He left to "change stars" , "on a ship" he "set sail" . He warned us in songs. Graeme Allwright is gone. The French singer of New Zealand origin, known in particular for having adapted many pieces of American folk artists in French, died Sunday at the age of 93, announced his family to AFP.
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Born in Wellington, New Zealand on November 7, 1926, Graeme Allwright discovered jazz, crooners and folk by listening to radio programs from the US military base in the New Zealand capital. At 22, he obtains a scholarship to follow theater lessons in London, in the school founded by Michel Saint-Denis - voice of the radio show Les Français parle au Français and nephew of the theater man Jacques Copeau .
The New Zealand "hiker"
The young man is recruited by the prestigious Royal Shakespeare Theater. But, in love with Jacques Copeau's daughter, Catherine Dasté, he declines the offer and the couple leaves to settle in France, near Beaune. Graeme Allwright exercises a multitude of trades: agricultural worker, beekeeper, machinist and decorator for the theater, English teacher, mason, plasterer, glazier ...
The New Zealander, who did not know a word of French, gradually learned the language of Molière and the subtleties of his slang, which he used extensively in his adaptations. As his French improves, he reconnects with the scene, playing in particular in the troupe of Jean-Louis Barrault. It was only at 40 that he started to sing.
“The idea may have sprouted in my mind when I interpreted a few songs from Brassens and Ferré, during a tour with a too short Brecht piece. After working as a monitor in a psychiatric hospital, I took my guitar and went to sing American and Irish “folksongs” at the Cabaret de la Contrescarpe (in the heart of the Latin Quarter in Paris, editor's note), seven evenings out of seven for little jerks, " he said.
The singer Colette Magny notices her voice, tinged with a hint of accent, and presents it to Marcel Mouloudji, who advises her to write around thirty adaptations and produces her first 45 rpm Le Trimardeur (1965).
Hymns of May 68
His protest repertoire, anti-militarist and deeply humanist, drawn from the “protest singers”, resonates with the aspirations of the French youth of the time. Little Boxes (adapted from Malvina Reynolds), Up to the Belt (Pete Seeger), Who Killed Davy Moore? (Bob Dylan), Johnny (original text) and especially Le jour de clarté (Peter, Paul & Mary), his greatest success, became hymns of May 68.
In 1973, he went to see Leonard Cohen at L'Olympia and came out deeply touched by the mysticism and sensuality of the Canadian, from which he adapted numerous texts ( Suzanne , Les sœurs de la mercie ...).
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The halls of his own concerts are full and Graeme Allwright then poses as the main competitor of Hugues Aufray, another importer of folk in France. But success frightens him. Feeling overwhelmed, the one who is also known for the Sacred Bottle distances himself by traveling through Egypt, Ethiopia, South America and especially India.
Between two trips, he returned to France where he resumed his concerts. In 1980, he shared the stage with Maxime Le Forestier, for a tour whose profits were donated to the association Partage pour les Enfants du Tiers-Monde.
He also continues to record. In the 80s, he returned from a trip to Madagascar with musicians who gave a new tone to his music. In 2000, he released a first album of jazzy inspiration, recorded with The Glenn Ferris Quartet ( Tant de joys ).
Since 2005, the barefoot singer's concerts, which continued to roam the Hexagon despite his advanced age, began with an unchanging ritual: a vibrant Marseillaise which he had "adapted" with pacifist lyrics. "For all the children of the earth, Let us sing love and freedom" , he intoned ...
