Raymond Lefèvre

Raymond Lefèvre (November 20 1929 – June 27 2008) was a French easy listening orchestra leader, arranger and composer.

Born in Calais, France, Lefèvre is is best known for his 1968 theme "Soul Coaxin' (Ame Caline)", which became an international hit. He also wrote soundtracks for movies with Louis de Funès like "La Soupe Aux Choux" (1981) or the series of legendary "Le Gendarme De Saint Tropez". During 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"). He started his musical career in 1956 on the Barclay Records label.

Early career

He was accepted at the Paris Conservatory at 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 in the same year.

He worked in the French television programs "Musicorama" (1950s) and "Palmarés des Chansons" (1965, 1966, 1967) accompanying famous artists as Dalida, Claude Francois, 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 Caline" (Soul Coaxin') became an international hit in 1968 and "La La La (He Gives Me Love)" 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. Between 1972 and the early 2000s he made successful tours in Japan.

He often worked on the soundtracks of Louis de Funès movies.

Eurovision

Lefèvre conducted entries four times at the Eurovision Song Contest, three times for Monaco (in 1961 [http://www.diggiloo.net/?1961mc] , 1962 [http://www.diggiloo.net/?1962mc] , and 1963 [http://www.diggiloo.net/?1963mc] ) and once for Luxembourg (in 1970 [ [http://www.diggiloo.net/?1970lu] ).

Death

Lefèvre died on 27 June 2008.

Filmmusic (excerpt)

The first soundtrack Lefèvre wrote in 1957 for "Fric-frac en dentelles" with Peter van Eyck.

Music for movies with Louis de Funès:
* 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

Records (excerpt)

* Concerto pour une voix..., LP 1970, Riviera 550.005 France
* Concerto pour une voix..., LP 1970, Riviera/Seven Seas SR471 Japan
* Raymond Lefèvre et son grand orchestre, LP 1970, No.12 Riviera 70019 France/Canada
* Variétés, LP 1971, Barclay 521146 UK
* This is Raymond Lefèvre, LP 1971, Riviera SLMP 045
* Softly, LP, Riviera RLP 16 001
* Hits A Francaise, LP, Riviera RLP 16 006
* Raindrops keep fallin' on my head, LP, Riviera RLP 16 007
* Raymond Lefèvre, LP, Riviera RLP 16 008
* Soul Symphonies (Raymond Lefevre & son Grand Orchestre), LP 1971, Riviera RLP 16 027
* Yesterday's Hits in Tomorrow's Sound, LP 1972, Riviera RLP 16.031
* Soul Symphonies No 2 (Raymond Lefevre et son Grand Orchestre), LP 1971, Riviera RLP 16.041
* Raymond Lefevre spielt Filmmelodien, LP 1976, Riviera RLP 16.092 (Germany)
* Raymond Lefèvre (Japanese Maxi-Single, 45rpm), with "La Reine De Saba, Eus, Et Maintenant, Tombe La Neige", Barclay CML 11
* Concerto pour une voix..., LP 1977, Barclay 45510 Canada
* Je t'aime moi non plus / Concerto pour une voix..., CD 1998, Riviera/Seven Seas VICP-60558 Japan
* Mamy Blue / Holidays, CD, ...
* Je T'aime, Moi Non Plus / Concerto.., CD, ...
* Sans Toi Je Suis Seul, CD, ...
* Best, Japan-CD, ...
* Phantom of the Opera, Japan-CD, Victor VICP 41 281
* Pop Classics, Japan-CD, ...
* New Best One:Plays Classics, Japan-CD, Victor VICP...
* La Reine de Saba/Adagio Cardinal, Japan-CD, Victor VICP 60557
* Colezo! Twin, 2 CD, Japan-CD, ...
* New Best One, Japan-CD, Victor VICP 41...

External links

*imdb name|id=0498899|name=Raymond Lefèvre
* [http://www.soundtrackcollector.com/catalog/composerdiscography.php?composerid=1045 soundtrack-record listing]
* [http://esctoday.com/news/read/12116 news of his death]