Raymond Lefèvre

Raymond Lefèvre (20 November 1929 – 27 June 2008) was a French easy listening orchestra leader, arranger and composer. Born on 20 November 1929 in Calais, France, Raymond Lefèvre is best known for his interpretation of the 1968 theme "Soul Coaxing (Ame Caline)" (composed by Michel Polnareff), which became an international hit. He also wrote soundtracks for movies with Louis de Funès such as La Soupe Aux Choux (1981) or the series Le Gendarme de Saint Tropez. During the late 1950s and early 1960s, he accompanied Dalida on most of her recordings (Bambino, Por Favor, Tu peux tout faire de moi, Quand on n'a que l'amour), amongst many others. He started his musical career in 1956 on the Barclay Records label. His recordings were released in the United States on the Kapp and Four Corners record labels until 1969. He was accepted at the Paris Conservatory when 17 years old. During the early 1950s he played the piano for the Franck Pourcel orchestra. In 1953 he played the piano at the Hilton Hotel in Los Angeles. He started his musical career in 1956 on the Barclay label and recorded his debut album that year. He worked on the French television programmes Musicorama (1950s) and Palmarés des Chansons (1965, 1966, 1967) accompanying such famous artists as Dalida, Claude François, Richard Anthony, with his own orchestra. His recording of "The Day the Rains Came" was a best seller in the United States in 1958. The song "Ame câline" (Soul Coaxing) became an international hit in 1968 and "La La La (He Gives Me Love)" – an instrumental adaptation of 1968's Eurovision Song Contest's winning song by Spanish singer Massiel – was a minor hit in 1968 in Canada and the United States. In 1969, his recording of "La Reine de Saba" (Queen of Sheba) became a big hit in Japan. From 1972 until the early 2000s, he undertook several successful tours of Japan. He worked on the soundtracks of many Louis de Funès movies. Lefèvre conducted entries four times at the Eurovision Song Contest, three times for Monaco (in 1961, 1962, and 1963), and once for Luxembourg in 1970. Raymond Lefèvre died in Seine-Port, France on 27 June 2008, at the age of 78. 1957 – Fric-frac en dentelles with Peter van Eyck. 1964 – Le gendarme de St. Tropez 1965 – Le gendarme à New York (with Paul Mauriat) 1967 – Les grandes vacances 1968 – Le gendarme se marie 1970 – Le gendarme en balade 1979 – Le gendarme et les extra-terrestres 1981 – La soupe aux choux 1982 – Le gendarme et les gendarmettes 1965 – Palmares des chansons 1966 – Palmares des chansons No.2 1967 – Palmares des chansons No.3 1967 – Palmares des chansons No.4 1967 – Raymond Lefevre No.5 1968 – Raymond Lefèvre No.6 1968 – Raymond Lefèvre No.7 1968 – Joyeux Noels 1968 – Christmas Symphonies 1968 – Palmares des chansons 1968 – Raymond Lefèvre No.9 1969 – Raymond Lefèvre No.10 1969 – Musique de films 1969 – Great Strauss Waltzes 1969 – Raymond Lefèvre Plays the Hits 1970 – Raymond Lefèvre No.12 1970 – Concerto pour une voix 1971 – Raymond Lefèvre No.13 1971 – Soul Symphonies 1971 – This is Raymond Lefèvre 1971 – Golden Prize 1972 – Raymond Lefèvre No.14 1972 – Raymond Lefèvre No.15 1972 – Raymond Lefèvre No.16 1972 – Live in Japan 1972 – Oh Happy Day 1972 – Mamy Blue 1973 – Festival de Sanremo 1973 1973 – Soul Symphonies No.2 1973 – Raymond Lefèvre No.17 1974 – Raymond Lefèvre No.18 1974 – Raymond Lefèvre No.19 1974 – Live in Japan 1974 1974 – Best of Raymond Lefèvre 1975 – Stereo Laboratory Vol. 10 Strings 1975 – Emmanuelle Golden Prize 1975 – Raymond Lefèvre No.20 1976 – Raymond Lefèvre No.21 1976 – French Love in Hi-Fi 1976 – Les plus grands succes 76 1976 – Love Symphonies 1976 – 16 musiques de films 1977 – Rock and Rhythm in Hi-Fi 1977 – Love in Stereo Nº 1 1977 – Live in Japan 1977 1977 – El nuevo sonido de Raymond Lefèvre 1977 – Eux 1978 – Festival des meilleurs musiques des films 1978 – Soul Symphonies No.3 1978 – Holiday Symphonies 1978 – Grandi temi da film 1978 – Film Symphonies 1978 – Romance 1979 – Live in Japan 1978 1979 – Tomorrow's Symphonies du Futur 1979 – Disco Symphonies 1979 – Pop Symphonies 1979 – Love World 1980 – Concerto 1980 – The Best of Raymond Lefèvre 1980 – 16 grands succes 1981 – Suite latine 1982 – Demonstration 1982 – Operamania 1983 – Digital Parade 1984 – Lefèvre Meets Chiharu 1984 – Les plus grands succes de Julio Iglesias 1984 – Live in Japan 1984 1984 – Plays Chinese Songs 1986 – Back to Bach 1988 – Music of the Night 1988 – Les plus grands succes de Raymond Lefèvre Vol. 3 1989 – Mull of Kintyre 1991 – Canzone 1993 – Sous le ciel de Paris 1993 – Les plus grands succes de Raymond Lefèvre Vol. 5 1995 – Plein soleil 1995 – Autumnal Player (When Richard Meets Raymond) 1995 – Japon mon amour (with Richard Clayderman) 1998 – Lacrima cristi 2002 – De temps en temps 2009 – Raymond Lefèvre et son Grand Orchestre 2010 – A mon pere The Day That Rains Come (US #30, 1958) What God does it to Me (1960) Spanish Eyes (1966) Groovin' (1967) Whiter Shade of Pale (1967) Soul Coaxing (US #37, AC #4, 1968) La La La (US #110, AC #23, 1968) Delilah (1969) Mammy Blue (1972) Perrone, Pierre (22 July 2008). "Raymond Lefevre: Maestro of easy listening". The Independent. Retrieved September 7, 2020. Colin Larkin, ed. (1992). The Guinness Encyclopedia of Popular Music (First ed.). Guinness Publishing. pp. 1454/5. ISBN 0-85112-939-0. "Allons, allons les enfants – lyrics – Diggiloo Thrush". Diggiloo.net. Retrieved 25 September 2021. "Dis rien – lyrics – Diggiloo Thrush". Diggiloo.net. Retrieved 25 September 2021. "L'amour s'en va – lyrics – Diggiloo Thrush". Diggiloo.net. Retrieved 25 September 2021. "Je suis tombé du ciel – lyrics – Diggiloo Thrush". Diggiloo.net. Retrieved 25 September 2021. "Raymond Lefevre Et Son Grand Orchestre – Love In Stereo Nº 1". Discogs. 1977. Retrieved 18 June 2024. Raymond Lefèvre at IMDb soundtrack-record listing news of his death Myriades on the Internet – Japanese Fan Club Raymond Lefevre at Grand Orchestras Grand Orchestra – the best orchestras of the world!