mheu, Historical Museum of the Urban Environment

The artist

Born in 1913 in Narbonne to parents who separated shortly thereafter (1920), Charles Trenet studied humanities at a religious school, where he was bored. His father, a notary and violinist, was drafted into the army and his absence weighed heavily on his son. As a teenager, Charles met Albert Bausil, founder of the satirical and literary weekly "Coq catalan." He discovered poetry and made the acquaintance of Cocteau and Saint-Exupéry. Sent back to his boarding school at 15, he joined his mother, who had remarried, in Berlin. Back in Perpignan, he tried his hand at painting and novels, as he searched for his path. Then he "went up to Paris" and worked in the cinema. There he met Johnny Hess, a young Swiss pianist with whom he began his career as a lyricist-songwriter-singer, which took off when he offered Jean Sablon the song "Vous qui passez sans me voir." From that point on, Trenet enjoyed one success after another, including "Y'a de la joie," "Je chante" and "Boum!" During the war his song "Douce France" got him into trouble with the Gestapo. Then other hit singles followed, including "La mer," "Que reste-t-il de nos amours?" and "Nationale 7," as did a long tour in North and South America. The beatnik period eclipsed Trenet's career and he thought about retiring. However, he made a much-noted comeback in the 1980s, recording new records and returning to the stage to play before mesmerized audiences of young people, notably at the Printemps de Bourges musical festival. Writer of nearly a thousand songs, the "Singing Fool" passed away in 2001.