct. Françoise Hardy, Dalida, Marie Laforet, Catherine Spaak and Sylvie Vartan are still well-known names in Italy today, as are the songs of their repertoires. In some cases, versions of these have been made in Italian, while in others Italian songwriters have written songs especially for them. One French singer, Mirelle Mathieu, did not form part of the pop music scene; yet she recorded an entire album of soundtracks composed by Ennio Morricone, two of which appear in this playlist.